The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1896-09-12
new BATTIESHIPS.
Bids to Be Opened on Mons
day for Three avail
Leyiathans.
ENGINES AND BATTERIES
To Be the Best Of Their Class
AfOat-california, alabalha
and Pennsylvania.


WASHINGTON, Sept. 12, 1sss-on
Monday next, Septenbers14s bids VIII be
opened at the Navy Department for three
powerful sea-goiRg coast line battlesn5ps
for which Congress provided by act Of
June 10 last, limiting the eost. exclusive
ofsarmament, TO NOT more than s.. 2;o. 90.
One Of the vessels Is to be built 5A the
Pacific coast provided a reasonable bid be
received, and Congress specifically stlpu-
lated that the award be made and con-
tracts signed by Oetober-S.
Five firms have taken remarkable in
terest in the plans. and proposals are ex-
pected from The Cramps at Philadelphia,
the Scots at San Francisco, the Bath
(Maine) Iron Works, the Newport News
Company, and John Dialogue, at Camden.
N. J., the latter firm making its first ap-
pearance as competitors for such large
work. Proposals are requested either on
the plans of the Department, or such
notifications as the builders choose to
suggest, adhering in the latter case to
certain specified requirements imposed by
the Naval Construction Bureau
These vessels are combinations of the
best features Of the Iowa and the Kear-
sarge types, modified by such advances
and improvements as experience has sug-
gested as most desirable
Their general dimensions and principal
features are:-Length on load water line,
1868 feet; beam, extreme, Y 2.5 feet; free
board, forward, 1s es feet; free board.
aft, 1876 feet; normal displacement, II rs
tons; mean draft, normal displacement.
23.6 feet; indicated horse power (esti-
nated), 10000: speed IN knots an hour
(estimated), 10 knots; normal coal supply.
500 tons, and total bunker capacity, Ice
tons.
The main battery consists of four 1s-
inch and fourteen 6-inch rapid fire breeeh-
loading rifles, and the secondary battery
of seventeen 6-pounder and four 1-pound-
er rapid fire guns, four machine guns and
one field gun.
The four aboye-water torpedo tubes are
placed two on each broadside, a1nidships,
and will fire through arc Of sixty degrees
The 1s-ineh guns are mounted in pairs
in two balanced, barbette 4urrets, and
viii have an arc of FIRE of 30 degrees
each. The turrets and barbettes VIII be
of Harveyized arnor fifteen inches thick.
augmented on the slanting faces by two
more incfes.
Within an armored citadel of steel sin
inches thick. on the upper deck an4Id-
ships, there win be two of the six inch
rifles on each side. firing through arc OF
100 degrees.
On the main deck below behind the
easemate armor amidsbips, there VIII De
a broadside battery of four more of these
six-ineh guns. firing through arc of forty
five degrees. and each gun station proteet-
ed from the other by one and one-half
inch splinter bulkheads.
Forward of this battery, one on each
SIDE protected by six inches OF arnor,
and having a similar sweep of fire. there
wall be two Isolated six-inch rifles.
The secondary battery is distributed on
the main deck forward. the berth deck
aft, and on the bridges and in the tops
where calculated to give the most ef-
fective fire against torpedo boats. light
enemy.
The protection of the huh against Injury
to the water line region will be effscted
by means of wide armor belt of a
maximum thickness of sixteen and one
halr inches, with a mean depth of seven
ana one-nalf feet, 50 disposed in refer
that four fet of the belt viii be sub
merged This belt will extend from the
stem TO just abreast the after barbetto
whence it VIII taper gradually to four
inches at the stem.
From the top of the side belt to the
upper deck ana throughout the region
occupied by the midship battery of six
inch guns, the sincs will be reinforced
by 5l2 inches Of hardened steel, hacked
below the main deck. by a belt Of corn
plth cellulose and bunkers full of coal
Athwartship bulkheads twelve inches
thick, viii run larboard to the barbettss
from each end of the yhickest part of the
Tffal T-rrt4a es nd Alz-@ -
so formed by the SIDE armor and a1hwar-t-
ship bulkheads g fat protective-deck two
and three-fourths inches thick, vii rest
Below and within the space enbFzhed
by this heavy Box OF steel viii be placad
the engines, boilers magazines and shelf
rooms.
the heavy athwartship bulkheads to the
stem and stern Will form the ccntiua-
ton of the fat protective deck. For
ward, this deck win be three inches
thick aft. an inch heavier
The propelling engines VIII be composed
of two triple expansion. sots, each in its
own water-tight compartment having
sylinders of 3s-5. 81 and rs inches in diam
eter, with a common stroke of IS inches
Eight large single-ended boilers in four
water-tight compartments win supply
steam at a working pressure of $50 pounds
and foreed-draught win be maintained by
blowers in each 6re-room
The ships win be lighted by electricity
and drained and ventilated by steau7
will lessen the manual tax upon the crew
Of five hundred persons.
Wood VIII be used as little as possi-
bic, and where used win be fire-prpofed
by a process of tried efficiency
There VIII be two fighting stations. That
Just below the pilot house and abaft tass
forward turret viii be of steel ten inches
thick. the other, immediately aft the
mainmast and within the superstructsire
will be of steel six inches thick, Elcc-s
trical signals on each mast will double
the chances against accident in battle
Unlike the Kearsarge and Kentuclxys
numbers. Z, and are devoid of the
double-deck turrets and their superposed
batteries of S-inch guns. The Board m
charge of this matter deemed that weight
more advantag geously disposed in t1a
shape OF a heavy battery of six inch
guns and a greater normal coal supply
No premiums are offered for increased
speed; but penalty at the rate of s25e10
a quarter knot Is imposed for the first
half-knot below the maximum require-
ments OF sixteen knots.
1t is proposed to christen these ships