Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1894-02-26
IHt BATTleSHlP INDIANA
Her Preliminary Trial to Take Place To-
morrow.
She IL the Pioneer os H.-
NavS-A Description
of Her.

the batteship Indiana will be the pioneer
or her class in the United States navy Ar
rangements have been perfected Inv her
builders-Cramp & Sons-for a rral,,,,-
nary speed trial tomorrow, to be followed
soon after by her official trial for ACCENT
ance by the government The Indiana ana
her two mates the Massachusetts ana tba
oregon, were authorized by the act of Juna
~. ls9O. Cramp & Sons secured the con-
tract for the first two named at S3.o2paa-
ana the Union iron works got the contract
for the Oregon at So. 1s0.oO0.
The keel of the Indiana was laia I'm ,sa,
and she was launched in February. lsss
She is over. 600 tons heavier in displacement
than the New York. the largest yesse, now
In commission. and will undoubtedly provs
a decided addition to the aggressive ana de-
fensive strength of our navy Her com
tract calls for speed of fifteen knots dur
ing four hours run,and her engines. which
are OF the twin-screw, vertical, triple cx-
pansion type, are designed for 5000 horse
power 1t is confidently predicted that she
Will STOW speed of sixteen knots.
The ship Described.
The Indiana is officially described as a
steel coast line battleship. Her length ON
the load water line Is 34s feet her extreme
breadth is % Ia. and her mean draught u.
tms latter accordingly allowing her TO be
usea even in some rather shallow hsrbors.
Mnlie she can take the sea in all weathers
her hull is protected by a belt of heavy
arrnor IL feet wide turned in forward
ana art to sweep around the bases of the
armored redoubts, the whole Including about
as per cent of the water plane area. For
ward and abaft this belt are heavy UNDER
water protective decks, sloping at the sides
10 4l-2 feet below the water. There Is
also an armored deck over the belt Coal
pCEkers are worked over the belt deck and
peits OF water-excluding material are work
go on tne slopes OF the armor deck forward
ana art Above the belt armor, and extend
ing from redoubt to redoubt, the side is
protected by five inches of steel The YES
sci, says Naval Constructor Wilson from
whom the foregoing description is taken.
Is cut up Forward. making a powerful ram
DOW, and doing away with excessive bow
waves on account OF the easier lines so OBJ
tanned, as well as greatly adding to the
maneuvering power.
The combination Of armament and armor
is what makes the Indiana and her class
specially famous and valuable. She ca rrles
In her main battery four 13-inch eight g.
men and four 6-inch breech-loading rifles
ana In her secondary battery twenty o.
FOUNDER and six l-pounder rapid-fire guns
besides half a dozen torpedo tubes. The g.
men guns are nearly Is feet above the
water. the lS-inch guns nearly 10 feet. the
S-inch guns nearly % feet. These last fire
over the tops Of the lS-inch guns, and can
% brought into action early, from their
great height All this represents an UNI
equaled weight Of armament and the ann
munition supply Is efficient and well pro-
tected.
As to the armor. it includes, TO begin with.
the water-line belt already spoken OF, Z IL
feet broad, feet of II above water and is
inches thick at the maximum: three ar
nored redoubts IL inches thick at each
end OF this. protecting the turning gear of
the turrets and the loading of the guns.
The side armor Of inches has already
been spoken OF: II has a backing of 10 feet.
The big turrets are Is inches thick above
the barbettes. The S-inch guns are mount
ed In barbettes Of 10 inches, with turrets
or 1-2 inches. The 6-inch guns are pro-
tected by inches of armor and have p
inch splinter bulkheads worked around the
deck. inside of which the ammunition for
these guns is set up. The 6-pounders. where
mounted between decks, have Pinch ar
NOR worked around them; elsewhere they
have the usual service shields. The 1-pound-
ers are protected by inches Of steel The
deck over the belt is 23-4 inches, and
at the ends the underwater decks are
inches. These decks are made up Of two
thicknesses Of one-hslf-inch mild steel
plates with the remaining thickness all
In one plate of steel armor. There is a To-
inch armored coming tower. with a finch
tube for protecting the voice pipes electric
wires and steering connections.