Scientific American Supplement, No. 711 | Page 6

the rock was invested by sea and land; but the Spanish ships were dispersed by Sir John Leake, and the Marquis of Villadarias fared so ill with his forces that he was replaced by Marshal Tesse, who was at length compelled to raise the siege in April, 1705. During the next twenty years there were endless negotiations for the peaceful surrender of the fortress, and in 1726 the Spaniards again appealed to arms. But the Conde de la Torres, who had the chief command, succeeded no better than his predecessors, and the defense of the garrison under General Clayton and the Earl of Portmore was so effectual that the armistice of June 23 practically put a close to the siege, though two years elapsed before the general pacification ensued. The most memorable siege of Gibraltar, indeed one of the most memorable of all sieges, was that which it sustained from the combined land and sea forces of France and Spain during the years 1779-1783. The grand attack on the place was made on the 13th September, 1782, and all the resources of power and science were exhausted by the assailants in the fruitless attempt. On the side of the sea they brought to bear against the fortress forty-six sail of the line and a countless fleet of gun and mortar boats. But their chief hope lay in the floating batteries planned by D'Arcon, an eminent French engineer, and built at the cost of half a million sterling. They were so constructed as to be impenetrable by the red hot shot which it was foreseen the garrison would employ; and such hopes were entertained of their efficiency that they were styled invincible. The Count D'Artois (afterward Charles X.) hastened from Paris to witness the capture of the place. He arrived in time to see the total destruction of the floating batteries and a considerable portion of the combined fleet by the English fire. Despite this disaster, however, the siege continued till brought to a close by the general pacification, February 2, 1783. The history of the four eventful years' siege is fully detailed in the work of Drinkwater, who himself took part in the defense, and in the life of its gallant defender Sir George Augustus Eliott, afterward Lord Heathfield, whose military skill and moral courage place him among the best soldiers and noblest men whom Europe produced during the 18th century.
Since 1783 the history of Gibraltar has been comparatively uneventful. In the beginning of 1801 there were rumors of a Spanish and French attack, but the Spanish ships were defeated off Algeciras in June by Admiral Saumarez. Improvements in the fortifications, maintenance of military discipline, and legislation in regard to trade and smuggling are the principal matters of recent interest.
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THE FRANZ JOSEF I., NEW WAR SHIP.
Another addition was made to the Austrian navy by the launching on May 18 of the ram cruiser Franz Josef I. from the yards of S. Rocco in the Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino. Her dimensions are: Length (over all), 103.7 meters; length (between perpendiculars), 97.9 meters; greatest breadth (outside), 14.8 meters; draught (bow), 5.28 meters; draught (stern), 6.05 meters; displacement on the construction water line, 4,000 tons. The armament consists of two 24-centimeter and six 15-centimeter Krupp breech loaders of 35 caliber length, two 7-centimeter Uchatius guns as an armament for the boats and for landing purposes, eleven Hotchkiss quick-firing guns, and several torpedo-launching ports; indicated horse power with natural draught 6,400, speed 17.5 knots; with forced draught 9,800, speed 19 knots.
The ship is built of steel, and constructed according to the "double bottom" system along the engine, boiler, and ammunition rooms. The vaulted armor deck, extending 1.25 meters below the water line and protecting the most vital parts of the ship, is 0.057 meter thick. There are more than 100 water tight compartments below and above the deck. A protecting belt of "cellulose" is provided for the engines and boilers, extending from the armor deck downward.
The two main guns, placed on Krupp's hydraulic carriages, occupy positions in front and rear, and are protected by stands 0.09 meter thick and 1.60 meters high. They fire en barbette with a lateral range each of 260 degrees at bow and stern--i.e., 130 degrees on either of the broadsides. The weight of the barrel of the gun is 25 tons, that of the steel shell 215 kilogrammes (about 430 lb.), that of the brown powder charge 100 kilogrammes; initial velocity of projectile, 610 meters; penetration, 0.524 meter iron; longest range, 17 kilometers (about 10? English miles); range at 15 deg. elevation, 10 kilometers. The six 15-centimeter guns are placed in a kind of machicouli arrangement in two tiers on each of the broadsides, so that always four guns can fire in the direction of the