The age-herald., 1898-07-09
ENGLAND's LATEST nATTLEsHIP

From the London Times.
 The Albion, which will be launched this afternoon from the yard of the Thames l Iron Works and Ship Building company at Blackwell. is first-class battleship. She l is one of the Canopus class, her length be- tween perpendiculars being 390 feet, and her breadth "A feet. At a mean draught of 26 feet her displacement will be 13,60O tons, the vessels of this class being somewhat lighter than our biggest battleships. The ship has a belt of steel Harveyized armor inches thick and covering 19s feet of her length, the vertical extension being 14 feet, l or feet above the normal water line and feet below. The ends of the port and star board sides of the belt are transversely connected by armored bulkheads of steel Harveyized plate, the thicknesses of which are 12 inches, 10 inches, and lnches. The armored deck extends from stem to sterh' and starts from the lower edges of the arm ored belt forming, as it were, floor to the armored part in place of being what mlght be described as a roof. Considerable curve is given to this deck, so that at the lohsi- tudinal center it is feet inches above the normal water-plane This refers to the middle body; at the extreme ends It alps down in the usual way. The principal ar nament is carried in two barbettets which 1 form the forward and after ends or the armored cita,'cl These DaroetteS arc ci cular in plan and have 12-inch HarVeyized armor on their upper parts, the lower walls where the side armor supplies protection having 6!inch armor. The main cohihns- tower forward has 12-inch armor, there pe- ing an observation tower aft with 3-inch arnor Retween the armored buESheads the main and middle decks are protected o9 1h-inch and 1-inch steel. The 6-inch gun positions are casemates having 6-inch arm or outboard and two thicknesses or linen plates at the back to arrest splinters or langrage It should be noted that the man deck easements give an arc of hre Whlch includes right ahead for the forward guns and directly aft for the after guns, the ai- gle of fire in each case being 12O degrees. The ends of the ship are protected pS z inch nickel steel plates. 10 The main armament consists of four R- inch forty-six ton wire guns. Tnese are mounting within the barbettets on reVoNing turntables in the usual way. There are S- inch Harveyized steel shields over these guns The twelve 6-inch, quick-hre guns are mounted in casemates as stated, elght on the main deck and four on the upper deck. There are also ten 12-pounder guns six 3-pounder guns, three of the latter peihs in the military tops, two i-pounoer po.a poae suns and six howitzers for h1gh-angle
 fire. There are also four submerged tor
 pedo discharges, the stern discharge WnIcn W
 was to have been fitted having been taken
 out of the design. 1lleSe vii 'ohS ~
 1S-nch diameter torpedo of which eighteen
 will be carried, in addition to which there
 will be five 14-inch torpedoes for boats use.
 The contractors for the machinery are
 Messrs. Maudslay, Sons & Field. The main engines are of the now usual inverted trlpie expansion type having high, intermediate, and low-pressure cylinders of 30 inches, AZ inches and 80 inches in diameter respect lively. the stroke being feet inches. The screws are F feet in diameter. The b9l- CTS are of the now universal Bellevllie type' there being twenty in all. They Will be pressed to 300 pounds per square inch, the steam tension being reduced at the engines. The indicated horsepower Is stimated at 19. 300. which is calculated to drive the snip at eighteen and half knots. The coal capacity is 300 tons.
 The launch will take place about three o'clock. The Duke and Duchess of York will be present, the Duchess performing the launching ceremony.