The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1898-09-14
NO BATTLEsHIP is HER EQUAL.
The Illinois That Will be ohristened Next
Month.


4 one of the five most powerful battle
ships ever constructed. She will bear the
n anne Illinois. The navy department, in
designing the plans for the Illinois.
showed as great an advance over former
designs as previous plans had shown over
the types of fighting ships which were
supposed to be satisfactory in 1890. In the
Illinois the S-inch gun is eliminated and
the weight and power of the secondary
battery tremendously increased. 10 add
to the value Of the seageing qualities of
the batleship a spar deck has been added
to the first three. quarters of the ships
length, and the freeboard increased from
thirteen feet in the Kentucky to twenty
feet in the Illinois.
The four terrible 13-inch guns will fire
an 1,lOO-pound she'll, with a muzzle
energy of SO, 627 foot tons. equal to the
perforation of thirty-four and half
inches of wrought iron. The two 13-inch
Guns forward are twenty-six and a half
feet above the water line, which enables
them to be used in Ebattle even when q
heavy sea is on and the battleship is head
ed at it, The after turret stands above
the main deck and is eight feet lower
than the forward turret. The turrets are
of the elliptical type. They are lighter
than on the other battleships and provide
more room for the handling of the guns
and their loading.
The fourteen 6-inch guns Of the second
airy battery will fire a 100 pound she'll.
Each Of these guns is to have mu1zle
energy of 8,sO4 tons, with Ia power of
penetrating 1916 inohs of iron, The guns
are widely separated and greater protec-
tion is afforded the gunners than on any
other of the battleships. Eight Of che
guns will be in the central bzttery on the
main deck, protected by a wall of five and
one-balf inches of steel. Two 6-inch gums
on the same deck, but forward. will be
protected the same way. Fours6 inch guns
on the spar deck will have protection
dead ahead and dead astern, as well as on
the broadside. The two snokestacks
have been placed abreast Of each other.
The Illinois will carry heavier arnor
and heavier guns for given displacement
and speed than any other vessel in the
world.
Naval authorities say that she can stand
fourteen miles out from any coast city In
the world and hurl destructive shells into
the center of it. In fair, open sea fight,
with her steering apparatus uninjured
and American gunnerS on board her. she
Is considered to be more than a match for
any battlsihp af1oat today. 1t pitted
against an armored cruiser Of the type Of
the New York, e-of her broadsides, 1t
is said. would entirely destroy all OF the
upper works of that magnificent vessel
and render her gun shelters untenable
by any human being. Matched against
vessels of the type Of the Oquendo or the
Vizcaya at q range of 2,00D yards, she
would hurl against either one Of them.
/ $50 pounds more of chilled steel projec-
tiles than their combined broadsides oould
ali the vessels of Admiral Cervera's fleet,
as 1t was when afoat at Santiago, the
Illinois would discharge in double
broadside more steel projectiles in weight
than fred by the combined Spanish feet.
If in contest with such vessels as Dewey
fought at Manila, the secondary battery
of the Illinois would dis charge more mis-
siles in weight in one broadside than the
entire fleet Of Montojo would fire. The
total muzzle energy of all her guns Is
greater than the total muzzie energy of
Dewey q audaMontojp's squadron COM
bined. Another way of putting it Is THAT
if a quantity of dynamite 600 feet in
length, two feet in breadth and two feet
in height were discharged in the heart of
Chicago IL Woulu .represenp one muzzle
energy of all the guns of the Illinois tn en-
in action. In one respect the Illinois
will Materially differ from the Oregon.
Ihe battle Hines of the Dragon are vicious
mean, ugly. She stands for the word
Hfght'' II every outline that she presents
to The eye The lines of the Illinois are
far more graceful, and while In many
ways she is amore terrible vessel than
the Oregon, she does not show It. Her
ax,pearance is fierce, but softsned by Lines
that will give her beautiful appearance
when afloat and not stripped for action.
Newport News Correspondence Chicago
Times Herald.