The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1895-02-09
1T 10 A PEERLESS SHIP.
Superiority Of the Indiana Over the
Magnificent

DlnCe DtC' 10, Wutu INC low h'oe
class barbette battleship Magnificent
of the British navy was launched at
Chatham dock yard, the experts on
shipbuilding of all countries have
devoted good deal OF time in COM
menting upon and criticising the
new vessel.
They have almost without excep-
ton used the French ship Sardegna
and the American battleship Indi-
ana as their standards OF compare
son, though some have used the bat.
tleships Re Umberto Of Italy and
the Royal Sovereign OF Great Brit
ain.
Even the English constructors
who have spoken of the Magnificent
have agreed that the enthusiastic
English constructor who stated that
the Magnificent was the most power
full vessel anoat, was wrong, and al
most without exception they point
to the Indiana, now building by
Messrs. Cramp Of Philadelphia, as
one superior to the Magnificent.
The Indiana is not yet afloat, but
before summer she will be flying her
commission pennant and some Amer
lean naval officers say that she will
be worthy Of the title that the Eng
lishmen bestowed on the Magnifi.
cent-that is, "the most powerful
vessel anoat"
As matter OF fact a comparison
Of the respective merits OF the Mag
nifcent aud the Indiana appears un-
just to the latter, for the Indiana
was designed and contracted for in
President Harrison's administration,
and the appropriation for the Mag
nificent was not made by parliament
until 1893, and so the latter has
every reason to be, and is, more mo.
dern than her American rival.
Leaving aside, however, the i'm
provements Of the last few years for
comfort OF officers and men and the
little details of mechanism, aud
viewing the Indiana and Magnificent
purely as engines OF war, the Indi-
ana is, in the opinion of shipbuild-
ers, the better vessel of the two.
The principal dimensions OF the
Magnificent are: Length between
perpendiculars, 800 feet; length over
all, 42O feet. Her extreme breadth
is Is feet; the vessels mean draught
is 27i feet. The displacement is a.
800 tons.
In the matter OF engines, the Brit
ish ship has our triple expansion en-
gines, which, with their twin screws,
are supposed to develop a speed un-
der natural draught of sixteen and
one half-knots and under forced
araught from seventeen aud one
half knots. Her coal-carrying capa-
city is $4,000 tons.
Armor and battery are the things
upon which the claim OF superiority
are based, and they are certainly
better than any ship ever before
built in foreign shipyards. 1t is in
the matter Of the armor and battery,
however, that the designers OF the
Indiana have been most particular,
and they say that the Indiana is far
SUPERIOR to her English rival.
The Magnificent mounts 70, 7
twenty two inch breech loading
rifles, twelve six-inch rapid fire, six
teen twelve FOUNDER rapid fire, and
twelve three pound rapid fire guns,
or forty-four guns in all.
Out OF this battery the Magnif-
cent can fire eight guns either ahead
or astern, and with these eight guns
. she can throw 1859 pounds OF metal
Here the Indiana's superiority is
demonstrated. Her battery consists
of four thirteen-inch breech- loading
rifles, eight S.inch breech-loading
rifles, four six-inch and twenty six.
FOUNDER rapid-fre guns, making in
all thirty-six guns, or eight less than
the Magnificent.
With these, however, she can
throw 1881 pounds of metal either
ahead or astern, which is 1926
pounds more than the English bat
tleship can throw.
In the matter OF firing abeam the
Indiana's superiority is demonstrat'
ed by the fact that with twenty-foul
guns the Magnificent throws but
1915 pounds; the American ship
with four guns less, throws 566t
pounds, or 2095 pounds more thar
the Englishman's pride.
IL requires thIeo MINUTES uuuo,
battle conditions to fire one round
from a twelve or thirteen inch gur
and the ships would be just equa
on this point, but in three minute!
the American could throw 537t
pounds either ahead or astern anC
the English ship could only throw
4494 pounds.
Firing abeam as fast as possible
with all available guns the Indian,
could throw 1858 pounds, while thu
Magnifcent's score would be bu