The Portland daily press., 1894-06-28

pable OF friug projectiles of chilled steel,
weighing from one to three pounds at
the rate of fifteen shots a minute.
Around on the superstructure are ar
ranged ID boats, steam launches, whale
boats, gigs, and one electric launch.
When Mr.. Tracy decided to build these
modern battle ships he summoned Lieu
tenant Lewis Nixon, now the superin-
tending constructor at Cramps yard,
then under 80 years of age. and told him
TO make a crude design for such a craft
as he had indicated. At that time no
vessel larger than 700 tons had been
launched in this. country: Proceeding
on an S5oo-ton basis, Mr.. Nixon built a
steel fort, put as heavy guns IN it and on
it as he could with safety, and then cal
culated the dimensions of the boat on
which it must float. After Mr.. Tracy
looked at the figures and listened to the
explanation of them. he thrust them
aside with this remark don't know
much about these details and dimen-
sions What want to know is whether,
If you let all these guns go off at once,
they would beat the delivery of the guns
on those battle ships the English and
French are building"
They would not. I am sorry to say"
replied the young constructor.
$50 back and make them do it, said
the Secretary.
MIR. Nixon went back and added 1000
tors to the displacement of the vessel,
| and in day or two sought the Secre-
tary.
Now will they beat those foreign
boats?" asked the Secretary.
Well" said the constructor, am
afraid they won't beat them; but they'll
nearly do So"
go back and make them do it," said
the Secretary again, adding, We can
launch iust.as big boats as anyone else. y
Mr.. Nixon went back, and the third
time hit the mark producing. plans
| for a 10000 ton vessel such as the In
diana. That he did successfully what
| he was ordered to is shown by the fact
| that the main batteries of the English
| battleships Victoria (sunk last year in
| the Mediterranean and Royal Sovereign
are planned to hurl 5000 pounds of metal
| at a single discharge, while the Indiana,
OF nearly 1000 tons less displacement,
and drawing three feet less of water,
hurls $500 pounds of metal at single
| discharge of her main batteries.
| One can only conjecture what damage
its guns can do. We know that one of
| these 13-inch guns, hurting an 100-pound
projectile at velocity of certainly 1000
wrought iron at it's muzzle, and proba-
bly, rs inches of the same material a
| mile away. We know that such a gun
would throw it's projectile with accuracy
distance of IL miles The 8-inch guns
would throw projectiles of $50 pounds
weight effectively eight miles. The
| 6-inch guns would fire with certainty a
| distance of six miles, and all the smaller
weapons might lie used at distances up
| to two and a half miles. In item min
| utes, by using all the guns at their full
powers, each 13inch gun firing once in
| two minutes, and some of the rapid-fire
| guns once in every four seconds, the In
/ 1aY,% fon of ,ofo
| In an engagement where her main
| batteries could be in constant use, with
| only part of her second battery, she
would hurl in ten minutes from Is to
IS tons of projectiles, each going with
| velocity Of, say, 1000 feet a second, and
| weighing from one pound to HOO pounds.
| When one thinks of this appalling power,
and realizes that after these missiles
| have landed their work has only just
| begun-for they are arranged to burst.
| and, somefof them to send forth noXious
| gases, poisoning every one within their
reach-the capabilities of destruction
| pass beyond comprehension. Added to
| all this is the ability to keep up the
| bombardment at this speed for between
| four and five hours.
| Mr.. Dixon has calculated roughly that
| if the Indiana were driven at full force
against sta tionary object, such as one
| of thes Brooklyn Bridge towers, she would
| strike with force of 100000 foot tons,
| that is, force that could lift 100, 900
| tons one foot The writer leaves it to
engineers of much leisure and large men
| tai endowments to calculate what the
| effect of such a blow would be on the
| tower or on the boat. He knows one
| man who would not like to take his
| chances on the bridge. Certainly no YES
| sci struck by such blow could live.
In addition to all this, remember that
| withther four powerful search lights for
| eyes this terrible craft has the power of
discerning small boats mere specks on
| the water at distance of one to three
| miles in the night, and she becomes a
monster for the Imagination to deal
| with.