FRENCH IRON-CLAD saUADRON- ]97 



screw -whicli it was impossible to remedy even in tbe still waters of the harbour. 

 They had to dry-dock her before she could again be put into condition to continue 

 the cruise. May not this failure in the screw system proceed from a vv'eakness or 

 failure of connection caused in the stern of the ship by the very construction of 

 the well? 



On the whole, speaking as yet only of the casualties of the storm, the test that 

 had been made shcM'ed that the iton-clads had resisted the storm better than the 

 others ; that the damages undergone were in no way peculiar to them, and thiit 

 they would have been able to repair them on the first return of calm weather. 

 The wooden vessels, on the contrary, which had been compelled to bear up, that is 

 to say, to abandon the struggle against the storm sooner than the others, had under- 

 gone damage which was special to themselves, and were forced to re-enter not 

 merely the roads but the harbour and dock, and would have detained the squadron 

 for seventeen days, while the others (even admitting that they would have found 

 much advantage in re-entering the roads), would have been able to set out again 

 after the time necessary to take in their coal, an operation which is, unfortunately* 

 not yet an easy matter in the Brest roads in bad weather. 



We have already obtained results of great importance, but the remainder of the 

 cruise went to shew that our iron-clads possessed rhany other qualities which the 

 chances of this first assay would already have led us to suspect without permit- 

 ting us to consider them proved. The weather was singularly favourable during 

 this second part of the cruise ; it was always fine enough to proceed with all the 

 investigations which entered into the programme of tlie commission, and it was 

 sufficiently varied, both as regards foi'ce and direction of the winds, and state of 

 the sea, for trustworthy experiments to be made under every combination. Lastly> 

 the voyage was long enough in duration (35 days) and fxtent (about 1200 leagues, 

 from Brest to Cherbourg, touching at Madeira and the Canaries) to authorize us in 

 regarding the results obtained as being practical ones. We now proceed to men- 

 tion the most important. 



In the first place we may repel the accusation brought against the iron-clads of 

 being deficient in height of battery, and in this respect being inferior to their 

 predecessors. The figures quoted above have rephed in advance to this objection ; 

 they show, in fixct, that while the height of battery, in metres, was for the Napo- 

 leon \. SO and the Tourville 1.81; for the iron-clads they were as follows: — 

 Normandie,\.%-l; Livincible, 1.82; Couronne, \.98 ; Solferhio, 1.82; Magenta, 

 1.82; and with these figures they carry from 650 to 700 tons of coal, the con- 

 sumption of which would make them rise between 60 and 70 centimetres. Hence 

 there is no reaso'n for them to envy their pi'edecessors in this respect. Doubtless 

 if this dimension could be further augmented without doing injury to the other 

 qualities of the ship, it would be better, but possibly too much importance is 

 attributed to this advantage. The squadron fired their guns every day, and were 

 able to do so in states of the sea where fighting would have been next to impos- 

 sible. A sea fight only takes place in calm weather ; when the sea is rough 

 enough to cause a roll of f oin 10 to 12 degrees on each quarter, the fire of the 

 guns becomes almost illusory, even with the best guns and gunnera. In all naval 

 history I do not know, either in a single fight or a great battle, of a defeat under- 



