Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1888-04-29
LAUNCHED.
OUR OCEAN TERRORS AFLOAT.
Two Powerful Additions to the New
Navy.
A DESCRIPTION OF THE VESSELS.
The Yorktown and the Destructive Dyna-
mits-Thrower.

WASHINGTON, April 2S.-Secretap
Whitney's personal guests to the launch
ing of the government vessels at Cramp,
ship yards, in Philadelphia, left Washing
ington on two special trains of Pullmsr
palace cars via the Pennsylvania Railroad
at 9 a. m. The party, numbering
upwards of 800 is composed of Sens
tors, Representatives, army and nav
officers, government officials and news.
paper correspondents. The train reached
Philadelphia about half past IL O'Clock
and returning reached Washington at p
m. The Yorktown was launched at 800
p. m. and was christened by Miss Eleanor
Breckenridge, daughter of Congressman
Breckenridge, of Kentucky, The dyns.
mite cruisers followed the ways at 3:10
being christsned by Miss Nellie Can, of
daughter of Senator Danes were un-
Pennsylvania. Th"
usually sucef@n, or gunboat No. l, as she
Thirst called, is an unarmored steel
.ruiser of 1, 700 tons displacement; length
between perpendiculars, $50 feet; draught'
"a feet forward and Is feet aft; breadth, SO
FEET She has poop and topgallant fore
castle, with an open gun deck between
The engines are of the latest twin screw,
triple expansion type, designed for horse
power of ., 200 with natural draught and
3 800 with forced draught, which should
give a speed of II knots. The engines are
nlaced in separate water-tight compaIt-
ments, the cylinders being % 81 and oo
inches in diameter, II feet 3 inches long
The coal is slowed in bunkers surrounding
the machinery, to afford protection sgnnst
shot and she'll. The machinery, maga-
zines and steering gear are covered ny
inch water tight steel deck,
which supports the ram bow and gives
and Stiffness to the whole sttuc-
ture.
The Yorktown has powerful armament.
The principal battery consists OF SIX 0-inch
steel breech- loading rifles, firing prCJec-
tile weighing 100 pounds. All these guns
and their crews are protected by segmented
steel shields three inches thick. Inc sec
oudary battery is also apowerfui one, COM
prisipg eight rapid firing guns and revoiV-
inv cannon. Two are mounted under tGe
forecas,le, firing ahesd on each bow; TWO
uuder the poop, firing astern and on cacu
quarter, and four are placed on the raii a'
convenient points. There Is also a com,
plete outfit Cf automobile spar ana Ooa!
iorpedoes. The Yorktown Is a poWertnl
shin OF the unarmored type, and OF ths
MANY ships of her class in foreign naVies
there are none superior to her in design, al
abe contains all modern features,
The Yorktown can carry 4OO tons OF
ooal The chief constructor estimates tnsi
with this allowance she could steam ~
the rate of is knots for 81 days and cova
distance of 2, 400 miles; at IA knots sbt
could steam II days and cover a, 100 miles
at 10 knots she wonld make $500 miles
80 days, while at knots she could keef
the sea for 62 days and steam - 900 miles
This estimate is independent Of her sA
mower, and it is apparent that the YORK
town and her sister ships now under con
struction will prove important Auditors
to our fleet Of commerce destroyers.
The dynamite cruiser is also unarmored
Her length is 252 feet, breadth 26 feet
inches, mean draught. only o feet and dis
placement 725 tons. Her engines are
the latest triple expansion type, with twll
screws, designed to give 5000 horse po"e
and a speed of 20 knots. She has thre
dynamite guns, 81 feet in length, fixed il
position side by side, built into the ship
proiectipg above the deck near the hos
aud extending down nearly to the keel
The guns being fixed, they must b
pointed by the helm, while the rang
will be regulated by varying the presnr
of the air which is admitted to the gu
from a reservoir where it is kept at pref
sure of 9, 900 pounds per square inch. Th
shells are loaded with 200 pounds of dyn'
mite, and may be thrown IN all distance
from 200 yards to one mile, one every tw
minutes. The shells explode either on in
pact or by contact with water, accordiu
10 the force used. Inaddition to the dyn'
mite guns there will be a secondary ba
tery. consisting Of two three-pounder an
three one-pouader Hotchkiss guns and t~
Gatlin13