The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1897-04-09

AT her Masthead The hassaChusetts
and the Indiana Surpassed-she Makes
an Average Speed of Seventeen Knots
an Hour and " ins 100000 Bonns for
Her Builders-Her acknowledgement
Boston, April The battleship Iowa
| the last OF the premium built battle
ships Of the navy, earned today for her
| builders, Messrs. William Cramp &
Son, OF Philadelphia, s2eo, 900 by max
ing an average speed OF seventeen
knots an hour over the regular govern
ment course off the Massachusetts
coast in the four hours speed trial re-
Quired by the government under the
contract.
The Iowa by her grand work. proved
herself to be superior to either the In
diana or the Massachusetts by a con-
siderable fraction OF knot, and is to-
day the acknowledged queen OF the
American navy, if not the most formi-
| dable battleship afloat.
The weather could not have been sur
passed. A light northerly air. shifting
to northeast just AS the trial began,
helped the forced draught considerably,
and shift still further east on the
run back did not hamper the work of
the big blowers.
The trial board came down from the
city about o'clock. and with them
some 200 guests of the builders as well
as many naval officers stationed in
| and about Boston. The ship got under
way almost Immediately heading
straight for the twin lights on Cape
Ann, and after run of over an hour
the first mark boat, the crack a jack
of the navy, the Porter. was sighted
with the black buoy not far off, denot-
ing the beginning of the thirty-three
knot course. Like a race horse not
quite prepared for her great effort, the
Iowa scored twice, running up to with
| in a mile Of the line and then shying
off out to sea, in order to bottle up a
little more steam and deVelOpe few
! hundred more horsepower
At the very outset of the trial it was
evident that every one of the picked
| crew was in dead earnest.
There was not the slightest deviation
| in the course as the ship rushed by the
second mark boat, making the leg in
| $3.50, which was very satisfactory. In
| the very next leg of the course the
| ship began to show what was in her,
| for she topped the seventeen knots an
hour record by averaging a tenth over.
This was still further increased on the
next leg to 17.14 but on the fourth there
| tic laot speed running down to
! 1885. 1t was proven, however. that
| the last leg of the course was some
what long.
| While the ship was preparing for the
| run back the ready reckOners on board
| figured that on the run down to Boon
| island, the Iowa had averaged exactly
1857 knots per hour. The time was so
| well UP to the builders expectations
| that in order to consume the allotted
| four hours, the ship was spun around
| twice before starting back, and must
| have presented a grand spectacle from
| the shore as she cracked about. For
| 80 minutes and 45 seconds, she kept up
| her jockeying, and then she dashed for
| the line again, passing the last mark
boat at 12:39:25 On this leg there was
i an average of 1912 knots an hour. a
| gratifying increase over the last time
| in this leg.
| For over an hour after passing the
| fifth mark boat the speed of the bat
| tleship did not apparently vary hund
| redth part Of a knot. supposng, Of
| course, that the buoys were in the right
| positions. The fourth, third, and sec
! ond legs Of the course were all made
| in exactly the same time, % minutes
! and AZ seconds, SO that when the sec
| Ond mark boat was passed the ship
| was only six nautical miles from the
| finish and glory, and the reckoners had
| figured that, barring accident, the ship
| would make something over seventeen
| knots. But there before the ship was
| the handicap Of the course, the shall
| low water, fact which had already
held back her sister ships, cutting down
| their we'll earned premiums on more
| than one instance. Knowing this,
| every effort was made to get every
| pound Of steam on and every inch Of
| power. The seconds licked off steadily
as she hurled herself on to the mark
| boat and finishing sight, but still miles
| away. The margin over the seventeen
| knots became smaller, and as the ship
| rushed on it became a serious question
whether she would get to the line in
time. Fifty thousand dollars depended
on the speed Of the last fifty feet: a
| delay of one second might cut ii off.
, The Iowa just did il. and that was all.
In fact, SO narrow was the margin that
the reckoners Of even the trial board
had to carry their figures to the fourth
point in order to make speed for the
] whole course average seventeen knots
an hour.
1t came out all right in the end, how
| ever, and with broom on her fight
ing top the queen OF the American
| navy, after two or three half circles
| to show just what she could do in quick
maneuvering and speed headed headed
for Boston.
| The heavy turrets placed well above
the water line gave her q much great
| er roll than the Indiana or Massachu- =
| setts. but except for this she was much
steader than the other battleships