The herald., 1897-05-16

inches wider than the largest battle
ship which now floats in any waters or
has been contracted for. Her total die
placement is to be 14,250 tons The class
of British warships which comes nearest
to her in size carry 800 tons of coal each,
yet the Japanese vessere bunkers Will
only contain 700 tons, which, with her
improved fuel system, will more than
equal 1900 tons The new ship, in fact,
will have $50 tons greater displacement
when she is in sea-going trim than any
other battleship afoat. To the naval
mind, this fact at first does not reveal
the immensity of this vessel Perhaps
it cannot be better indicated to the lay
man than to say that she is TO the orGi-
nary battleship what the new German
steamship Kaiser Wilhelm der Crosse
will be to the vessels that are now con-
sdered of ordinary capacity in the pas
senger traffic.
She is to be armored as few ships have
ever been. There will, for instance, be a
continuous belt of armor from stem to
stern. This is an entirely new departure
from the method of construction adopted
with the other ships of Japan'e' navy. 1t
il accounted for by the fact that the
British idea, rather than the French, is
being followed as a model. Japan has
already had two battleships built in this
country, the Fuji and Yashima, but
neither was anything like the equal of
this giant craft, that is rapidly assum-
ing form on the stocks.
over the central part of the ship the
continuous belt of armor referred to will
be 8 inches thick and 8 feet 9 inches
deep. AT the ends of the vessel the
thickness is less, the decrease being
gradual, until minimum of from to
inches is reached. This line of armor is
known as the lower belt. Above this belt
between the barbettes. or in what the
landslnan calls the middle OF the vessel,
there is another belt of 6-inch armor
this latter extending TO the height of the
main deck, its total length being 25C
feet. Curved transverse bulkheads of
H-inch armor protect the ends of this
space. The bulkheads extend from the
protective to the main deck. Thus it
will be seen that a complete citadel 25O
feet long is formed.
The steady Improvement that is TAX
ing place in the equipment, or, rather,
the protection, of Dattleships and other
war vessels is demonstrated by the way
in Wh1ch the barbettes are arranged,
this being very different from the plan
ordinarily adopted. The barbettee on
the japanese vessel are contained with
in the curved bulkheads, an improve
ment that i9 instantly manifest to the
students of naval architecture and of
the best methods to protect these mod :
ern triumphs of the shipbulder's art.
The bulkheads are protected by 14-inch
armor, with 4-inch teak backing. They
rise to height of feet above the upper,
deck. Screened bulkheads, extending
from the barbettes to the ships side. are
worked between the main and upper
decks. A continuous armored deck ex-
tends from stem to stern. This deck is
inches thick in the fiat part and inches
thick on the slope. tapering toward the
ends. 1t rises from the lower edge of
the armored belt to a height of feet
above the water line. The construction
Is of the usual double -bottomed system.
the double bottom connecting with water
tight flats at the ends Of the vessel. thus
carrying the double bottoms practically
to the ends Of the ship.