The San Francisco call., 1896-11-16
NEWS OF FOREIGN NAVIES.

The two cruisers to be built by Cramps and
the Union Iron Works for Japan will be
of the Yoshino type, built by the Arm
strong Company four years ago. They
will be OF 500 tons displacement and are
TO have speed of 81 knots with
1900 horse power. Their batteries will con.
sist of four S-inch breec ch-loading rifles, eight
5-inch rapid-fre guns and a secondary battery
of twelve 6-pounders, four 1-pounder rapid
firing guns and four gatlings. The cost will be
about 81 ,250, 600 for each. and call for COM
pletion within two years. Besides these two
cruisers the Armstrong; are 10 build dupli-
cate of the Yoshino and two frst-class Battle
ships. farrow will probably build five 15O-
ton 24-knot torpedo boats and several torpedo
boat destroyers, and Normann & Co. at Havre
are to have five 15O-ton torpedo boats. 1t is
also probable that Shichan at Elbing, Prussia,
will receive an order for five torpedo boats of
the types given TO Yarrow and Normann.
The torpedo-boat destroyer Sparrowhawk
of 240 tons. built by Laird for the British navy,
made an average speed during her three hours
trial of 30.56. At a recent three hours coal
consumption trial, under thirty-knot speed,
the horsepower 5000 ana the consump p
ton 2.49 pounds Welch coal per horsepower
per hour. At this rate, using six and two
thirds tons per hour, her coal supply of sixty
tons would enable the boat to steam 81 hours,
or 243 miles, at thirty knots per hour.
The BRUSH sloop Dolphin, built in 1882.
has been attached cons tantly for twelve years
TO the Mediterranean station, and has only
recently been ordered home to England for
overhauling and reftting.
The German navy estimates cover an ex-
penditure of between $40, OOO, 900 to $12, ,5oO,-
600 for completion of ships In hand and the
construction of one armored ship and two
cruisers. A new dock is 10 be built at Kiel.
| for which $250,OO0 is required as beginning
The present force of the Russian navy
consists of 32,477 men, including Ia ad.
mirais, 265 captains and commanders, 74s
commissioned officers, 90 warrant officers lO4
gunners, 241 navigators, 336 engineers. s
naval architects, 135 surgeons, 81 chaplains
16S stewards, 476 naval cadets and % $50
seamen.
The naval howitzer of 6-inch celiber is bein
experimen ted with in the French navy with
very satisfactory results. The Dragonne. a
torpedo gunboat of 395 tons, fired Ave shots
while at anchor and fi-e shots while under
way at land mark 5000 meters, or three
miles distant. Every one of the shells fell
| within a square of 400 meters, demonstrating
that fort under such circumstances would be
in a very serious predicament, while on the
other hand the craft at distance of three
miles would present but a very small target
| for the guns from the fort.
The tendency of modern war-vessels OF the
cruiser type is toward greatleDgth. The Power.
full and Terrible, in the British navy, are 53s
feet over all with II feet beam, and are OF
IA 200 tons displacement OF smaller cruisers
eight are now in course of construction in
England of IL 900 tons, with length of 435
feet In France the Jeanne dare. of IL .27o
tons, is 496 feet in length, and in Italy a
cruiser of 200 tons aud % knots speed will
DE 420 feet In length. In the United States
navy the Minneapolis and Columbia, of practi.
cally the same speed as the IL 900 and 10000
ton cruisers abroad. have only 7475 tons dis
| placement and are 412 feet in length.