The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1896-03-28
Tire new war SHIP IOWA
Something About the Vessel to Be
Launched Today.
FINEST or HER KIND AFLOAT
Her Four Great Guns Con Fling . Ton
and Q Half OF steel st on Enemy.
Largest Of Our Bat.
tic Ships.

Washington, March T.-The Iowa
will be launched at Philadelphia tomor-
row and when the largest of our first
class battleships will be just one big
step nearer to completion In view OF
the interest attaching to the Launching,
the following description of the Iowa.
by the Chicago Times-Herald. Will be
timely:
Appropriated for by act Of congress,
approved July 10. 1892, the work OF her
construction was awarded to William
Cramp & Sons on Feb. II, 1893, FOR the
contract price of $S.0lO,000. and on Aug.
S following her keel was laid. The ves-
sci has 1000 tons greater displacement
than her prototypes. the coast line bat
tleships Indiana. Massachusetts ana
Oregon. the difference being carefully
adapted to the betterment OF the later
craft, and she may be said to bear the
first impress Of possibilities suggested
by the Harveyizing armor process, a
method of manufacture by which the
face Of the steel is hardened to any
desired depth. thereby greatly increas-
ing it's defensive properties. The ship
Is $50 feet long, has maximum beam
| Of 72 feet 2ls inches. and Will draw,
when ready for sea, u trifie over tweh-
ty-seven feet of water. In all the sug-
gestive lightness of white paint. one
would hardly imagine her floating
mass OF l,4l0 tons Of steel but such
In fact, she will be when fully equipped
and prepared for service.
SHIELDING THE "VITALS."
The motive power and machinery Of
a ship aside from the guns and their
protection, are termed the "vitals," and
10 shield them from an enemy's fire Is
prime consideration. TO that end.
On the Iowa a water-line band of armor,
| ~ feet wide and IA inches thick. three
feet above and four and One-half feet
below the loadline, running forward
and aft for distance of 1S5 feet amid
| ship, offers broadside of protection.
The ends Of this belt are then Joined
| inboard by athwartship bulkheads IL
| inches thick, and resting like q roof
upon the four walls thus formed Is a
protective deck of steel 2% inches thick,
| strong enough to defect any shot pass
| ing In through the five-inch armOr
| which re-enforces the sides from the
| top OF the heavy band up to the main
| deck. Above this roof and extending
| to the sides are many feet of coal, so
wisely disposed that its presence may
| give added protection to the boilers.
engines and magazines that lie below
and within this box Of heavy steel.
| From the lower edges Of the thick cross
wise bulkheads, spreading from side to
side and running thence to the bow and
the stern, are two decks of 3-inch steel,
the forward one terminating at the
stem and forming the spine for the ram
beyond. COfferdams on each side and
forward and aft Of the vital region,
filled with cellulose. a substance SWELL
ing rapidly when wet and capable of
plugging automatically shot-holes ad-
hitting water, will give added protec-
ton to the parts less heavily shielded.
| Within the outer hull for a distance
Of 294 feet--the space occupied by the
vitals-there Is another or inner bot.
}, tom, extending up to the protective
deck or arnlored roof of this region
seeming. as 1t were, a smaller Graf,
cut off abruptly at each end and fitted
bodily within the larger vessel. The
space between this inner bottom and
the outside skin If divided into mum.
erOus water-tight cOmpartments-un.
der the control of powerful pumps hav.
| ing individual capacities of thousands
of gallons a minute. The entire inter.
ior of the ship is further cut up into
other, but larger, compartments thai
can be filled or drained at will to
quench a fire or to overcome a leak.
HER STEAM POWER.
Way down in the depths OF the craft
beneath the water and under the pro
tective deck and those tons and ton!
of coal. each in its own compartment
are five pOnderous boilers and two set:
of triple expansion engines, which mus
develop the power needful to drive thu
ship through the water at the rate o.
sixteen knots an hour. With baret
| breasts and arms q corps OF Coal-heav
ers and firemen will shovel fuel int
those thirty odd glaring mouths, ant
torment with long slicebars the fur
ious masses OF writhing flames, tina
the boilers may be goaded to theil
working pressure of 1G0 pounds unde
the added draught of numerous fans
Deft engineers and assistants vii
watch the intricate maze of pulsini
steam and water pipes, the lightnin,
strokes of shining piston-rods ant
crank shafts. and keep cool with ;
frothy emulsion Of oil and sea waite
the burdened journals and the immens'
thrust blocks that bear the push o
those driving engines. and transmi
that awful power to the movement o
the craft.
No less than hundred auxiliary en-
gines-steam. electrical, and hydraulic
will lessen the tax upon the muscula
energies Of the crew Of 450 souls; per
form tasks beyond the power Of tina
whole aggregation considered as a uni
Of energy. and add to the efficiency o
the craft by lifting and lowering tn
boats, raising the anchors, loading shot
shell and powder from their rooms be
low to the several gun stations. turn
ing the turrets. and swinging the grea
rudder from side to side against tn
pressure Of hundreds of tons of rushin!
water, and that at the merest pressur
of the lightest hand.
The exhausted steam is not wasted
but turned instead two large condens
ers, where. after wandering through
miles Of cooling pipes, Is turned out Il
the form of hot water ready for recon
sumption.
Steam will spread its cheerful glOy
throughout the living spaces and kea
them dry and warm under the hardes
weather conditions. and great blower
will send fresh air into the bilge an
coal bunkers and drive therefoT1n tn
noxlous fumes and gases that ma.
gather there. An electric plant will de
velop the light needed to she tn
refulgence Of hundreds and thousand
of candles within her darkest corner
or to guard without against sudden rs
sault ut night: distilers. with u dali