The Portland daily press., 1891-06-02
GOOD NEWS FOR BATH.
Ship Yard City May Have More Gov
ernment Work.
The Iron Works Company Lowest
Bidders for a Cruiser.
What The New Commerce Destroyer
Will Be Like.

WASHINGTON, June bids were opened
at the Navy Department today for the con-
struction of the only naval vessel authorized
by the last session of Congress, a protected
cruiser Of 740O tons displacement, known as
Protected Cruiser No. 13. This vessel is to
be a sister ship of Cruiser No. u, and will be
practically duplicate Of her, a few unim-
portant changes having been made based ON
experience in working out the details of the
latter vessel since her construction has been
commenced at the shipyard of Cramp &
Sons.
Plans Of the vessel were furnished Cramp
& Sons Of Philadelphia, Harlan & Hollings-
worth of Wilmington. Del. the Bath Iron
Boston, the Columbian Iron Works Of Balti-
more, and the Union Iron WORKS Of San
Francisco. All these firms, except Harlan
Hollingsworth, are at present engaged on
naval contracts. Cramp & Sons have the
same amount has been authorized for No.
13. The Cramps having No. IL under way.
and having all the patterns, working draw
ings, and so on, needed for her, would nat
urally have an advantage over other bidders,
and 1t was believed at the department that
ly he would have to figure very closely.
This appears to have been done, as the
bids opened today show, the Bath Iron
Works OF Bath, Me-, the lowest bidders, Of
fer to construct the vessel for S2,690,0e0.
Only three OF the concerns named above ten
dered bids, the proposals being as follows:
tramp q sons 745,O00
Union iron WORKS 2,793,OOO
Bath Iron Works...... z,690,OOO
Cruiser No. 10. like her elder sister, is to
be an ideal commerce destroyer, combining
very high speed with great coal endurance
and ap0n0mV 0f a0Ql Q0nenmntinn az 1nuv
speed. Her machinery will consist Of three
sets OF triple-expansl0n engines, driving
three screws. the third screw being placed
between and below the other two and 10 feet
further aft. The engines are to be in three
separate water tight compartments, each
complete in itself and independent Of the
others, so that any two might be disabled
without interfering with the working of the
third.
The collective indicated horse power of
these engines will be about 21,000, and the
result OF the triple screw arrangement will
be that, with small number Of the boilers
working at their most economical pressure
the ship can be driven with one screw at the
rate OF 10 knots per hour, which would prob
ably be her most economical sea speed. If
greater speed is desired the centre screw can
be allowed to revOlve free in the water, and
with two-thirds Of the boiler power and the
two side screws the vessel will be capable of
making IL or 19 knots per hour. With three
make sustained sea speed of 21 knots and a
maximum speed of over % knots per hour.
The coal capacity is to be 1000 tons.
All the guns of the main battery of cruiser
No. Is will be of great length, being what is
k0wn as 40-calibre guns. That is, the bore
will be 40 times as long as its diameter. This
will give the guns hight initial velocity, and
consequently long range, enabling the yes
sci to enter into action at great distance
from the enemy. AS she Is designed prima-
rily to capture the commerce of an enc my
and cope only with lightly -armored cruisers,
her guns will not be of the larger calbres.
She will have one eight-inehu gun forward,
swo siA-i.oh 60ns att, and a. x0ur-inoh rapid
fire guns in her main battery. Her second
ary battery will include a 16 six-pounder
rapid fire, eight e-pounder rapid fire and
four machine guns
The machinery and magazines will be pro-
tected by steel deck, sloping up from be-
low the water line on both sides and lat
over the centre This deck will be four
inches thick on the slopes and two and
half inches thick on the sides, and will be
capable of DETECTING the fire of any but
heavy guns at short range. A Golfer dam,
five feet in.width, will be worked next to the
side at the water line for the whole length,
filled in the central portion with patent fuel
that can be used In an emergency, and at the
end with water-excludiDg material. The
rapid-hre and machine guns will be prorec-
ted by f0ur-inch and tw0-inch steel plates on
the ships side. while the six.inch and eight
inch guns will be protected by heavy shields
on their carriages.