Evening star., 1898-12-10

-1-|~- m emit advertise
ment, the ships We're
Implications Of the Illinois and class, but,
owing TO popular appeal, a premium was
placed upon the contractor Offering higher
speed. and the eighteen knots guaranteed
for these vessels was the consequence. To
secure this increase of two knots over the
departments demand the ships were
heightened by the addition of twenty feet
placed right il their middles so to speak
and the adoption of water tube boilers for
the motive power. The added twenty feet
not only gave the room needed for the
more numerous boilers-wthout which it
would be impossible to make all the steam
demanded by the faster working engines
but. incidentally, gave the vessels finer
bodies, both for speed and speedkeeping in
a seaway. and permitted of heavier bat
terry and the carriage of several hundred
! tons more of coal than will be possible for
the battle ships just preceding.
The general dimensions of the three ves-
SeiS are alike, and they are: Length on load
water line, 3SS feet; beam, extreme - feet
- inches: mean draft 23 feet 10 % inches:
normal displacement, l.. 800 tons; maximum
indicated horse power (esti1nated), 16 600:
speed IN knots an hour, Is knots normal
coal supply. 1000 tons; total bunker ca
pacity, 1000 tons; complement, GOO
Hull Construction.
The ships have the same high freeboard
of 10 feet characteristic of the Illinois. and
the same faring bow, which promises to
make the vessels q great deal drier in
head sea than is possible with the generally
ght-up-and-down form heretofore in
vogue, The hulls will not be sheathnd and
their double bottoms reaching fore and aft
throughout the greatest length of the ships
will rise to the under edge of the water line
almor belt, four feet below the normal
draft mark. There is, of course the usual
cellular construction Of water-tight sub
DIVISIONS or compartments throughout the
entire inner body, ana there is, also the
! same powerful pamping plant TO guard
against leaks or fire in any of these cells Of
steel Wood will be used sparngiy. ana
then, where not exposed to the weather
VIII be treprOofed by some satisfac. orv
process. To take the place of decking of
p.ank. linoleum, rubber thing wire mai
| tIns ana cement will constitute safe sub
SututeS, while thin metallic bulkheads Of
corrugated steel will form the dividing
walls IN the living spaces. Splinters ard
| IN" rlSk or 1r" are to be reduced to a mini
mum, and before the ships are finished evan
me WOODWORK now contemplated Will be
| loSSencd.
Stronger Armor
The hull protection in the shape of armoy
is distributed practically in form as it now
is in the Illinois and class, but will differ
in thickncsses owing to the greater defep-
slNe qualities of steel treated by the kruDp
process, process that carries the face
hal dening of the plate to a greater depth,
whereby the thinner plating EQUALS the
heaNief HaIEcyizcd arnlor. Congress will
ne asked to make the additional appropria-
tioIl 10 meet ne added expense OF krupp-
ing the steel for our latest ships
Inc water-line belt, which is seven and
ohe-haIf feet wide, extends from the bow
| back to q point abreast the water turret
from turret to turret this armOr will have
d maximum thickness of twelve inches 10
| a depth Of four feet. whence it will taper
to eight and one-half a the lower edge on
the armOr shelf below the water line From
ihe forward turret to the stem it will le
graduated to two inches where it merses
INTO IN" ram. Diagonal, athwartship bulk
heads, extending from the ends of the
thickest portion of the side belt, will ter
inmate against the bar'bettes of the two
! 'utretS-effcctUally blocking raking fore
and-aft fire from an enemy These bulk
heads will be ten inches thick.
Protective Deck.
On top of the six-sided armor formation
consisting of the thickest of the Water-line
belt and the diagonal bulkheads-will be
lald fiat protective deck of steel two and
three-quarter inches thick. Behind these
walls, beneath that protective deck and
many feet Of coal, and below tho shelterins
water, Will be placed the engines, the boi-
=
continuation of the protective deck will run
forward to the bow, forming the great
ram backbone, and aft to the stern. For
ward ii will be three inches thick, and aft
TOUR inches. Throughout the space of the
mdShlp siX-inCh battery of five guns the
sldeS above the heavy belt will be rein
forced by five and one-half inches of steel
extending continuously inboard and form
| ing diagonal, athWartShip walls to shield
| the batteries from fOre-andaft fire. Bands
| OF celluiose will supplement the protection
already provided for the water-line region
ana the neighborhoOd just above and
! throughout the entire length of the ships
| IL Will take more than one happy blow to
reach the "vitals' of the vessels even at
moderately close range, and. at the distance
| or probable action, would in all likelihood
| never get down below the protective deck.
The Fighting Force.
The fighting force of the vessels is, in
each case, to be centered in a main battery
! or four twelve-inch rifles, secondary bat
terry Of sixteen six-inch rapid-fire rifles and
an auxiliary battery of twenty six-pound-
| ers. six one e-pounders, four Gatlings and one
| twelve-pounder field piece
The four twelve-inch guns are to be
| mounted in two balanced barbette turrets
| having face plates arranged dedectivey at
! angles of ~ degrees. The barbettes which
| reach from the protective deck up, and
| form the armored9 passageway for the am
| munitton and the shelter for the loading
| and turning mechanisps, and the turrets
are TO be fourteen inches thick.
These twelve-inch guns are to be of the
| newest pattern Of modern high-powered
guns designed for the of smokeless
| powder, and while each piece weighs nine
| tons less than the thirteen-inch guns now
| in service they will have muzzle energy
| or nearly 5000 f0ot-tons greater the diff
| terence in weight going toward larger
supply of ammunition. in fact, the weight
| saved by the change of ammunition and
| the use of smokelessE powder, combined
th,Al lisslNt ac,,1t
| crease OF 80 per cent in the number of
| rounds for each of these guns, while the
added ease of working and their great pow
| pounds on each projectile fired as against
the 1,l0o-pound shot of the thirteen-inch
| rifle. These new guns are to have the
| great muzzle velocity of 5000 feet a second
| as against 2,l00 in the pieces now in sery-
| Ice and. at the muZzle will have a striking