Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1898-03-13


inches. To pierce the walls Of the lower
turret, shot would have 10 strike Them,
from a distance of 1900 yards with all
the pent-up energy equal to bearing that
shot quite thirteen miles.
THE AUXILIARY BATTERY.
The auxiliary battery of fourteen s.
inch rapid-fire guns is mounted in the
superstructure on the main deck. This
superstructure, where 1t faces an enemy,
is composed OF hardened steel inches
thick, and no explosive 6-inch shell could
ever get through that bTlwark. Each
gun station is separated from the adjoin-
ing gun by 2-inch wall OF steel, that
the effect Of penetrating shot and burst
ing shell may be localized. Each of these
guns has a service rate OF speed of quite
six aimed shots minute, and as each
shot weighs fifty pounds, little arith-
metic tells the story.
The 6-pounders are mounted in part on
the berth-deck forward and aft. The rest
of them are placed in the superstructure
above the 5-inch guns, where they have a
very desirable range OF fire. The 1-pound-
ers and the GatlingS are placed on the
bridges and up in the military tops.
To feed all these guns, each ship Will
welcome an enemy with exceeding
warmth.
The water-line region of the sides VIII
be protected from attack by a broad band
of Is 1-2-inch armor, running elong
the sides amidships for a distance of ia
feet, and tapers thence TO inch
es at the stem. This belt is 1-2
feet wide, and under normal conditions
only 3 10 feet will be above the water
line. At the extremities Of tho thickest
part, athwartship bulkheads turn IN
board and end against the barbettes or
heavy tubes of 15-inch steel which rise
from the protective deck and shield the
ammunition holsts and the turning gears
of the turrets. The forward bulkhead is
10 inches thick; the after one IL. pro-
tective deck of hardened steel 2 3-4 inches
thick rests on the four walls formed by
the athwartship bulkheads and the inner
edge of the inlaid side armor Under the
protecting shelter OF this heavy roof and
many feet of coal lie the engines, the
boilers, and the magazines. and the she'll
rooms-the ''vitals," in fact, of the snip
A broad band of cellulose. extending
from stem TO stern, and back of the s.
inch armor which protects the sides amid
ships from the heavy armor belt up to
all shot-holes admitting water.
The protective deck covering the vtals
amldships is run slantingly to the bow
and the stern, and forward forms the
backbone Of the murderous ram, which
lies just below the water.
Two sets Of triple-eXpansion engines,
each in its own water-tight compartment,
will actuate the twin screws, while five
great boilers, teeming with the pressure
Of $50 pounds OF steam, Will supply the
energy needful to drive those engines and
turn those screws quite 40 times
minute.
The turrets will be turned and con-
trolled by electricity, the first instance
on so large a scale on any vessel, and
the same power will bring the ammuni-
tion from its storerooms to the breeches
of all the large guns-the 6-pounders and
less excepted.
Each mast Will be fitted with it's own
signal outfit, and the lower half of each
mast will form vast windpipe, down
which fresh air will be drawn to the
depths OF the craft.
OVER EIGHTY AUXILIARY ENGINES.
Eighty-odd auxiliary engines will re-
duce the lax upon the muscular energies
of the crew, and add to the efficiency
OF the ship by handling and lowering the
boats, raising the anchors, loading the
coal, discharging the ashes, bringing the
shot, shell, and powder from the depths
below to the gun stations. and turning
the turrets; and, except for the guidance
of these mechansms, manual labor is
practically unneedful
Compared with any OF our old wooden
ships OF the line, the contrast is instruc-
tive. Steam will spread its comforting
glow for all alike where the occasional
small stove or hot cannon-ball did SER
vice in the past; and immense revolving
fans Will force fresh air into the most
secret recesses of these ships. and make
every nook and Granny purer than the
actual living spaces OF our ancient craft,
whose between-deck quarters were so
often foul with the noxious fumes OF
pilge water and rotten wood. while the
refulgence OF hundreds OF electric lights
will shed brightness everywhere and sub
stitute the tallow dip SO grudgingly al
lowed OF yore. Distillers. with a daily
output OF thousands OF gallons. will give
fresh, pure water, where once the rusty
tanks yielded a tainted, stinted portion.
Splendid galieys will cook in liberal
bounty the warm bread and wholesome
food for the modern crew, and a re-
frlgeratfng plant, with a dany cooling
equivalent or ton OF ice, will preserve
afresh the provender. and, instead OF the
salt-horse and bareback OF tradition. the
sailor OF to-day can have his soft bread
and shon grub when days and days at
sea.
What the dark. gruesome. unyentilated
cockpit OF the past was to the invaded
seaman, the modern sick-bay Is the
cheerful opposite; and where deck
bucket and cold sea-water formed the
bath equipment until recent times, attrac-
tive tubs and hot and cold water at will
make uncleanliness a crime to-day.
To-day the steam launches do most OF
the work that once fell upon the boats
crews. and where miles upon miles OF
rope ran aloft TO hold the masts and man
age the sails. thousands upon thousands
OF feet OF steam and water-pipes. stored