The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1894-05-23

lumbia on her sea trial Is gratifying to the
naval officers. not only because 1t shows
that the vessel is actually without a peer
as feet and powerful cruiser, but be-
cause of the bearing on the trial on the
charges recently made before Congress by
Representative Holman that vessels were
'jockeyed" on their acceptance trials. On
her acceptance trial the Columbia made
22.S knots. while according to report she
had just made "a knots with green crew,
without selected fuel and without special
preparation. Had the contractors done as
well with her they would have earned an
other $500, in addition to the premium
they did make.
The Columbia was built by the firm OF
William CTamp & Sons of philadelphia.
She is a lighter ship than the New York
longer, narrower and not so heavily armed
or armered. In fact her only protector is
a curved steel deck covering the maya
zines and machinery, and steel shields
about the guns.
The New York is fighting ship, the
Columbia commerce destroyer. That Is
the distinction between them, and yet In
an emergency the Columbia would be able
to do some pretty lively fighting on her
own account.
In length the Columbia is full 400 feet
the longest vessel yet built or designed for
the United States navy. Her breadth is
5S feet, normal draught %, and displace-
ment 7400 tons, or some 700 tons less than
the New York. The speed of the Columbia
was expected to be, and has proven TO be,
extraordinary. Under the terms of the
contract her sustained sea speed was to
have been twenty-One knots, or fully equal
10 that Of the best Atlantic liners, and she
was contracted to have a maximum speed
of twenty-five knots for a short distance.
She has more than fulfilled these require
ments. and she is therefore the fastest war
ship of any nation sfloat.
Not only is the Columbia fast ship, but
she is to be capable of keeping up her high
speed for long time. Her normal coal
capacity is 750 tons. but her bunkers can
stow 1000 tons, which, at 10 knots per
hour, would enable her to keep the sea for
100 days continuously, to steam 26, ,24O
miles, or, In other words, to go around the
world without recoaling. This is the most
remarkable ''coal endurance" as naval
officers call 1t, ever given to aman-of-war.
The indicated horsepower of the Colum-
bias engines Is 10000 at a sustained speed
OF q knobs an hour, or %, 600 at the maxi
mum.
unique feature of this vessel is her
three propellers-tha first instance of the
application ef the triple-screw principle in
America. France and Germany already
have half dozen vessels thus equipped,
so that the plan is no untried experiment.
One OF the Columbi screws is placed
just before the rudderpost, in the usual
position in the single-screw steamers. The
two others are each side of it and little
further forward, in the customary location
in twin-screw vessels.
The advantages of this arrangement are
numerous. In the first place somewhat
greater speed, it Is believed, can be Sc.
cured from three screws than from two.
Then the strain on the shafts is better
distributed when there are three screws
than when there are two, and they are
less liable to be broken. If twin screws
were used, over 10000 horsepower would
pass through each shaft, but in the en-
lumbia each shaft transmits only ahout
$3.50, and the vessel has one more cbanee
in case of q breakdown. Each of the
shafts can be disconnected, so that the
Columbia can be run with one screw. If
slow-cruisng speed is desired, or at a mod
crate speed with two, or at a high speed
with all three propellers. There are
three engines. each placed in a water
tight compartment and complete in itself
The Columbia's battery is not heavy
one. Il consists Of one Sinch breechload.