Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1892-07-23
The Texas VIII Have Torpedo Outfit.
and De Fitted Up as
Flagship.
The Battleship Texas was Launched al
the Navy ard, Portsmouth. Va,
a Few Days Since.

river Standing on the launching tower
. erected from the launching platform we're
Miss Aadge Houston Williams, Of Texas,
and ner mother, Mrs. Williams: Lieut. ".
5 Coles the private secretary OF Secretary
Tracy and his ctt1iai representative on
this occasion, and Ensign Hillary ?.
Jones. OF the navy. Tue red, white and
blue cords holding the bottle OF wine were
tied 10 the staff, mounted By a star. en-
Uleuafic Of ire Lone Star state.
At nl6 O'Clock sLe signal Ready
Eas given. Miss Williams uttered the
words, Il chElsten thee Texas, " broke tie
bottle OF wine on the COW Of the mob q YES.
sci, and she started. Il was Just forty
SIX seconds from the time the bottle vas
broken that the Texas was Standing in toe
stream as arm as a .rnd Ua.tery. five
minutes later she was mo5red to Ler
. wharf.
Under the law cfAuu 8, 1856. authoriz.
/ ing the c1nstrgc ion u two DeE ships. Il
was provided that these shoald be sea-
going double bottome1. armorei vessels
of -bou. 5000 tons displ lcemeut, design
ed for a spe-d Of az Least sixteen knots an
hour, with engines having all necessary
appliances for working under f5-ced draft
to nave a complete torpeds outfit, and be
armed in the most effective manner. One
OF these vessels was to be an armored
cruiser and the other battie-ship. Both
were TO be built OF steel. with double bot
toms, 20 have numerous water tight con-
partments, ted ~ b powerful pumping
Apparatus, and TO be supplied throughout
with perfect drainage aad ventilation
A ram bow, twin screws, electric search
lights, torpedo Outdt, and a protected
- arIrr al Lob e
/ length OF the snip and covering the
boilers. engines and magazines, were
essentials while high power and economy
were so equally demanded that to a max
Imum maintained speei of seventeen
kn.ts when fully egnppsd, great coal en-
dursnCe and small fuel consumption were
70 be added. In each vessel a space suft
cient for two hundred and seventy people.
Tor provisions for three months and for
water for one mouth was required
OF thes, two vessels. the most powerful
that the navy dspar msnt had up 10 that
time attempted to add u its aaet of mod
ern warshlps, the Maine, as the arm0red
cruiser was called, has already been
launched and nov awaits completion a.
the Brooklyn yard, and the Texas as ths
Z Dattls-snlp vas named, has Just le4u
lnChed at the Norfolk navy yard
The keels Of 10th we're laid in 1859.
and the SUN appropriated was e.
500 COO for each, or twice what the New
ARK cost.
Before work on the Texas had progress
ed very ter a controversy arose between
tre chief constructor 5t the navy and naval
7 constructor R0wles, who Is in charge u
building the Ieqas, as 10 her ability 10
/ float when all her crew, arament and stores
were aboard. III was held that tue calcu-
lations Of her English designers were at
fault, and that she would never be a safe
nor a satisfactory vessel. After a great
deal OF dls2ussICs and numerous rscalCu
lations, Constructor B0Eles's results were
accepted, although the dimensions OF the
{ vessel haze been somewhat changed from
( those at first submitted.
Tie plans for the vessels we're opened 10
. composition, and Notwithstanding the diff
/ hc1l,les which the displacement imposed
I UPON the other requirements, no less than
( thirteen designs we're received for ten DIFF
Z terent competitors, some coming from
Z EuZl and and fraucs A boar1 az naval
( eIpsfts examined these plans, and inaIlv
decided upon those unlimited 6F Mr. W
Z Johns, general manager of the late Bar.
rOw SlipbuIidng Company, and one Of
y =
7 tects In England. The amount paid for
I the detailed drawings Of the Texas was
( S25 COO
IRE ecteiou arrangement Of heavy guns
has been adopted In RE Texas. 5isgosi- /
tlop which several of the foreign govern +
meBts have discovered 70 be faulty after
considerable trial. Suca an arrangement Z
Of heavy guns Is supposed TO give quite
3 .-. . VI.
on each bcaaslae, bat q practical rest has (
shown tlas too mu1h Of the ships eff
cheney in other respects is sacrificed, that
the powerful end IRE Is no, attained and /
trat the trg4dsJle is greatly weakened !
0wIug 30 ttr DISTRACTED arcs OF IRE. Be
sides which the suns, when placed as In 4
the design, have less accurate 1ra when -Ee I
vessel ls r0,.iag being further from the I
uidship line.
The main battery consists Of two y inch +
rifles. ore 10 e=Cl turfer, the port one for I
ward and the starooard one aft. Ih re Z
sre SIX linen guns, two on the upper deck, +
one forward and the ether Oft, near Jhs 4
l. ircn guns, the other four are on the .
lower deck liz Sponsors. two each side f
7 ae secondary battery Is a very pcwerful 1
and tf1cien. ore. being composed OF not f
less than tweuty.sIx guns; four 6-pCuu7s, (
two 8 .pour3-rs. tour / pounds, four a.
mn. ana SIX s. nm. EotC6kIss revolving /
cannon and SIX GatIngs. SIX torpedo +
launching tubes are siso 70 be fttsd.
Tbs estimated speed Is II sn1ts and the
indicated horse power With fCTcs1 craft.
: co. The or gines, driving twin screws,
sr- ripple eypans.Cn; diameter ot cylinders,
81. 81 ard Is inches, length cf stroke. -
inches. 5 cam Is taken FROM f3ar double
ended b1.lsrs. II feet long and having a
diameter " Il feet. The normal coal al
.1wancs i. SO tons, SD tors can. how
.var. ba carried v1sn SID the coal pccss,s
"a s4sd. which gives her a cruising
rA51us Of 500 miles AZ ten knots per
11ur.
Sue carries water lire belt a IL in
ches 81 nickei-steel armcr IN wake 81 mag
zines. euriuss and e1llers. The eIds
ar, corrected by atkwartsaIp 8 inch steel
bulkheads. Al arEl0red rsd3ahE runs
et. srey,agtv s-rsazz IN r9g4n 1st.x frcsnsfrC