The Manning times. [volume] (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, 1886-09-22
AN .ARMOR BELTED CRUISER.
Orlando, the Latest Addition 70 .Ic British
Navy. Just Launched.

Orlando, the Lates, Addition TO tllc Brtisl
Navy. Just Launched.
tLondon Correspondence of Cincinnati Enquirer.
Orlando, the first of the "armor beltc(
cruisers building for the British navy
was launched on the Tyne few day:
ago by Palmer's Shipbuilding Company
Omitted She is 800 feet long, Sc feet
wide and 81 feet deep, with a norma.
draft of II feet and q total displacement
of 5, 900 tons. She is built of mild steel,
with belt of compound" or "stecl,
faced armor s. feet deep and 10 inches
thick on 6inch teak planting, which
extends for 200 feet on each side. On a
level with the top of the "belt"-that is
Il feet above the water linc-and run
ming for the same length, there is steel
deck inches thick, which at distance
of so feet from each end slopes down
ward at an angle of 80 degrees, with
deck and plates 3 inches thick. The
openings of the decks are protected by
armor shutters or shell-proof gratings.
The engines, boilers, magazines, etc,
are placed beneath this protective deck,
and the navigation of the ship and the
firing of the guns will be directed from
"conning tower" covered with armcr
plates twelve inches thick, placed at the
fore end of the ship, and communica-
ton to the various parts of the ship will
pass through steel tubes eight inches
thick. The ship is divided into one
hundred water-tight compartments, the
bulkheads in some parts being excep-
tionally strong. The engines and boilers
Occupying four water tight compart-
ments) are placed in the middle of the
ship, with coal bunkcrs on each side five
feet wide. Beneath the engines ard
boilers there is double bottom, divided
into compartments, to be filed with bal
last water. There is an open space be-
tween the bunkers and the ships side.
The magazines are placed N the middle
line of the ship, fore and aft of the en-
gincs, with store-rooms, shaft tunnels,
ETC., on either side. She will have two
sets of engines, one for each screw, Of
The "tiple-expansion type" with forty
two-inch steam cylinders, indicating a
horse power of $500, and will steam
nineteen knots per hour. She has four
boilers, with six corrugated fues each,
capable OF working to pressure Of l30
pounds per square inch. Her steering
gear is placed aft, below the water line,
and she has eight tubes for discharging
torpedoes. Her armament will consist
Of two twenty-two-ton guns, ten five ton
guns and sixteen Hotchkiss quick-f firing
guns for throwing six and thrce-pourd
shot. The twenty-two-ton guns will be
placed on the upper deck, mounted on
automatic carriages placed on revolving
platforms and protected by steel Shields.
The six-ton guns Will also DC placed on
the upper deck. five on each side. OF
the small guns fourteen will he placed
on the main deck and one at the top Of
each mast. Her ships company will
consist OF 420 officers and men, for
whom accommodation is provided on
the main deck. Tie builders have made
rapid progress with this ship, as the con-
tract was only given them in April Of
last year. They have another ship of
exactly the same plan now building for
the British government. The contract
price for the hull and engines, each ship,
is e224, 600.
Talking OF armamcnts, one is reminded
that the Victory, Nelson's old flagship at
the battle of Trafalgar, was one of the
ships inspected by the colonial and In
dian visitors" who were the guests OF the
naval officers at Portsmouth ten days
ago, and comparison between her
armament and that of one Of the modern
ships illustrates very strongly the revo-
luton that has taken place in naval
architecture and ordinance since the be-
ginning of the century. While the Vic
tory carried l04 guns at the battle of
Trafalgar, the entire weight of her
broadside was only 1,lG0 pounds, while
one gun of the Infexible will throw a
projectile of LOO pounds. In other
words, one Of the modern eighty-ton
guns will throw nearly five hundred
pounds more metal than the whole arma-
ment Of the largest British ship engaged
at Trafalgar. The gross tonnage OF the
Victory was 2,200 tons, while the IntleXi-
BILE has displacement of ll,40O tons.
The former is wooden sailing ship OF
the old 'three-decked line of battle"
type; the latter is a twin-screw iron
armor-plated turret ship, carrying four
guns. The Inhezible took prominent
part in the bombardment of Alexandria.