New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1895-06-16
THE TWO NEW BATTLESHIPS
DESIGNS FOR THEM ARE BEING DRAWN.
PRELIMINARY PLANS DETERMINED rPoN-AD-
vANTAGEs AND DISADVANTAGES OF ARMA-
MENTs. ETC. OF BATTLEsHIPs OF
FOREIGN NAvIEs.


MENTs. ETC. OF BATTLEsliIPs OF
FOREIGN NAvIEs.
after cevotinr hours 70 reading literature o" '"'
subject and patiently listening FOR Gays ~ VI.
discussion Of the bureau chiefs ana 10 the ->a'a'
BOARD OF Construction. the Secretary OF the Navy
finally directed that the Bureau OF 'ons"u'
ton and Repair prepare preliminary plans oi
vessels embodying the views OF a majority oi
the board" The sentence quoted Is the 'ep'Y Vi
an officer at the Navy Department 10 d aueeuo''
referred 10 him concerning the TWO o"''e
authorized by an act Of the last session Oh ooh-
gress to be Quilt at cost not TO eNceeu '1'V'V'v
each The act provided that they should De oe-
signed TO carry the heaviest armor ana mos. po"el
full ordnance upon Displacement vi WV 80.
One of the new vessels Is to be hameu Tue N'"
sarge 70 perpetuate the memory OF that famous
IA 80, a,h,cb nut An end to the Confederate
pr,vateer Alabama. II was also provided tha' one
should be built on the Pacific coast ana the o'i'e'
on the Atlantic coast.
There were two distinct opinions as TO the arho''
armament and situation Of the battleshPs' ou'
the MANS fixed upon comprise the following ied-
tures Rattery-Four 13-inch. four S-inch ana lour-
teen 5-inch guns. Turrets-Two TO be pui'' o"o
forward and the other aft. the e-inch turie'' W "
superimposed on the l3-inch turrets. DIMENSIONS
Extreme draught. Is feet; speed. 10 KNOTS u"oe
one-inch air pressure: coal supply 'horna"' ~
tons Armor to be Is inches In diameter anu ~,
moro generally distributed over the ships than IN
plans heretofore followed: the belt 10 De eisn' ~
deep Ga half-foot deeper than on the inu'aa' O.
extending foot or so more out OF "a'en mo" -
the plans pursued in the Indiana class Inc ai''oi
belt will thus extend below the surface OIL inc ~
oriv az foo, and this has caused some unfaVorape
comments 4 prominent officer of the Navy WIN
is much interested on the subject mas WIZ, -,
letter saying that in case the vessels sho"u ~
to starboard port to any parucuia' 49,, ~
lower edge of the armor belt would prooaoiy oe
of he
skin exposed t. damage from rapid-iring guns
CRUISER OR BATTLESHlP?
There ,s now. as there has been for few years
o,s, among naval experts. difference OF opih-
ION as TO the advisab.ity OF pu''dhs
battieships rather than swift cruisers ~
even those who do not oppose the cohS'i "0'0 -
battleships costing as these l0O@-ton SHIPS are 10
COS. q non on each exclusive of armament, 10 say
nothing Of the expense of keeping them IN service
nb.e condition do not have the same opiho" as "
armor and battery and power ana speed ~ 10 ~"
mit,ed that to have large tonnages o'her oes"A"
elements must be sacrificed. Lord Brassey, o" ''''
subject said: 1T Is not possible TO combine IN
single vessel Of this character high speed grea'
thickness of armor the heaviest guns. great COAL
ing capacity and sufficient accommodations lot 'he
crew To combine these requirements 'ho 'eoe'
would have 10 be Of such extreme draught 'i'a' INC
number of harbors she could enter wouio DC N'n-
lted
the one that they would soon become obsolete lie
saws in another paper: while for battIeships
eighteen knots Is accepted as the NM, vi epce"'
and there is a marked tendency 10 resuc' o'sp'aoe
ment. cruisers Of constantly increasing speed arc
being constructed in imitation OF the fine mall ooa's
which perform the service between Engaho anu
N.uyork A cruiser which combines with Woe
radius OF action and high speed real power Vi
attack and resistance will be OF much more service
than a protected cruiser OF moderate dimehsioNS'
especially In these days when high explosives nave
10 b. reckoned With. 1nsufiiciency OF coa' Ell.
s,ra,co ,s q general defect In the battleships and
cruisers of all nations. A ship OF 10000 indicated
horsepower carrying 10 tons Of coal Is pracuca'v
limited within radius Of 700 miles from the coal
Ing station" (The pans OF the new patteships
provide for a normal supply Of ooo tons ony)
COURSE OF OTHER COUNTRIES.
. IN the desire to secure Individual superiority for
the battle-ships laid down for the British Navy
.var anv tvnes in construction elsewhere the Brit
sb Admiralty determined upon eight ships OF li.io
tons each With reluctance the French loHo"eu
he British, and planned for four l2vo'toh SHIPS
italy was severely criticised by naval experts TOT
CARRYING construction extreme dimensions ana
g. instead Of spending much on monster ba'tie-
,hps she had applied the money to the construc-
ton of armored rams and sea-keeping and mar
por-defence fotlla, she would have been stronger
N naval defences She has. however. abandoned
The construction Of monster battle-ships. one OF
from the results not being satisfactory, Is the de-
Vehement of the torpedo for war. including the
aficuty OF repelling tha attack OF torpedo-boa's
IN the smoke and confusion OF battle. One OF the
recent experiments with torpedo boats showed a
,Deed OF forty knots: there are numerous boats
having n speed OF thirty and thrty-two knots with
an effective range Of torpedo OF GO yards. or about
/ lf-m.le.
An officer OF the Navy. who has not only seen
many years OF service but has also been close
observer of the troubles between Chill and Peru,
Of the Brazil revolution and the japanese Chinese
war said to the reporter: The naval engineer and
constructor OF to-day not only has in mind strength
81 hull, speed and armament. but he is also con-
.antly endeavoring to increase the pro,ec'on ar,
quick and the machne-gun armament A
the sea; second. to catch It's opponents; third
when they are caught. TO fight them tnless Il
s defective The French have retained the lofty
bow. but for gunnery considerations TINS was
that t'i the low bows were a mistake, The low bow
means loss of speed. inferior seaworthiness and
TAKE The English bat,le-ship' those OF the Roya
f o hos on boad ana hS
freeboard; but they have one serious defect that o
largely BY hxing blge kees along their bottoms bu
with the result that their speed Is affected Tn
this respect: they have hatter bottoms. which make
then sssd b 1 hs os1eS S Of IN
bered tina: comparatively small roll = enough Z
expose the una!mOrtl part OF the null eSpeclaA,
that part opposite the magazines and the boilers
The question Of speed IS very important one.
speed that can be obtained and maintained sea
and not merely the nominal speed on the measure
mile. with forced draft selected coal and ex
pert force of men work the furnaces and max
steam To give this speed ships must have power
full boilers and strong engines for II these battle
chips cannot overtake adversary they can play n
decisive part in war
SOME FRENCH IDEAS
81 do no, want 10 be understood as advocating
battle-ship as the most effective vessel. for
am not committed so strongly TO this class OF ships
Here again, France seems 10 be ahead in nava
IDEAS OF eight battleships of 1900 to 1920 tons
which have as fine lines the English battle
ships and are greater in length for the ton