New-York daily tribune. [volume] (New-York [N.Y.]) 1842-1866, 1863-02-25

ron -' , !
The DunderbuIQ will be provided With TWO rnl-
ders, one ut each eud. I one stouid become dls- l
ab1d OF lost the remaining one can be bion$ht Two
iustan, use The turres Of the vcssc! Will revoiVe
ana will be of Tie Ericsson pattern She Wiii nave
two OF these, each containing two SIiis Oh I've 'e''
est CALDER. In addition 10 these guns her atlaihen'
Will probably consist Of Tn broad-sde guns IN case
mates. Within the ,urIets and cascina 90 tneIe WIN
be annie room for the gnnes 90 perform the'r dh!S
with oil possible deXterity aud ease' ihe p'iC'-
Lonse, or rather peak, VIII be shot proof anu 50 ar
RANGED that the pilot VIII have every a'ka vac,
an extensive scope of the field before hi'n' 're"'
attention Las been bestowed upon Tie arrange |
msnt made for tlG accommodation Oi neT ON
Gers and men. Tic officers quarters VIII ne ~
the cNsernate On the main or uppcr deck ana VIII Wv
very Handsomely and comfortably ht'ed up tnoy wia
| be wen ventilated tie casemaCs TO be pierced !"
mteryals all around the vessel The most fori"l2a-
bic feature of ihe vessel is her bow, whlch loT 'ue
distance Of 30 feet from ito extreme END, WI 20
solid mass of wood OF tie heaviest KIND LES WI
! be plated with iron, thus making ram Of 6'e''
power. IL WAS the purpose 20 use tms p9r'aO,'
dad first for purposes of harbor Getense ou' SEQ WIZ
he so constructed rs to speed and buoyancy 'hs, sue
can be made 10 operate upon the ocean alnVS' ~ Wv
qnite rs " au ns IN our own bay. Inc oisuea
ale burily engaged every 0aY GPon 'r,o 49,, nan
owing 10 the impossibiiily OF procuring 'e non
necessary for her construction a. iasi AZ 0esifsd
lie pros.,ss 81 tie work is not so RAPID as 1t nish'
otherwise be. The tuuets, however, VIII soon
begin to make their appearance, and svery -noft
will be made by Mr. Webb to complete Tho Nessvi al
as early day 10 possible. The DEderbug WAL be
completed in about year from the coming june
The cATsKlLL.
| This vessel is almost ready for sen. She has her
officers attached, and has been for some time on the
marine railway at Hunters Point, being strength
.ned the Monitor disaster having shown that the
dividing sections should be stronger. The Catsull
is exactly Ike the Pa sale and Mon'auk che is poo
feet long 10 feet wide 10 fee. deep; the turret q
feet in lameier, and Ill .nches thick. There are
two guns to be placed in it, one l5-uch aud 'ho
other ll-nCn The I5Inch ia an extraordinary
niece Of ordnance and can throw "A shot weighing
$50 pounds Of solid iron. The llnch is also heavy
gun. At sea the new compass arrangement, used 40
successfully Oh the Passaic's trip to Fortress Mon
roe will be appended. The deck OF the Ca,skiii ls
covered with iron plates, and the side srmor IA II
inches thick. The guns Will remain the turret,
the recent experiment having demonstrated the leu
sibty Of that plan. There is only one port'hole IN
the turret, which revolves to any position required
Indeed the general characterislcs are DIS frequently
described in detail OF late. Minor improvements are
introduced, such as the gunSppaatus. the compass
arrar cement around the urret, and the new device
that secures II from leaking.
The KEOKUK.
This vessel built almost entirely Of iron, IA nearly
ready for sea. She lies at the foot OF Eleventh
: street, outside Mr. Westerveits yard, where she
was constructed. The work at present being done
ON her Is confined 10 the polishing and plan'ng OF
the deck and tuIrets. She VIII be ready Tor Sea IN
about week. The Keokuk is two.urret ram
The ram is an extension of the back bone OF the
] vessel. as it were and it is composed OF heavy
wrought-iron. L; is feet long, ~ inches thick AZ
the front and foot aud back 10 TIC man hul OF the
, ship 10 leet. Tho din.ensions OF the chip az:
Length over all l59 feet inches breadth Of beam.
Sc feet. depth Of hold, Is feet inches; drauSbt Of
water, feet. The bull is built Of half.inch rolled
plates Her sides stand al an angle Of 81 degrees
which it is thought will PROV ent shot from getting
a square lit st them. She is not all iron, as has
been enormously stated. There are 81 inches Of
wood ON her deck, and Oh the hull the bars Of iron
alternate for fO"sdeTD.s space with , iUg'
the whole length, aud two forc-and-aft bulkheads,
airing on esch side for the ships length separate
space and forming an inner skin and two water.
tight bulkbeads one forward aud one at, which eau
be filed with water, If advisable, TO sink tue ship
lower down. These can be filled III fifteen minutes
D and enlpted by pumps IN forty minutes. The for
ward tulkhead answers aiso another purpose: Ii
that should receive seyeIe wrench tho ieakaee
would be confined TO this compartment, and WoIld
not embarrass the draw or endanger The ship. The
ship will in ordinary trim shew 5l-l6 inches above
the water, and be sunk one loot by filling the
tank. The ruddor and propeller are guarded by al
overhangiug structure, and wIought-iron guard
on tho after part. The vessel has capacity IN
her magazines for 2OO ll-incLS shot, l5O il-inoh
smell sbTapnel, and canister, small ammunition and
powder in proportion The armament VIII confist
Of .,yo elevenineh guns, there being only one in
each turret. Ten men, 1T least, which Is saving
of fifteen, will be required to work these pieces Of
ordnance. The turrets have 81 inches Of iron, ~
inches less thsn the Pafsaic. They are slantng, |
however, and not straight. The inclination, the |
builder believes, will make them strong enough. |
The turrets will not revolve ct all They reina u
stationary but the guns inside revoiye 10 the desired
portfolio. There are three Of these ports in each ,
turret. The turrets are about 90 feet in diameter
at tie base, and fourteen feet at the top. The guns
revolve on revolving slides, and stand on floor 20
inches below the level Of the deck, thus giving
greater hight to the tuIre, which, it may be added
are additionally supported within by bais OF SKI
inch iron, 10 inches apart aud the ports lnado
sufficiently large 10 give the guns 10 degrees yeri-
Ss:sl and degrees aleys. range The larrels arc 8
feet inches high.
THE SECOND.CLAss MONITORS.
Tho Manhattan, Mshopac, and TecumSeh bave
been put down as building at Jersey City. They
belong TO a new class OF eight Honitors, contracted
for recently. Some Of them are building ut St.
Louis and Cincinnati. Full description OF them at
present would be deemed contraLand. They are
registered FOR 1904 tuns burden, aud all have one
tC1rst, like tler predece'sos; but, instead OF one
ii.iuch aud one lJ-inch guu they will have in each
two l5.ineh guns-thuS making their battery alone
weigh 50 tuns. II can discharge 900 pounds Of iron
at once which is equal TO whole broadside VI az
old.fashioned war vessel. The plan on which these
vessels were being constructed has been recently |
modifed They will draw more water than Was
FIRST intended. The first one OF them 10 be launched
viii probaby be the Tecumseh, which vessel Id now
progressing rapidly, under Mr.. Bnkbeck's supeiin-
tendence, " Jersey City. The thickness of iron
armor on their urSels VIII be such ~ " render 'hsa
shot-proof.
TIE THIRD CLASS.
THE MiAsToEoMAu.
The Mianton0mah IL IN course VI construction ID
the western stp-house, at the Brooklyn Navy |
Yard. She js OF about the Hans dimensions ~ the
passac. Her hull ID nearly finished, and Dir Dalano
las made it one Of his best jobs. She will be ,o0l
burd9