The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1897-02-04
TIE Republican Journal Thurday Morning, February a. 1897

( 4 inches; displacement, 1,136 tons; ton
mage, SOB 81 gross; 49l. 81 net. She carries
four rapid firing guns, capable Of doing
great execution if necessary.
The Bath iron works were the success
| fiil bidders for the construction of the
| Ii htship 66 and she was built by them,
i being commenced in the last half of 1896
and being finished in 1896. The vessel is
1l2 feet long on the waterine, 2S-6 feet
! beam and ID feet deep, being designed for
a great buoy and not for sailing purposes,
her destination being Woods Holl, where
she rides at anchor TO especially fit her
for her business she has very high sides,
| it being about % feet from her rail to her
keel, while the ends rise up to still great
er height.
The composite gunboats. Newport and
| Ncksburg, now under construction by
the B 18th Iron Works, were launched in
December, 1896. The vessels are dupH-
Gates, and promise to be novel and useful
additions to the country's fleet Each has
a length of waterline of 16S feet, length
over all of 2O4 feet, extreme breadth of SO
| feet, draft of II feet, and displacement of
about l, 100 tons.
| These vessels have steel frame, string
ers, deck frame and outside skin plating
| above water while below the water they
are of wood, planked and coppered, the
wood used being all reproof. They are
| intended for use in Asiatic waters, and are
| of the composite type with the view of
being able to keep at sea longer. They
are to have a speed Of II knots, the en-
gines having an Indicated horse power of
| 800, and there being two boilers.
| The armament will be identical in both
vessels. Each will carry six four-inch,
| four six-pounder and two one FOUNDER
guns, all of the rapid fire character.
| The Bath Iron Works we're, on Oct. 6,
| 1896, awarded contracts for building two
torpedo boats. The preliminary work
| for these boats was begun early in the
year, and Gen. Hyde has been twice
to Europe to secure the latest and
| best ideas. The vessels for which the
Bath Iron Works have Just contracted will
be practically copied after the Cyclone, the
new torpedo boat about to be begun by NJ.
| Normand for the French government,
which has very graciously consented to al
low the use of his plans by the United
States
The Bath Iron Works have contracted to
give a speed of 80 l-2 knots for the two
boats, but confidently hope to produce
knot more than this. Thirty one knots
and a small fraction is the highest speed
yet attained and was reached by NJ. Nor
mand in the celebrated Forban, on which
vessel Cyclone is expected to be an adj
vance. Two English torpedo boat destroy
ers now building in Engl and by Messrs.
Thompson of Glasgow and Thorneycroft
OF London, are guaranteed to reach 81
knots.
Each of these vessels will have length
on the walerline of lat feet, extreme
breadth Ii feet, draft 10 feet and dsplace-
ment OF l46 IL tons. The Indicated
horse power 1900 aud the radius of action
$50 knots. Each boat will be fitted with
| three torpedo tubes and four one FOUNDER
rapid-tire machine guns.
The Bath iron works have just received
| contracts for building two government
lightships and one lighthouse tender. The
lightships are duplicates, very similar in
all respects to lightship 66 recently built
at these works. The lightships are of the
| composite type, 1l3 feet long, propelled
by steam and lighted by electricity. The
tender will be entirely of steel, her dimn-
sions being 164 feet over all, 30 feet beam
and II feet depth of hold, She will have
twin screws driven by two simple vertical
engines. These three contracts aggregate
1925, 600.