The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1897-12-29
NEWS OF FOREIGN nAvIEs.

/
The first drydock in England was built
at Portsmouth in 1866 under Henry VII
and cost only e193 IS sgd, or 1865 1872 in
American money. 1t was simply an exca-
walton, with its sides planked up, and it
had no gates instead of which the en-
trance was barred with heavy ttmbers
filled in with rock and clay to keep the
water out. One single "1ngyne' pumped
out the water. It's construction took
about seven months, and four tons Of
iron from SIS 50 TO $50 q ton were used,
besides spikes. Carpenters were paid
from s to IL cents a day and laborers got
cents for their days work. The dock
remained in use until 1923, when it was
filled in. There were drydocks on the
Continent long before the first dock was
built in England.
The best fuel for torpedo boats is said
to be French briquettes, made from
Welsh coal carefully selected ana wash
ed. Mr.. Yarrow's experience in long
runs at high speed with torpedo boats
has demonstrated this fact, and when
ever he found difficulty in maintaining
the trial speed of his boats resource was
had to the French briQuettes, which have
never failed.
England is the last naval power to
| adopt electricity on board ships for Its
varied uses besides lighting purposes.
the United States in introducing electrl-
city for lighting, and now somewhat late
| realizes the necessity of using electric
power for ammunition hOists, turret turn
ing and other labor saving devices NTH
erto performed by steam or hydraulic
power.
A French armored cruiser, to be called
the Montcalm, has just been given out
by contract. The ship will be of 9516 tons
nfd
under forced draught.
During the recent trial at sea for twen-
ty-four consecutive hours the French
cruiser Du Chayla averaged 1724 knots
per hour The vessel is 1862 tons dis
placement, or about ninety tons smaller
than the Charleston, whose trial speed
nine years ago developed an average Of
1871 knots during four hours.
A successful gun trial took place re-
! Gently in England on the British gunboat
Pincher. 1t is a new type OF the wicker
quick-f1ring type of 6-inCh caliber. This
gun fired thirty-six shots in four min
utes and forty-seven seconds, whereas
the ordinary 6-inch gun can only deliver
about one-third that number of dis
charges in the same time
! All modern vessels for war or mer-
| camille purposes are fitted with water
/ tight buikheads, but during recent years
| there have been several notable in
| stances where the bulkheads were found
anything but water-tight. The Victoria
sank in collision with the Camperdown
| in the Mediterranean in 1892 and went
! down like a stone, Notwithstanding her.
| water-tight bulkheads; the Texas, in our,
! navy, sank at the dock through an acci-
! dent which, if her bulkheads had been
properly fitted, would have still kept her
| ahoat, and, lastly the Russian ar
/ mored ship Gangoot sank in the
! Bay Of Bothnia chiefly through the
fault of her bulkheads. The Rus
( sian admiralty has determined to guard
/ as much as possible against the re-
/ currence of such disasters. and hereafter
/ vessels will be tested while still on the
/ stocks. The first vessel to be thus tested
| was the coast defense ship Admiral Ush-
! akoff, building at St. Petersburg. Her
| compartments were filled with water and
! the trial showed that from the lower
! deck upward the bulkheads were tight,
! letting not a drop of water leak through,
/ but below the protective deck the case
was quite different, for all the holes
pierced for electric wires and pipes leak
! ed and water seeped out around the con-
Meeting rivets and fittings and through
some of the seams. These defects, 10
/ Gated before the ship was af1oat, were
! easily made good, and demonstrated
| where the troubles of water-ught Work
were chiefly to be found
Japan has contracted with the private
/ firm of Chantiers de la Loire for an ar
mored cruiser of 1896 tons, at which the
| French press expresses high satisfaction
| as an Endorsement of a foreign Govern
ment of the high class Of work turned
| out from French yards. This armored
! cruiser, only les tons larger than the
| United States armored cruiser Brooklyn,
! will have a belt 81 inches thick, against
the RrooI5lyn's 8 inches She will be 446
feet in length, SO feet inches beam and
draw % feet aft. Her engines of 1900
horsepower will give q speed of 20 knots.
The main armament will consist of four
7S-inch rifles, placed In two turrets .
twelve 59-inch quick-fring guns OF
which eight are in armored classmates
and four on the upper deck with shields
The secondary battery is composed or
twelve 29-inch and twelve 1.S-inch guns,
all rapid firing ordnance
Cal siace fruit SOC perlb at Townsend's.'