The times., 1897-04-05
THE PRIDE OF The NAVY
Battleship Iowa Built for Power,
Speed and Beauty.
Her Trial Trip to Be Made Wednes-
day, when Record Is Ex-
pected From Her.

New York, April 4.-It is confidently ex-
pected by the Messrs. Camp, the builders
of the steel seagoing battleship Iowa, that
by Thursday of this week the run will have
been made and the calculations regarding
tide and time completed, which will marx
the climax of naval construction up to the
present time, as far as the combination or
che points of speed and fighting ability
aud effective range of action are concerned
The Iowa, which is to have her tuai trip
over the deep sea course of forty miles
between Cape Ann, Mass, and Cape Por-
pUise, Me, on Wednesday, is regarded by
naval experts as the hignest ype OF vessel
in which the po owers of offense and defense
are combined which mas yet been launched
under the direction of the Government.
She has been built with the idea OF COIN
binlng he fighting powers Of the ships
of the Indiana class with as large pro
portion OF the element Of speed as could
be provided for III a vessel of her weight
and armament
In accordance with the fixed plan of the
department relative to the armamentof the
new ships, the Iowa has been supplied with
her main battery, in place of the thir-
teeu-inch guns which the ooastline bat
tleships carry This reduction of an
inch in the caIibre of the big guns is not so
important difference as might at first
be supposed, the ship being intended as
fighter in the open sea, while the Indiana
and her sisters would be called on To do
inshore work, where the heavier pro-
TIffa ~ .
ference in the weights of guns and pro-
jcctiles makes 1t possible to carry more
ammunition for the smaller guns, and gives
them a COTesLOndingly greater range OF
activity in Eoint of time. The element
Of cost, lso. is of gTeatimEortance, andthe
ease with which they can be ha ndled is a
prime factor in the availability of the tur-
rets
The smaller weapons on the Iowa, the
eight and four-inch and six-pounder guns,
are about on par with those of the Indiana
and her sisters Her side arIuor, fourteen
inches thick, is four inches less in thick
ness than has been placed on the Indiana,
and her turret armor is of the same thick
ness, fifteen inches, but the barbette walls
are fifteen inches, two inches less than on
the Indiana She is twelve feet longer
anu lbui leu JIOdbtA b4iHh AhC 1AN4oANt
but has the same dTaught.
1t is in her engfneroO however, that
the principal difference between the classes
OF ships is seen. The battleship TO which
New Workers have just been introduced has
engines which. on a development of 900
horsepower, are calculated to drive the
/ 300 tons of the ships displacement
through the water at rate not less than
In old hiFES
fifteen knots was the maximum speed de-
manded, the engines developing 5000 horse
power With her full supply Of coal (about
400 tOns) on board, the Iowa Will be
able to cover more miles of sea and do
heavier fighting than any other ship in
the Navy, the cruiser not being able to
give or take the blows which would fall
to the lot of the Iowa, and the other battle
ships having less coal capacity and con
sequently reduced fighting radius.
One OF the most striking peculiarities
of the new ship is the extreme height OF
her smokepipcs which tower up beyond
the level of her fighting-top and almost
reach the height OF the mast. There are
only two of these tall pipes, instead of
three, which the Brooklyn will carry, and
they are intended to give the ship greater
and obviate the necessity OF resorting to
the blowers until extreme steam pressure
is needed This is expected to result in
the development of large amount of
power with only a comparatively small
consumption Of coal
An advantage or the high smokepipes is
the delivery of the smoke and gases from
the furnaces at a height giving them a
clear way above the ships deck, while
a disadvantage is the attention likely 20
be attracted by a volume OF smoke coming
from high funnel when an enemy is some
where near. This latter, however, carries
little weight. as the Iowa is not built to
run away from anything aflOat, and the
difference in time of being sighted by an
enemy will not, it is Believed, have any
effect on the 100 men who will constitute
her crew and list of officers