The Morning Herald

The German iron-clad gunboat Wespe (Wasp), which was launched on the 6th of July, is the first of five such boats which are being built for the German admiralty at Bremen. The objects of these vessels is to defend, in connection with torpedoes, exposed parts of the coast and mouths of rivers, and to escort small expeditions in the vicinity of German harbors. It was considered necessary for this purpose that they should draw but little water, that they should be easily maneuvered, be tolerably rapid, and carry a gun capable of penetrating a very thick plate at a great distance.

The Wespe is 43.5 metres long, 10.65 broad, and its draught of water is 5.1 metres. At the bow where it would have to encounter an enemy, it is covered with an iron plate 200 millimetres thick. The deck is also plated to a thickness of 80 millimetres, and the vessel is built in water-tight compartments, with a double bottom, so as to avoid the danger of being sunk by the enemy's shot. There are two engines, together of 700 horse-power, and the boat proceeds at the rate of nine knots an hour. There is sufficient storage for coal to enable the boat to go at full steam for forty hours in shallow water, or for a much longer period in deep water, where the boat may be more heavily laden. The gun is one of the heaviest of the German naval cannon, of 30.5 centimetres calibre, and it stands behind an iron-clad shield. The Wespe is to make its first trial trip next October.