Cottonwood report. [volume] (Cottonwood, Idaho) 1893-1901, 1896-04-03

vision Tor one sea-golE
about 5000 tons dist
exclusive of armsf
miums. not more Il
details OF. -1f1e constirS
in the htnds Of Chief ConstfSs1
sofieand Engineering Chief Melville, -
famous arctic explorer.
Excepting her armor, the Iowa is
cunning structural evolution of steel
plates and angles, in all the delusive
lightness of white paint. She is 800 feet
long and 70 feet wide, drawing "a feet
of water Her weight is 11,410 tons, Sllo
of which is wisely distributed In the
shape of armor protection varying IN
thickness from IA inches along the wa
ter line and sides, 5iA and Is around
the guns, 2% and over the vitals--as
the engines, boilers and magazines are
called-to 10 about the fighting position
or coming tower, just above and abaft
the forward large turret.
ARMAMENT.
The Iowa carries but Is guns. but
such guns! Four of them In the two
large turrets peering out through 10
inch walls of hardened Steel PROOF
against the sharpest drills, are 12-inch
breech- loading rifles, firing combined
| mass of 3400 pounds of tempered steel.
From the four smaller turrets, each OF
which houses two eight-lnch rifles, can
| be discharged shells of $50 pounds each,
capable of penetrating eight inches OF
steel two miles away, with a possible
| range of one mile for every inch of cal
| iber. From any one of the Iowa's five
| tubes torpedo can be discharged, bear
| ing 120 pounds of gun cotton. and speed
| ing on it's errand of demolition at the
| rate of 80 miles an hour. No ship, past
or present, could withstand that blow
if fairly struck
Away beneath the water, the protec-
| tive deck Of steel and many feet OF
coal, go roaring furnaces will develop In
! those five ponderous boilers a constant
pressure of 100 pounds to the square
inch. Two separate triple-expansior
engines, one on each shift, will consti-
tute the motive mocha nisms of the ship
while auxiliary engines, for hundred
purposes, will reduce the tax upon the
| crew and add to the efficiency of the
craft by lifting and lowering the boats
and stores, raising the anchors, load
ing the coal, discharging the ashes
pumping and draining the various com
partments, bringing the shot, shell anC
powder from the storerooms and maya
zines to the gun stations, and turning
the turrets, and, but for the guiding
hand, manual labor is practically need
less.
The captain no longer stands thu
inspiring center of his officers and al
| 1T
housed within the shelter of his con
ming tower of 10-inch steel. Steel within
this citadel, and there, upon its curved
walls, are speaking tubes, mechanical
telegraphs, electric buttons, and steer
ing gear, all leading below through
an armored tube on their several mis-
sions of communication and control. !
pressure of one of those tiny button
will start a mass Of steel and powde
from those mighty guns, or, perhaps
let lose a destructive torpedo on a silen
errand of death; or, again, at signal
the massive machinery will begin t
turn, and presently, when the grea
engines have reached a maximum O
112 revolutions minute and churn wit
the two 16-foot screws, the water af
with an energy of 1000 horsepower
the great ship, mass of 11,410 tons
will force herself and an equal bulk c
water at the rate of 16 knots an houl
To stand in her way ana stop her, ther
means to take blow of 10000 foot-ton
from her murderous ram, before whic
the toughest armor must bend Xix
meadow grass in summer storm.
With her bunkers filled with 1900 ton
of coal, she could steam, at a 10-knC
rate, for 81 days and cover distance {
1000 miles, and at full speed, would hav
a radius of action of 5000 knots in 81
DAYS time