Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1898-05-19

plans Followed in the Fighting
Machines Heretofore Constructed
for the United States Navy.
There Are Fewer Sizes of Guns
and the Armor and Batteries Are
Better Arranged.
philadelphia, May 1S.-The battle
shin Alabama was successfully launch
~ NJ Cramps shipyard at IL: 80 to-day.
There was not hitch of any sort to
mar the success of the launching. Miss
Nary E. Morgan. daughter of Senator
Nrorgan. Of Alabama. named the ship for
hsr native State. The weather was
beautiful but only a few persons wit
messed the ceremony, fear of Spanish
r9eaery keeping the gates of the ship
Yards closed against all except about
s0o invited guests and newspaper men.
The Alabama is the first to be launch
"A If the three new battleships of her
tcpe. the other two being the Illinois
and Wisconsin. She presents marked
diyergencies of design from the first
-broe the Oregon, Indiana and Massa-
.hpsetts. These differences involve
both the arrangement of the battery and
The disposition of the armor, as we'll as
q considerable increase in size and dis
placement
The first type had the amor arranged
in water line belt and casemate amid
ships. with the ends forward and aft
Of The belt protected by submerged ar
m0rod decks and their main batteries
we're mounted as follows; Four 49,
inch guns in two turrets, eight S-inch
guns in four turrets, one at each corner
Of the superstructure, and four 6-inch
guns mounted at the corners Of the case
mate below the superstructure.
In the Alabama the water line armor
is carried clear forward; the protected
deck instead of being submerged as in
former ships, is raised to the level Of
the top of the belt by slopes at each
eide, the same as in protected cruisers.
THE EIGHT INCH GUNS
If The Indiana type are done away with
entirely the main battery of the Ala
hama type consisting of four 13-inch
guns in turrets and fourteen 6-inch
rapid firing guns, Of which ten are
mounted on the gun deck, eight in
5roadside between the turrets and two
iting straight ahead forward of the fore
.u?ret on the gun deck. Four are
mounted in a small redoubt on the case
rate deck, two on each side. The
Roadside 6-inch guns instead of being
mounted in projecting sponsors are
mounted in recess ports in order to Sc
cure extensive train forward and abaft
The beam. The general dimensions of
the Alabama class are as follows:
Length over all 374 feet; breadth, 72
feet; free board forward 20 feet; free
board abaft the after turret, IS feet 8
inches; draught, % feet 6 inches; dis
placement, 11,520 tons. The guaran
tead speed is to be 16 knots and the
estimated horsepower 10000. The main
battery has already been described. The
secondary battery consists of seventeen
6-pounder RAPID fire guns, six 1-pounder
rapid fire guns and four Gatlings.
The arrangement of the boilers in the
Alabama class differs from that in the
Indiana in being
SINGLE-ENDED BOILERS
instead of four dCuble-enders, aud ia
being placed athwart ship, with fore
and aft fire room instead of longi-
Iudinal with athwartship fire rooms as
in the former class.
Examination Of the plans of the Ala
bama as compared with those of the
earlier ships will show that the de-
partures in the details of construction
are ln the direction of simplicity and
also the reduction of the mum, er OF
alHtrent calibres of ammunition re-
CURED TO be carried on board, the eff
lec'iye weight of fire in various posi-
dispensing with the S-inch turrets also
considerably reduced the weight to be
c@rled high above the water, which it
IS believed will be an advantage IN
heavy seaway. a
pn the whole, the armament. armor
ana speed of the Alabama with dis
Placement of II 600 tons, compares ia
'o!doIy with the latest type of battle
.+alps abrQad with displacement Of
lo,O00 tons.
he maximum thickness of armor OF
Inc water line is 161a inches. tapering
~. ~ w inches at the bottom of the belt.
Jug easement armor is So inches thick
@" me superstructure armor is of
Wv same thickness. The armor of the
.D-nch gun turrets is Is inches thick
iNN7pt the portfolio plate, which is II
.l'Nes The armor of the barbettes,
VI. vi %nlch the turrets rest, is Is inches
5''[A' the thickness of the protective
yN armor on the fiat over the eta
rs dinldShips and also forward and
s'eI is "a inches and the thickness
lne slopes forward and aft of The
"sHlps citadel is 4 inches. The con-
+..S lower is cylindrical and 10 inches
o, HE TOTAL WEIGHT
W., al NOR and bolts is 2.720 tons and of
pIo'ectlve deck armor 593 tons. The
nr9c1 ol armament with normal sup
cf VI ammunition, which is two-thirds
rt tg LUZ war supply, is S64 tons.
Ha Ouiders say the construction of
NdOdma has been deIaved ova,. q