New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-03-05
THE INDIANA A SUCCESS.
NAVAL. BOARD OF INSPECTION DLlLGhTED
WITH THE FIGHTING QUALITIES OF
THE BIG BATTI.EsFIIP

WITH TIE ~ Nihi'E" ~
THE BIG BATTT.EsTIIP.
Washington. March (speciaD.-A powerful float
ing fort is the Indiana. This In brief Is the report
OF the Naval Board OF Inspection which recently
tested the new big battleship commanded by
Fighting Bob" Evans The inspection Of the ship
was a thorough one and covered several days. oo;h
while the vessel IN harbor and at sea The
harbor Inspection related more particularly to the
appearance OF the ship her officers and crew. mat
tiers OF discipline and points concerning her condi-
ton as 10 contract requirements generally. Stated
in a sentence the ship was found to be In highly
satisfactory state with respect to material and per
sonnet few slight adverse criticisms were made
by the Board. but Of consequence or That can
not be readily overcome without much expense or
loss OF time In all essentials the country's frst
batte-ship IL q big success as a powerful hghtihg
ship OF extraordinary manoeuvring quality.
The most important part OF the Boards report
refers 10 the trial OF the Indanas guns AT sea In
a battle-ship the battery Is the principal point OF
course and 10 this feature the Board devoted es-
pecial attention. Questions have arisen In re'atoh
TO the location OF the ships guns noticeaby those
bearing on the recent dispute between the experts as
TO whether men the thrteen-inch turret could
withstand the blast OF the after and forward eight
inch rifles The Board looked carefully into all
such questions The huge thirteen-inch guns
worked satisfactorily. full charges Of powder being
used They were fired in various directions. ana
from all points the results were the same. The
roar Of tho explosion was tremendous. the strain
on the carriage and turret terrific, but nothing
gave way On the contrary, the mechanism work"l
evenly and rapidly and he strength OF this part OF
the ship more than met expectations. The turning
Of the turret was smooth and steady. Members OF
the Board stood within the turret when the guns
were fired and say that nothing seems TO be desred
in the way OF improvemen
Next followed a test OF the light s-inch guns
10 which especial attention was given, OWING TO
their location and the fear that they could not DE
nred over the I3-inch gun turret. The guns
carriages and turret made an excellent SHOWING
except in one parcular-they cannot be hred deah
ahead nor can they be fired over the l3-nch turrcN
Captain Sampson said to-day that the guns "e,,s
trained forward much as he thought tney 'ouiu
be He has believed the guns could De nf'd
i'm n straight line forward without seriously inter
fering with the working Of the crew In the il"
inch gun turret He has counted on me blast
OF the 8-inch rifles being too great In the tests
Il was found that the guns could readily be framed
70 degrees forward OF the beam and an equai as
rance abaft IT, That is TO say. the range OF hre or
the four sets OF s-inch guns Is 40 degrees. only
IN degrees less than half circle
While the guns were tested Captain bradford stood
I'm the forward 13-nch turret He felt the blast or
tho smaller guns from the first round. but II grew
more distinct, uncomfortable. rather. as the
uuzzes OF the s-nch guns got nearer the heavier
gun ttIrrets When the S-inch guns were pointing
in direction degrees from the thick turres the
cantain withdrew. II is his opinion that they
should not be fired with their muzzles closer than