Birmingham state herald., 1896-01-12
HAIL. THE KENTUCKY ! Will Be Uncle Sam's Finest
 BattIeship. AWFUL FIGHTING MACHINE Should DefeatAny Warship in the World ia a Marine Dusl-The Kearsarge
 Twin Ship.

lovely women, it's wonderful horses, its extraordinary whisky it's dashing colo nels and a score of other rich possessions, and soon 1t will be in a position to add to all these treasures the finest battleship in Uncle Sams navy, and, for that mat ter in any of the navies of the world.
 No one should criticise the Blue Grass State if it pats itself upon the back over this new acquisition. The battleship Kentucky will be a credit to the nation If the plans of Secretary Herbert are faithfully carried out, for not even in the highly esteemed navy of Great Britain IS there any warship which could hold it's own with her in a marine duel.
 More modern features will be intro duced in the construction and armament of the Kentucky than in any warship of recent build. It will be the most destruc- tive fighting machine ever turned out by any country and will be a potent fac tor in commanding the respect of those forcing nations which have recently been sneering at the naval strength of Uncle Sam. What is more, the Kentucky will have sister batteship in the new Rear sarge, and the twins will make an invinc- ible pair of fighters
 The contract for building. these ships was recently given to the Newport News Ship Building company and work will
 
 detailed drawings and specifications of the navy department it is easy to show exactly how the Kentucky will look when equipped for either cruising or war. AL though the contractors have three years in which to complete her 1t is not prob able that 1t will require that length of time to build the battleship. Work will be carried on simultaneously on both the Kentucky and the Kearsarge, and it Is probable that they will be ready for lpnncbipfr at nna
 Secretary Herbert's Pride.
 Each of the ships will carry comple- ment of 500 men and officers. They are the first battleships designed under the administration of Secretary Herbert, who has been anxious that they should be without question the finest of their class; hence. all questions arising in their de- sign have been investigated carefully and fully, and advantage has been taken of the experience gained In the construc. ton of other battleships in the United States and elsewhere.
 There Is little probability, therefore, that either ship, when completed and in commission. will be found structurally weak or faulty in any respect. All the weights have been calculated carefully, and if the vessels draw more than 25 feet when loaded with full equipment, 1200 tons of coal and ammunition. some body will be held responsible for the er- TOT.
 
 seem rather short for their great beam, their length being 36S feet; extreme beam 72 feet 2 inches, freeboard forward IA feet 8 inches, freeboard aft 12 feet 4 inches, mean draught, with 40 tons of coal on board, 23 feet inches, which means displacement of II, ,500 tons.
 Their speed under full power will be about sixteen knots, or the same as that of the Indiana class. These ships will be the first of the larger vessels of the new fah ttA dAra r.tr 1axak 1<.I1 out no speed premiums, but penalties will be enforced for failure to make the speed called for in the contracts. The machinery is expected to develop 10000 horse power, and it will drive twin. screws
 Advantages of Light Draught.
 One of the requirements laid down by the secretary was that these vessels should draw less water, when fully load ed, than any other first-class battleship either in this country or elsewhere. The largest foreign ship draws about 2S feet, while the ships of the Indiana class will draw but 1 foot less. The new ships, however, have been designed to draw but 25 feet, with 1900 tons of coal aboard. They thus will be enabled to reach all of the principal navy yards and ports of the country and can be docked with less difficulty than those now building.
 Heaviest Possible Batteries.
 In deciding upon the batteries of the vessels there was much discussion whether the main turrets should be mounted with 13 or 12 inch guns. the ordnance officers holding out for the adoption of the larger caliber, while the constructors favored lighter guns, in ac- cordance with the policy of foreign gov ernments, which have prohibited guns of greater than 12-inch caliber on new yes sels. The secretary, however, in view of recent armor tests, which conclusively proved that a 12-inch shot was not capa- ble of piercing some of the heaviest plates under normal conditions selected the heavier guns, and four of these will be on the Kentucky, mounted in two tur- rets, fore and aft, over which will be second turrets. each carrying two eights. The waist fire will consist of fourteen h-inch rapid-fire rifles. while the second ary batteries will comprise twenty G. pounder rapid-fire, six 1-pounder and four machine guns. There will be also five torpedo tubes, two on each broadside and one in the stem. Two military tops. mounting machine guns, will complete the ships armament, which Is greater for a vessel of her displacement than that of any other vessel in the world. It is doubtful if any warship can deliver more metal at broadside than the Ken lucky will be capable of, and none will have the same ability for concentration of fire.
 The Armor Protection.
 
 main batteries the department has been careful to give a complete armor pro- lection from a distance of feet below uhe water line to the top of the 8-inch turrets. This arfmor, as we'll as all other used on the ships, will be of solid nickel Steel Hafveyizsd. The lower part of the protection. the barbette, so called. will have armor 15 inches thick, while the armor of the 13-inch turrets also will be 15 inches except immediately in front. where it will be IT inches. The armor protecting the S-inch guns will be 9 inches but that also will be inches thicker on the face of the turret. Tn ad- dttion to this enormous main battery there will be fourteen 5-inch guns mount ed on the main deck between the turrets and prot ected by continuous armor 6 inches thick.
 The protection of the hull against in- jury to the water line region will be effected by means of a side armor belt of a maximum thickness of 16H inches,