The record-union., 1896-11-22
THE PRIDE OF OUR NAVY.
AbleSt Coast Defender in All the
World
Is Our Monitor "The Puritan"
Some Details About Her
Strength.


any enemy, is now moored between the
two dry docks at the Brooklyn Navy
Yard. Her sides are painted white,
her powerful turret guns are IN posi-
sion and her military mast with rapid
fire guns aloft is carefully shrouded.
Naval officers who have watched the
progress made in the evolution of mod
ern naval architecture regard this novel
fighting monster with pride. No
wonder the old salts, and the young
ones, too, for that matter, have
christened her the Pride of the
American Navy"
With ships like the Puritan at the
entrance to this harbor,' said an officer
recently as he stood on the deck of
the monitor, the people of New York
never need be afraid that an enemy'S
ships will ever dare to pass inside of
Sandy Hook New York's commerce is
safe The Puritan is the ablest, grand
est, most powerful, best equipped fight
ing machine of the century"
Every officer and every Jack tar in
the Brooklyn Navy Yard, from Com
modore Sicard, the commandant of the
home station, down to the youngest
midshipman, and from the chief boat
swain's mate down to the afterguard
sweeper, feels a lively interest in the
Puritan The monitor is about COM
pieted and 1t is expected that the Navy
Department will issue an order Within
few days directing the commandant
of the navy yard to put her in COM
mission and to hoist from her flagstaff
over the stern the stars and stripes,
at the same time displaying from her
main truck the broad pennant Of her
first commanding officer.
Although no official assignment to
the command of the Puritan has as yet
been announced it is generally under
stood that Secretary of the Navy Her
bert has selected Captain John r.
Bartlett, as thorough a sailor as ever
walked the quarter deck of a frigate,
to command.
The Puritan was begun in 1875, at
the shipyard of the late John Roach, at
Chester, Pa. She is 2S6 feet 6 inches
long, with 60 feet ~ inches greatest
breadth and a draught of water of IS
feet. Her displacement is 6,06O tons.
The Puritan carries four 12-inch
hreech-loading guns in two turrets; six
4-inch rapid fire guns protected by
armor shields and sponsons; two g.
FOUNDER rapid fire guns on the bridge
the superstructure deck, and two
1-pounder rapid fire guns which are
mounted in the military top aloft
You couldn't put another big gun
aboard her." said a naval officer, 'if
YOU tried. She actually bristles with
modern fighting guns. But won't she
roll in a heavy sea way"
There are two big turrets on the
Of I'D a,sl
and both can be revolved easily by
hydraulic power, SO that a rapid fire
can be maintained in almost any di-
rection. The turrets known as the
Hitchborn turrets, make it possible to
raise the guns to a hight of 10 feet D
inches above the water line. These
turrets do not project down through
the deck as do those in the Miantono-
nah, but the lower part. Or barbette, Is
secured to the deck, forming a water
tight wall around the base of the tur-
ret to a hight of 51a feet above the
deck. The upper part Of the turret
containing the guns is made to revoive
above this barbette just referred to,
and has inclined sides which make it
appear something like a gigantic rivet
head. Both the upper and the lower
by heavy plates of steel armor, the lat
ter being IA inches thick while the in
clined sides of the upper part present
but a small target and are very diff
cult of penetration by the shot Of an
enemy
The turret guns weigh AZ tons each
and can throw steel S50-pound shell
a distance of fifteen miles. A 800
= L.
fire each ball.
The hull itself is protected by an
amor belt ; feet Z inches deep IA
inches in thickness to point below the
water line from which it tapers to 6
inches at the armor shelf. This belt
extends $50 feet along the middle part
of the ship, protecting engines. boilers,
magazines and shell rooms. Immedi-
ately forward and aft Of this belt the
armor is reduced in thickness to 10
inches for distance of 20 feet, and is
further reduced to a thickness of 6
inches at the ends of the ship.
The armor is strongly supported by a
wood backing and a system Of rigid
frames and girders. The main deck is
covered by steel plating inches thick.
The ship viii carry $50 tons of coal in
Before the Puritan's ar1nor was put
in position 1t was carefully tested. In
February, 1894, a plate eighteen feat
long, six feet wide and fourteen inches
thick, tapering to six inches. was tested
at the proving grounds at the Bethle-
hem CPa) Iron Company's works
Two shots from a ten-inch gun We're
fred at it a distance of 800 feet. Car
penter projectiles, weighing 500 pounds
each. were used. The velocity was
] .3S1 and $50 feet, respectively. The
penetration of the first shot was II LIP
inches and that of the second 13E
inches. There was no radiating cracks
from the point of impact, and the back
ing showed no disturbance. The test
was eminently satisfactory and the re-
suit was the acceptance Of the armor by
the Government.
Then, again, the Puritan is so con-
structed that her bulkheads can be
filed with water, causing her to sink
so that her deck would remain but a
few inches above the water. The mon
Eor iss provided with eight boilers,
which are fitted with appliances for
forced draugh. She has twin screws,
with engines of the horizontal COM
pound type capable of developing 300
horse power with natural draugkr.
which VIII develop a speed OF twelve
knots, while with forced draught she
Will develop nearly 5000 horsepower
and a speed of more than thirteen knots
All the machinery aboard the Puritan
was tried a week ago and found in ex-
cellent working order.
~ ,7a