The Appeal. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. ;) 1889-19??, 1898-10-01

20 IN
Freeboard a ,nrwaro. 20 #
Freeboard :13 IT. in
Mean draught, with 500 tons Of coal, 2.s ~ III
stores, 70 ammunition .........23 IT, 6 in
corresponding displacement. 500 tons
~a tara displacement, all ammunition and
sto!es Oh ooaro IL, 325 tons
speed per hour. .16 knots
INDICATED morse power 10, 0Ot
Bunker capacity, coal untrimmed i,2io tons tons
area OF midship section. SO. #
area area OF aer load ncS Ta at
Mean draught with all stores, provi-
s slo1s on a9 h1s ammunitcn and l21o tons
Corresponding displacement. ....... IL, 40 tons
complement of officers, seamen, and marines 4Ss
AEmor ar I'm 2s belt ..n ii.
~ Va va BATTERiEs: 10 H.
Main-Four 13-inch breech loading rifles, four
teen 6-inch rapid-fre breech-loading rifles sew
enteen j-pounders, rapiC- fire.
Secondary-Six 1-pounders, rapid-fre,
| Total-Fcrty-one guns.
New Features In Construction.
The most conspicuous departure in the
construction of the Illinois from the Kear-
sarge and Kentucky and ships of the Oregon
class is decided change in the character and
arrangement OF the main and secondary bat
teries, the whole tending toward reduction
In the number of guns and turrets and the
use or fewer sizes in caliber. The Kearsarge
1 s.,
OF the same dimensions almost In detail, will
carry but forty-one. The Kearsarge has four
:urrets and the ships of the Oregon class
have six, but the Illinois, which is expected
TO nearer meet the ideal of battle-ship, Will
nave only two turrets for the heavy guns.
The famous eight-inch and the much used
fve-inch guns have been abandoned on the
! ships OF the Illinois class, and the calibers of
the guns in the main and secondary batteries
nave been reduced to two in each. The main
battery Will consist of four thirteen-inch
guns, mounted in pairs in turrets forward and
aft on the midship line, and protected By
armor fifteen inches in thickness, with port
plates seventeen inches thick. The ammunj-
| ton hoists and revolving gear of turrets are
protected by barbettes fifteen inches in thick
ness, except over the arc within the diagonal
armor. where the barbette is reduced to ten
inchs In order to save weight.
Inc turrets are oval in shape, with the front
plates slightly inclined and the rear plates
VERTICAL in order to give ample room for the
handling OF guns and their loading appliances.
The center of gravity of the revolving parts
IS IN the rotary axis. This makes the tur-
ret balanced and makes it possible to turn
1t by its engine without serious retardation.
even when the vessel has heavy list. The
forward turret is at the level of the fore
castle deck, the axis of the guns being 26 feet
3 inches above the normal load water-line:
the after turret is on the main deck. the mis-
OF the guns being 10 feet above the normal
loaa water-llne. In this feature the Illinois
again differs from the Kearsarge type. the lat
ter carrying all turrets on main deck.
Range of the Big Guns.
Each pair of guns on the Illinois sweeps
an arc OF 1876 degrees from the midship line
Each turret is provided with three sighting
MOODS, instead of two, the one in the middle
being for the use of the turret turner, whose
sole duty i to keep the guns pointed directly
at the target, as far as their lateral direction
Md h1@l
cupied by the gun pointers.
Between these two empla:ements for thir-
'esa-1nch guns and within the heavily ar
mcred casemate, are eight modern six-inch
rapid fire, breech-loading rifles in broadside,
four on each side Of the ship. The total arc
of train with these guns Is 80 degrees. They
are protected by three-inch shields supported
on the gun carriage and the five and One-half
inch armor of the casemate. Each gun is
separated from it's neighbor by splinter bulk
heads Of steel one and a half inches in thick
ness.
Above this casemate, on the upper deck, the
same on which the forward turret is mounted,
there are four more six-inch rapid-fre guns
two on each. side-placed in six-inch armor
emplacement These four guns are capable
OF firing fore and aft. There are two more
six-inch rifles on the gundeck forward, pro-
tected by armor plate six inches in thickness
The secondary battery consists, as stated
one-pcunders, mounted where practicable to
obtain good command and clear range and
| still be clear of the blast from and interfer-
ence with the heavier battery. The arma-
ment Of the Illinois is completed by four
broadside torpedo-tubes, protected by five
and one-half inches of arnor plate. It is
| ascertained that the weight of fire in one
discharge from all of the guns Of the main
| battery III the vessels of the Illinois class will
| be 2,4O0 tons ahead, same astern, and 500
pounds bow to quarter. .,.-.. r.
Protection of the Hull.
The protection of the hull of the battle
ship against injury to the water-line region
| Is effected by means of side armor belt,
constructed of heavy tapered plates and hav-
ing a maximum thickness Of sixteen inches
and extending from three and one-hah feet
above to four feet below the normal load
water line. The armor belt is so disposed
with reference to the load line that the vessel,
| with 40 tons of coal aboard, will have three
and one-haf feet of the belt above water.
| and, with 1210 tons of coal, will have two
feet above the load line. The maximum
thickness OF the belt is maintained for the
entire length OF the engine and boiler spaces,
extending from the stem to the after bar
bette. From the forward athwartship coal
| bunker bulkhead, the thickness is grad
ually reduced until it reaches four inches,
which thickness is maintained at the bow.
AT the top OF the belt, for the length of
the engine and boiler spaces, fat protec-
tive deck, two and three fourths inches thick,
W9 9a II nj three layers extends from side to
upper edge Of the side armor. Forward of
the machinery space, however, the protec-
tive deck Is turned down or inclined to the
armor- shen level. Thus, any projectile pass
ing through the vertical armor would. even
II It were not broken up or DETECTED in it's
passage, have to encounter a sloping deck
three inches in thickness. Abaft the heavy
armor belt, the protective deck is worked
IN similar manner to that described for
the forward end of the ship except that the
slop1ng plating is increased to four inches in
thickness for the purpose of affording greater
protection to the steering gear. 6
Corn-Pith Cellulose Used.
Where the protective deck is inclined at the
sides, as above described. Golfer dams three
feet In width and extending to the TOP. Of the
armor belt are provided, and packed with
corn -pith cellulose. similar to the material
to be used In the Kearsarge and Kentucky
as an experiment IN hattle-shipa Dhe b..