Show TElfJEGRtA1BHI > jJ Ii I i c r War Ships ashtn lOln response to a resoution of inquiry from the House Secretary Chandler states in an elaborate report not one of the sixtYbeven serviceable service-able vessels in the American navy are in condition to encage in battle rib an enemy Two of them can be put in that condition except as to ordnance in one month each The others will require excf ptfas to ordnance 5ne T8Jld two years r omanuf cture une ammunition and equipmenTs iqijirea fu r a mitting these > ewen vies lsw tiild4t equire five to seven years tHe rStlJ fight gun and carriage being delivered in about one year ard the first heavy gun in about three vearTlt would require the ex Uajidiprfioa22ol414l to put these ypsejis in theldlsired condition The least expensive wSula be the Yanlic whoso repairs and rearming would cost about 51 531 the most expensive the monitor Amphitne costing 1631550 the Puritan loS3000 and the Terror 557500 Fortyfive vessels atoreships tugsetc are ulferly unserviceable for war purposes The most powerful gun actually in service is the eight inch muzzle loading rifle converted Theoretically Theoret-ically its penetrating power in solid iron armor at 1000 yards distance is equal to nine inches Application shows a projectile pro-jectile from this gun at a distance from the muzzle of 1000 ynrda will penetrate plates of solid iron 834 inches thick the energy of the shell being just sufficient to carry it through the plate Its theoretic range at 39 ° elevation is 10280 yards There are 61 of these guns actually available for service The weight of these guns is 17350 pounds i hoi eight of its projectile is IbO pounds and its charge is 35 pounds of hexagonal powder oe |