The record-union., 1893-05-23
BROKE THE WORLDS RECORD.
SUCCESSFUL TRIAL OF CRUISER
NEW YORK.
A Triumph to American Genius and
Skill - Fastest Vessel of Her
Glass Af1oat.
Special to the RECoRD-UNIoN.

Boston, May 22.-With her forward
torpedo tubes buried deep in the sea, and
the water pushed almost as high as the
torecastie, the arlnored cruiser New York
steamed across the line to-day, breaking
the worlds record, and winning for her
builders the largest premium ever paid
i'll any country. When twenty-one
knots was predicted as the speed for the
new cruiser, many hoped, but few be-
lieved, her engines would ever be able to
drive such an immense mass of steel
through the water at this rate. When
she crossed the line to-day, however.
with a speed Of 2I.09 knots through the
water, and some corrections yet to be
added for tide, the enthusiasm on board
was intense.
q This gives the United States not onIy
the most powerful, but the swiftest
armored cruising vessel. There had been
great enthusiasm in England over the
performance of the cruisers Blake and
Blenheim, some claiming that the latter
attained speed of twenty-five knots.
However, these vessels are not armored.
but simply protected by four-inch decks
over the machinery and boilers. Even an
equal speed for them, therefore, would be
nothing remarkable against vessel
carrying in addition to the six-ineh pro-
| tective deck tive-inch side belt and two
turrets each eleven inches thick.
In the second place, neither of these
vessels had an official trial over a meas
ured course. The Blake broke down from
leaky boilers, and after reaching speed
I,NfI Ia ,1,.
ing only $4,000 horsepower, while the
Blenheim was gauged only by patent
log which it is claimed indicated 224
knots. This same instrument on board
the New y ork showed a speed oftwentv-
three knots, and the difference between
that and the actual distance covered is
proof of how unreliable patent logs are
as official tests.
1t was o'clock this morning when the
New York hoisted her anchor and headed
for the open sea. The wind was light
from the northwest, and the sea smooth.
The cruiser moved off at an easy pace.
but gradually warmed up, and by the
time the Nesgvius was in sight was going
over twenty knots, with the engines max
ing l30 turns per minute. The Gloucester
was off her port beam at 9 o'clock.
| Twenty-Five minutes later a red flag
broke out at the port yard arm, and the
! New \ Gork went over the line making l3O
| revolutions per minute. The steam
pressure was then los pounds to the
| square inch, and the vessel working a
trife over twenty knots. In few min
utes the revolutions jumped up to l35
] hD -+a
which were held throughout the entire
| trip.
/ Now the great furnaces began to roar.
/ On flew the great cruiser, increasing her
/ speed at every jump. The Nina was
/ passed at 9:46, the Bennington at 1905.
and the Fern, the halfway mark, at IO:2l
Then came the tug Fortune at 1O4I, the
Leyden at Hos, and finally the historic
| old Kearsarge at lI:25. The rigging of
/ the corvette was black with men, VINO
| cheered the warship as she passed.
| A neat turn was made. and the race
back over the course began at 11:45. The
! Kearsarge was off the starboard beam.
with the New York headed to southwark.
| The Leyden was passed at 12:04; the For
tune, 12:27; the Fern, 12:4S; the Benning-
/ ton at 1:0l; the Nina at 1:20, and the We
suvius at 1:41.
The entire course was 31.65 nautical
miles, which was steamed over twice.
On the first run the speed was 90 So knots.
and the second, 2l.35. the difference beng
due to the tide, which was against the
vessel on the trip north. The average OF
speed gives 21.O9 knots, with a possibil-
ity of its being greater when the true cur
rent correction is added. On the whole.
the days record was triumph for Amer
ican skill and genius, and will stand pre-
eminently alone until some of our new
warships beat it.