Genre:

News-Commentary

Subjects:

Military Technology, Steamships, Progress, War

Institutions mentioned:

Admiralty

    Discusses William G Armstrong's 'Newcastle address' in which he claimed that guns were superior in strength to armour. Notes Armstrong's suggestion that given the weakness of armour plating, it is best to design ships so that enemy shots pass right through them 'leaving a between-decks full of the death-dealing splinters behind it'. Believes this is an 'old story', insofar as ships' armour has become so thick that the vessels have become difficult to sail and manoeuvre, and concludes by praising Armstrong for reaching a 'common sense conclusion' that Punch 'came to [...] long ago'.