The New International Encyclopædia/Ram, Marine

RAM (AS. ram, ramm, Ger. Ramme, battering-ram, OHG. ram, rammo, Ger. Ramm, male sheep), Marine. It was evident to the ancients that a ship, if given a sufficient rate of speed, could deal the enemy's vessel a more disastrous blow than could any weapon then known, so that the use of the ram is as ancient as maritime war. The oar-propelled galley furnished requisite speed and control for ramming, and to further the efficacy of the craft of this sort they were furnished with beaks. The short ranges at which ancient weapons were dangerous were favorable to the use of the ram, and most of the celebrated actions of the galley were decided by it. But the advent of gunpowder rapidly effected a change. With the introduction of sail propulsion ramming was nearly given over, but when steam came to the front it reappeared in a form which soon reached its highest development. The ram, however, has never accomplished much except under special conditions, and it is now regarded as a very subordinate weapon in naval warfare. W. Laird Clowes has carefully tabulated all the eases of ramming or attempted ramming which have taken place in modern naval warfare, and he finds that: (a) wiien both vessels have had plenty of sea room and were able to steer not one of the thirty-two attempts to ram were wholly successful—indeed, the ships attempting to ram received slightly the gravest injuries; (b) where the ramming took place in waters which were too contracted to admit of free manœuvring (32 cases also), 28 per cent. of the vessels attacked by ramming were sunk, as were 3 per cent. of the attacking ships, while the percentages of the attacked vessels which were seriously injured was about double that of the ships attempting to ram. The torpedo and the greatly enhanced gun power of recently built ships both serve to weaken the influence of the ram upon naval operations, leaving its probable effective use confined to unusual and special conditions.

It is difficult to determine who first suggested ramming by steam vessels. One of the earliest designs is that of Capt. Samuel Barron of the United States Navy, which was made in 1827 and a model of which is preserved at the Naval Academy, Annapolis. At this time, however, there was but one steam man-of-war in existence, and it was not until the Civil War broke out that attention was seriously attracted to the importance of ramming. The Merrimac was fitted with a ram with which she sank the Cumberland, and the Monitor was designed to use her sharp bow for ramming if opportunity offered. After the sinking of the Cumberland many war vessels were supplied with rams, and at present nearly all fighting ships are so fitted, but it is not expected that the use of the ram will be other than exceptional.

The marine ram as a special vessel designed to use its beak as its principal weapon of offense appears to have had few advocates after the time of Captain Barron's ram in 1827 until late in the Civil War. Admiral Ammen of the United States Navy was a strong advocate of the purely ram type of vessel, and one of his designs was embodied in the U. S. S. Katahdin. About 1880 the British built the torpedo ram Polyphemus, which is like the Katahdin in many respects. No other large ram vessels have been built which are not also well armed with guns.

Among naval officers the use of the ram is now regarded as the last resort—a weak ship endeavors to sacrifice herself in destroying a more powerful one; a ship whose battery is disabled attempts to destroy a still powerful enemy; or a ship which refuses to surrender is given the coup-de-grâce. In all this, however, the danger of the torpedo is to be faced, and that is commonly regarded as more to be feared than the ram.

Bibliography. For further information, consult: "The Ram in Action and Accident," by W. Laird Clowes (Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute, whole No. 69, Annapolis, 1894); Elliot, The Ram (London, 1884); Bennitt, The Monitor and the Navy Under Steam (Boston and New York, 1900); Proceedings of the United States Naval Institute (various articles); Journal of the Royal United Service Institution, particularly 1875, but also various later volumes, (London); Noel, The Gun, Ram, and Torpedo (Portsmouth, Eng., 1888).