Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1892-07-23
ERROR OF THE SEAS,
he Completion of an Ameri-
can Cruiser Expected to
Defy the World.
COMMERCE DESTROYER,
Speed and Coal Capacity 1t Will
Surpass All Others.
0MPARED WITHRIVAL WAR.SHIPS
ne Win Go 22 Knots an Hour and Can Re-
main at Sea 1O9 Days
COMMERCE DESTROYER,
OMPARED WITHRIVAL WAR-SHIPS
ne Will Go 22 Knots an Hour and Can Re-
main at Sea 1O9 Days
1IE PIRATE TO BE LAUNCHED TUESDAY

unched from the yard of the Cramps what
expected to be the swiftest, most destruc-
We and most formidable naval vessel in
ie world, Cruiser No. u, otherwise "The
rate" The cruiser will be named for one
the States. Secretary of the Navy Tracy
I'd party of Congressman and Govern
ent officials will attend the launching,
d half an hour before the event the gates
the yard will be opened for the public
No foreign navy has such vessel as this
uiser will be. Commodore Wilson said in
recent official report: ''The function of
is vessel is to destroy the commerce of the
.emy. Therefore her general appearance
such as to enable her to get within range
her victim before her character is dis
,vered." Should this nation become in
Dlved in war with any other nation the
Pirate" and her sister ship, now being
Iilt bv the Cramps would become the two
ost widely known and most feared vessels
the world. The cruiser was designed
it'll two objects in view-sneed and coal
srying capacity. To obtain these essen
lls the cruiser had to be given large ton
ge. This is 800, and yet the engines,
ilers and apartments uses up nearly all
is space. She is 400 feet in length on the
ad water line, So feet in beam, and in
-aught "a feet. This will make her more
a greyhound than the Atlantic liners
hich, for stability, are obliged to have
uch greater beam.
Great Speed Expected.
As 10 her speed, the contract requires her
go 90 knots an hour on her trial trips.
she cannot do this she Will be subject to
lection or penalty. The Cramps mean
al the cruiser shall go faster than any
can liner The best hours work by any
the liners was that of the Teutonic last
ear, 81 O6 knots The Pirate, her builders
e confident, will surely reel off %, and
iey are equally confident that she will be
DE to keep it up for "a hours, making
stance of 52S knots. The record for "A
ours at present is held by the Majestic
For every quarter knot of speed over the
> knots contract limitations the Cramps
Ill be given $50, 900.
The coal carrying capacity of the cruiser
i'll be greater than that of any steamer or
wal vessel in the world. The big bunkers
i hold 1000 tons This would be suf-
mt, at the rate of ten knots an hour, to
W the cruiser TO remain out of port for
DAYS, or a radius OF action of 26, 240
lots, or nearly the circumference of the
nth. Fourteen knots Will be the usual
sed of the cruiser, except when she is on
ressing business, when she will tear
rough the water like race horse.s 1t
ould be bad busine SIS for the Pirate to get
Aught in the Southern Pacific and exhaust
er coal, as, under the present conditions
loug the west coast Of South America, 1t
would cost $50 000 for her to coal up. The
5ovelmment, it is said on good authority,
sill in a few years establish coaling stations
u the Chilian coast and on other portions of
Ie South American coast
The machinery OF the cruiser will be more
intricate than that of any steamer in the
orld. There will be three triple expansion
agines, each working a separate screw, one
u either side of the rudder and one above
T. The horse power of the engines under
1rced draUght Will be 90, $50. The engines
Il have the same stroke, ~ inches, and the
iameter of the high intermediate and low
Hressure cylinders respectively are AZ, SO
ad 81 inches Under full pressure each of
ese three screws should turn at the rate of
2S revolutions per minute. On the City of
'aris 90 revolutions per minute was the
la1imum in her record-breaking trip.
The Threc-screw Idea.
The three-screw idea originated with
'hief Engineer Melville, whose idea was to
void, ii possible, the heavy shafting which
rould have been necessary had only two
crews been used In the latter case 10, 900
4urse-power would have been transmitted
tv d single shaft, while in the tbree-screw
raugemeut only g. $50 horsepower passes
rough each shaft. The strain on the
.aavv shatting is tremendous and the con-
.yluences of a break down are most disas-
.5us. One reason why Mr.. Melville
.volved the three-shaft scheme was the fact
az the ship had to be entirely American
made, and there are grave doubts as to the
.Dility OF American manufacturers to guar
iutee so enormous a forging.
Some engineers have doubted the eff
,iencv of the three-screw system, on the
round that in certain trials in France the
enter screw was found to have only min
mum propelling power. This, however,
u as when the screws occupied the same
y.rtical plane. To obviate this difficulty,
lie side screws in Mr.. Melville's plans are
situated 10 feet forward and above the CEN
Ter one, so that the water from the side
screws does not interfere with the water
lowing into the periphery of the center one.
Each of the three shafts is fitted with dis
en- gaging coupling, so that the prppellers
d ay be free to revolve when not in use
T lus the vessel NAV be propelled at a slow
Il eed OF II knots by the center screw alone,
!; a medium speed OF IL knots by the two
screws, and at high speed of from 20
10 - knots by all three together. This ar
rancenent allows the machinery to be
worked at its maximum and most economl-
cal number OF revolutions al all rates of the
ressel's speed, and each engine can always
he used for propelling the vessel. This is
an advantage that two sets OF engines work.
mo on the same screw do not possess.
There are ten boilers. Six of these are
1ouble-ended, 1917 feet in diameter by 2lH
Get long. Two others are IL % feet in
diameter by 1sA feet long, and the remain
.np two, which are sing gle-ended, are 10 feet
I'M diameter by s feet long. These boilers
ire made of steel and theC carry pressure
~ 100 mounds. Eight of the largest boilers
,rs built in air and water tight compart-
,.ents. into which there is forced draught
II 916, 500 cubic feet OF air per minute when
-unning at full speed. ,
Tbe efficiency OF the mechanism of the
,,p,uerce destroyer is shown by comparl-
-, ,vith certain features of the Philadel-
liza which is now representative of the
EST type of ship in the United States
NV The total CRATE surface of the Phlla-
ieInbia. for instance, is 624 square feet; that
- ibe commerce destroyer is ], 2S5 square
eat The total heating surface OF the
is 20, 457 square feet; that OF
he commerce destroyer is 1881 square
eet.
The Armor and Armament.
The vital portions of the vessel are pro-
o.-ad Inv an armored deck four inches thick
m he slopes and 21k inches on the fiat. The
ace between this deck and the gun deck
I'M he minutely subdivided by coal bunk
.-..oor,s In addition there will