The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1885-09-29 00:00:00

?HS NAVY.

Great activity is just now being displayed at
Chatham Dockyanl in preparation for the launch of
H.M.S. Severn, a twin screw prottaiml corvette,
sister ship to the Nferiey, launchml sic months a4a.
Sh.• is sue id the fast veasels, which would be of timid
service in case of war for the protoctiini of inw coin-
mem., her speed. 111 knits, being too great for
anything id the Alabama clam to escape her. She
1., MO feet in length between perpendiculars, 46 feet
extreme limailth, with a mean draught of 17 feet • •
inches, and al. eel displacement .13,600 tons. She
will have horizontal oimp•iiind i•ngiiii••• of 0,000
indicate.l lies, jsiwer, and rimy MO tons of coal.
Her armament will he two S-inch breech-loaders, ten
6-inch breech-loa.lers, nue 9-pounder boat and 6..1,1
gun, one 7•lsniii,lor ditto, six 1-inch Noril•mfehles,
and two 45-ineh Gardner glum She will carrY
Whiti•lii•ail torpedoes, and discharge theist alsiv•• and
below water on each Her protecti•m ii
9-inch steel-facetl armour ion the conning towi•r, with
steel dock plating tw., inches thick, increased to three
inches on slopes, and her complement of officers and
men will be 300. She is to be launched on the 2tOth
inst., at two p.m.
Another fine addition to the naval amength of the
country will he mule from an adjacent slip on the
27th of Octolsw in If. H.S. Hero, a sister ship to the
Conqueror, which is 270 ft. in li•ngth between ts•rpen-
dientaris, root in ~tr...nn. breadth. with a draught of
22ft forward and 21ft. aft, and a dildaceinent of 6,200
tons. Her engines will have an imlwated bin-se-power
id n,2no, and hi r complement lif coal 500 ton., with 290
"filmy,, and inen. She is a twiii-screw arm•itirelail
turret ram, protected by Plineli sted-famll amour on
the turn•ts wet- rlin••, fi • g "If to anew 6... t
I.dow. Her armament is two 43-toto lireeelileaderi
nnd fair dutch lirmylaloaders, with a fail complement
of inachine gnus. She will lie floated •itit .1 .I's-k
itimetly ni•mths after work was eintmeticed on her.
and if her guns wen, ready she could Is• pilule., for
sea in another tw•-lvemmtli. It will lie reinetnlwr• .1
that tly• Nlersey WV. launched in flow.
twi. instances. mid the rapidity with which th•• Severn
has lawn finished, slyiwing that ship. can IC • Isla
just as rapidly in her ‘lajesty:s dockyards 34 in private
yards.
As *Yin SS the Severn is in the water, a new cruiser
of th.• el,ms is to be c mimetic,' forthwith.
Sho he will huilt of at.a.l, 300(t. long by 7,oft. estr.-,n.'
breadth, with a displacement in tons of 5,000. She
will Is• of the lo•Ited Wiwi instead of th.• tiroteet•gl
deck, in ili•fi•renee to th•• miter). remmtly raised by Sir
Hiwil is tj., tlo• superiority .1 the form. r meth .1
•if protecting the vitals n ship. Tit addition le the
shim. Wailing and ta, th••re is great activity
also in fitting •ait th.• .%r••thicia, awl the Phaeton,
swift cruisers thi• Rodney, 1111 l • •if
Warmite, an arinotin4 cruiser •if the I nrlietta•
fl•tlYnso. aiyither swift rorrotto and the
monaren, oiy• of "tar early•loalt armoor-clad.,
whiiehu is being prietred for it new commissien. She
has been fitted with A taqw,l•• net, and arrangements
maul, for a lii•avy in-whin...gun armament.