New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1896-04-26
tw1FTEST OF HER CLASS
rxn1n TRIAL RUN OF THE BATTLE
SHIP MASSACHUSETTS.

-r COVERED A 62-KNOT COURSE Al AN ANIr'-
SPEED OF 1915 KNOTS AN HoUR-HER
premium s1Oo0Oo-NOTHING EQUAL
TO HER IN ANY OTHER
..or April 25-In her official trial trip to-
49,, the battle-ship Massachusetts covered the
~-.r.,uo knots of the official Government course
= bours so minutes and % seconds, making
nogniacent average speed for the four hours
s,e,s knots an hour. speed which places her
" ,,s very front Of the ships of her class IN all
- 50 ,.ves of the world. The average speeo Oh
~ ~. Nossachusetts was over half Knot greater
49, that Of her sister ship, the Indiana, when
15N knots on her official trial Inc CON-
... ~ the Cramps with the Government Calls
y. bonus Of s25,O0O for every quarter-knot
"a. nv the ship above fifteen, and by her per-
-,,orcs to-day she earned for her builders
.,rr, 'O. of 100000 The manner in which the
n.chipery worked was as satisfactory as the
speed developed ,,d
u-uh their usual good luck the Cramps had
r,r the trial in which the weather condi-
49,. and the sea were perfect. 1t was beaut-
a.', clear and the light sailing breeze which
.,.r had only sufficient weight in 1t occasionally
r,,n the top of the little seas that were run
ming. ..,rt,,, no
o,o,ock and steamed slowly up the har-
WV IT, ,ucs filled with members OF the
49,, hoard and invited guests, met the vessel
,,o,ock Among those aboard the tugs
-. covernor Wolcott several members OF his
..s ord Henry W Cramp treasurer OF the
90 curanv After receiving the trial
-, ord the guests aboard the Massachusetts
hor, and steamed ahead at hree-Quarter
.nAad down the harbOr.
D,rrg the run TO Cape Ann tn big ventila-
.. ursre turned forward and tn blowers far
damn in the bowels Of the ship beg n to suck air
,oross the fires in the furnaces. So much steam
ras made that the usual crcling about before
crossns the line was dispensed with. and Pilot
Lewis Chambers headed straight up the course
WHERE THE COURSE LAY.
The course was from Cape Ann to Boon ISL
and of the Maine coast The distance is thirty
.ra rnots and II was marked off in equal periods
nv six can buoys At each buoy was stationed
a Government vessel In the following order: The
revenue cutter Dallas the Katahdin, the New
York Navy Yard tug Nina. the Boston Navy
Yard tug Iwana the revenue cutter Woodbury.
and the lighthouse tender Fern.
As the Massachusetts, neared the Dallas the
rad hag which denotes that trial is on was run
10 her masthead Edwin S. Cramp dived below,
ond reanneared on deck in q moment with his
lucky trial-trip hat on.
The ship passed the first buoy at S:bl:4S AS
she rushed by the Dallas. with a great bone
In her teeth the cutter lowered her flag In salute
and blew good luck with her whistle. steam just
at this time was too precious to waste on sea
courtesies With scarcely a vibration OF her
decks from her throbbing engines, the racer
steamed up the course. The other stakeboats
were passed in the following order: No. 2
i0I6:35; No 8, 103909la; No. 4, 1102:llh; NO. o,
N2sl5; No. 6. 1l:47:45. The average speed IN
knots between the buoys was 1874. 1874. ISL. lo4
and 1z3 which made the average for the up run
i64 knots
The tide was running with the ship. but what
little advantage she may have gained from this
was counter balanced by the wind. which was
dead ahead On the run from Cape Ann TO Boon
Island the Indiana averaged only 1o4 Knots, ana
her maximum speed was 1904.
The Massachusetts passed the Fern on her re-
turn run to Cape Ann at 12O3l4. The run back
was full of excitement, as it seemed certain that
the Massachusetts, would exceed her contract
speed by fully knot. The anxiety Of those
aboard was directed toward the engine-room. If
any mishap or breakdown occurred there. 1t
meant the loss Of thousands OF dollars Chlel
Engineers Towne Patterson and Johnson
watched the engines with the closest attention.
and streams Of water and oil were poured over
bearings and journals.
A FINAL BURST OF SPEED.
Twenty minutes before the finish line was
crossed word was sent to the engne-room that
the trial was nearly and that the ship was
to be driven for all she was worth. The steam
pressure increased as the firemen shovelled coal
into the furnaces and the ship Jumped and
quivered from end 20 end under the vibrations OF
the screws
The finish line was crossed at 157:3511. The
Massachusetts, emitted one long triumphant blast
from her whistle and cheer after cheer went up
nom her decks. On the run back she averaged
H26 knots which brought up her average speed
i0 the four hours TO 1916. The time IN passing
The sakeboats on the return was as follows:
The Fern. 12:03:l4 the Woodbury., 12:24:o9 the
Iwara l249:lS: the Nina, 1:12:47; the katahdin'
1888, and the Dallas, 1:57 :35l2.
The time consumed in the up and down runs
was hours 90 minutes and % seconds. The
speed between the stakeboats on the trip to Cape
Ann was as follows 1876 1873, 1885, 164 and l6s
an average OF 1925 knots. The average run OF
.he inolana on this course was Il 9S, and her
maximum speed was $3.50. The total time con-
and 2S seconds
Inc maximum revolutions of the screw to-day
We ~eie 100 ana the steam pressure varied from
1oo 10 100 pounds. The horsepower developed
~ "c given, even approximately, nut
1t was over 10000
a.. Inc success Of the trial put every one board
M M happy frame Of mind, and Edwin Cramp |
nj Sr. lo"he and Lewis Nixon, the designer of the |
W Ws', were Kept busy receiving congratulations. |
80. NiaOh was particularly pleased with the re-
AL AL - IL demonstrated fully the merit of his de-
d,,,s ne Is confident that, under similar con- !
Indss. now that her bottom Is cleaned the |
did to-day. do wei aS '"e ""SSa'""Se'''
TALK WITH HER BUILDER.
uu"in s. Cramp in speaking of the results.
~ ihe trial to-day makes the Massachu- |
,s. ana consequently the Indiana. class abso- |
y. e" unrivallei among roncads Of the world. |
"aS already conceded that her offensive and |
.sns'Ve qualities were superior TO all Others, |
cn",s ~ only needed this trial TO prove that she |
carry these powers into action at a speed |