The San Francisco call., 1897-07-12
NE WS OF FOREIGN NAVIES.

There is but q slight difference between the
price paid tor heavy armor in the British navy
as compared with the amount paid III the
United States navy. The armor for the seven
battle-ships oil the Royal Sovereign class aver
aged 81 300 900 for each ship, while Tor the
our ships OF the Majestic class the price Is.
ST. ,463, $50 for each ship. Carnegie and the
Bethlehem will receive So, 122 7l0 for the
armor for the battle-ships Alabama and Kear-
sarge,
Bad luck seems to follow m any OF the rece t
French war vessels. The battle-ship IL che
has never been able 10 come up TO her in
tended speed, and as last resort the box.
boilers will be taken out and replaced with
water-tube boilers. The Fleurus is in o SINH
lar fix, and the boilers will be rejected for
Belleville boilers. The cruiser D'Assas is re-
ported to draw more water than intended,
and, as a natural consequence, her stability is
very much impaired.
The Caramaru, a torpedo-cruiser for Brazil,
is building at kiei. She is one of three sister
vessels OF 255 feet 6 inches length, 20 feet 6
inches beam, and dis placement of 1880 tons
on feet 8 inches draught. Their armame t
Of quick-fring guns will comprise two 4-ineh
six 6-pounders and four 3pounders, and each
vessel will have two 1s-inch torpedo-tubes
Besides these three torpedo-cruisers al Kiel,
one torpedo-boat is building al Elbing, Prus-
sia, and two river monitors at Rio Janeiro.
In the German navy the use of wood in the
constr uetion and outfit of ships has been re-
dueed to the smallest possible minimum. No
wooden decks are laid, but the steel deck is
covered with linoleum sometimes over a layer
of cork. The crews quarters have no ceiling
whatever, and n the officers staterooms the
ceiling is OF steel less than one-sixteenlh of an
inch in thickness and lined with cork All
ladders and steps are made of steel, as are The
charthouses and Captains rooms on the bridge,
Ofthe furniture, however, no substitute has yet
been found for wood for making bureaus, tables.
chairs. etc. Aluminium was tried without su c.
cess, and now only the bedsteads are made OF
metal. France was the first naval power to
recognize the Importance of excluding wood
as much as possible on board ships, and as far
back as 1882 doors and s.ateroom partitions
were made of metal. The lessons from the
apanese-Chinese naval engagements proved
that the French had anticipated years ago
where all the other naval powers are now
making up for lost time.
Japan's navy is being rapidly increased, but
chiefly fr ON foreign yards, at which the fol.
towing ships are under construction
Shikishima, pattleship of ID, 5,O37 tons and
1S-Enot speed, at Thames Iron Works, TO be
delivered May 4, 1899; Kasagi cruiser OF
47S4 tons and 20-knot speed, at Cramps.
Philadelphia, and Chitosi, cruiser OF AGO
tons and 20 knots, at the Union Iron Works,
both to be completed December 81, 1898;
Tagasago, cruiser, 1850 tons, ~ knots, at Els
wick, to have been completed June of the
present year. Thornycroft and Yarrow have
each contracts for two torpedo-catchers of ESQ
tons and 30 knots. to be delivered in April
and August next year. In France cruiser
of 1900 tons and 20-knot speed, called Mi
yaka, is being built, 10 be ready some time
next spring. As yet no preparations have
been made at home dockyards to, build in con-
formity to the new naval programme, al
though the yards have had considerable ex-
perience, having built eighteen out of twenty
nine OF the cruisers in the navy. England is
apparently most favored of foreign builders,
having two battleships and six cruisers for
the new navy, while France has built three
cruisers.