The evening times., 1896-09-12
Navy Department to Open Bids
for Warships Monday Nex..
NAMES OF THE NEW VESSELS
It's Proposed to Ch risten Them Cal
tfoPnia," Alabama" and 'Fennsyl-
vania"-The Cost Must Not Exceed
$3,5OO,OOO-Five Great Firms win
Compete for the Work.

| sea-going coastline battleships, for which
Congress provided by act OF June o last,
limiting the cost, exclusive OF armament
to not more than $3,750,O0O.
One Of the vessels is to be built on the
Pacific coast, provided a reasonable bid
be received, and Congress specifically
stipulated that the award be made AMI
contracts signed by October 8.
Five firms have taken a reniarkabl in
ferest in the plans, and proposals are ex-
| pected from the Cramps, at Philadelphia,
the Scots at San Francisco, the Bath Nc,
Iron Works, the beNewportNews Company and
John Dialogue at Camden, N. j., the latter
firm niaking its first appearance as COM
petitors for such large work. Proposals
are requested either on the plans OF the
department, or such notifications as the
builders choose to suggest, adEering in the
latter case to certain specified require
ments imposed by the Naval Construction
Bureau
These vessels are combinations of the hest
features OF the Iowa and "Kearsarge'
types, modified by such advances and i'm
proyements as experience has suggested
most desirable. Their general dimensions
and principal features are:
Length on load water line 36S feet:
beam, extreme. 72 feet 2.5 inches; free
board, forward, 10 feet, SO inches; free
board, aft. g feet, inches: normal dis
placement, .525 tons; mean draft, nor
mai displacement, % feet. s inches, indl-
Gated horsepower testimatedl, 10000;
speed in knots an hour (cstimatedl, 10
knots; normal coal supply, 500 tons; total
bunker capacity, l 200 tons.
THE BATTERY.
The main battery consists OF four 13-incil
and fourteen 6-inch rapid-fire breech- load
ing rifles, and the secondary battery of
seventeen 6-pounder, and four 1-pounder
rapid-fire guns, four machine guns, and oIc
field gun.
The four above-water torpedo tubes are
placed two ON each broadside, amidsbips.
and will fire through an arc OF 60 degrees.
The tiiirteen-ineh guns are mounted In
pairs in two balanced, barbette turrets, and
will have an arc OF fire of 270 de grees each
The turrets and barbettes will be Of Har-
ve.ized armor. fifteen inches thick, aug
mented on the slanting faces by two more
inches
Within an armored citadel OF steel. six
inches thick, on she upper deck amidsbips.
there will he two OF the six-inch rifles On
each side, firing through an arc OF 160 de-
grees.
On the main deck below, behind the case.
mate arnior amidshps, there Will be a
brua,lside battery o. four more Of these Sic
incl, guns, firing through an arc o. forty
five degrees, and each gun station pro
tectcd from the other by one and one-half
inches splinter bulkheads-
Forward. of the battery, on each side, pro-
tected By six inches of arInor, and having
similar sweep OF fire, there will be two
isolated six-inch rifles.
The secondar v battery is distributed on tie
main deck forward, the berth deck aft. aud
on the bridges and in the tops where calcu-
lated to give the most effective fire against
torpedo boats. light craft, and unprO-
tected parts of the enemy.
THE HULL'S PROTECTION.
The protection OF the hull against in
Jury to the water-line region will be
effected by means OF n side armor belt
of a maximum thickness OF 16 1-2 inches,
with a mean depth of Z 1-2 feet, SO
disposed in reference to the normal load
line of the vessel that 4 feet of the belt
will be submerged. This belt will extend
from the stem just abreast the after
barbette, and will maintain its maximum
thickness from the after barbette forward
to the forward barbette, whence it will
gradually taper to inches at the stem.
From the top of the side belt up to the
upper deck and throughout the region
occupied by the nidship battery of 6-inch
guns the sides will be re-enforced by 1-2
inches of hardened steel, backed below the
Il ba1t rf r,iti co1 1lu1nsn
and bunkers full of coal.
Athwartship bulkheads tw elve inches
thick, will run inboard to tile barbettes from
each end OF the thickest part OF the side
armor; and on top of the four walls SO
formed by the side armor and athwartship
bulkheads a fiat protective deck 2 81
inches thick will rest. Below and within
the space embraced by this heavy box OF
steel will be placed the engines, boilers.
and shell rooms.
slan;iDg decks, running from the top OF
the heavy athwartship bulkheads to the
stem and stern, will form the continuation
OF the flat protective deck. Forward, this
deck will be three inches thick, aft. an
inch heavier.
The propeiling engines will be composed
of two trippie-expaDsion sets, each in its
own water ii ght htcompartment,h having cylin-
ders of 80. 8, 81 and 7s inches in diameter.
with common stroke of forty eight inches
LIGHTED BY YELECTRICITY.
Eight large, single-ended boilers in four
water ii ght compartments will supply steam
at a working pressure of $50 pounds; and
forced -draught will be maintained oy
blowers in each fire room
naI Ifsr,t to1 " a1QCfricitV and
drained and ventilated by steam;. and sew
eral scores of auxiliary engines will lessen
the manual tax upon the crew OF 500
persons.
Wood will be used as little as possible; ana
where used will be re-proofe dby proceeds
Of tried efficiency.
There will be two fighting stations. Tnat
Just below the pilot house and abaft the FOR
ward turrett will be ofsteel. teninches thick;
the other. Immediately aft the mafnmast
ind within the superstructure, will be OF
steel, six inches thick. Electrical signals
on each mast will do1ble the chances against
accident in battle.
Unlike the Kcarsarge and Kentucky, Nos
z, g and are devoid of the double-deck
turrets and their superposed batteries OF
8-inch guns. The board in charge OF TINS
matter deemed that weight more ad-
disposed in the shape Of
heavy battery of 6-inch guns and greater
normal coal supply.
No premiums are offered for increased
speed. but a penalty at the rate OF $25. 600
a ouarter.knot is imposed for the first half
knot below the maximum requirements Of
sixteen knots.
1t is proposed to christen these ships
California. Alabama and Pennsylvania.