The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-03-13

The ships were provided for by act Of
Congress, approved March 2, 1896 and on
the 2nd of the following January their
construction was awarded to the Newport
News company for the remarkably rea>
sonable individual contract price of only
81, 100000, and that, too, without the usual
inducement of a bonus for excess of speed.
That the vessels win be equal to oil the
requirements goes without question, while
at the same time their moderate cost has
opened the country's eyes 10 the charges
put upon their predecessors.
The Kearsarge and the Kentucky arc
navigable fortresses of formidable type,
and in action would render a good ac-
count of themselves In behalf OF Old
Glory The dimensions of one apply
equally to the other and their general
data are:
Length on load water line, 1858 feet.
Beam, extreme, u feet inches.
Draft, on normal displacement, % feet
inches.
Normal displacement II ,525 tons.
Maximum displacement, all ammunition
and stores on board, 12325 tons.
Maximum indicated horsepower (esti-
mated, 1000.
Maximum speed, required by contract,
16 knots.
Normal coal supply. 40 tons.
Maximum coal supply, 'bunkers full, 1910
tons.
Complement, officers, seamen and ma
rines, 5l1.
The strictly novel characteristic of these
ships Is their exceedingly moderate draft
of water-but Is feet when full laden, by
which they may enter practically any
harbor of importance along our coast line,
something denied to most of the armored
cruisers of all other nations. The often
sive advantage possessed In this single
feature can not be over valued.
The power 10 meet an enemy will be
centered effectively in the twenty-five
guns forming the main and auxiliary bat
teries. and these win consist Of:
Main battery, 13-inch B. l.. r.
Four 8-lnch y. l.. II.
Auxiliary battery, IA 5-inch rapid-fire
rifles.
For the purposes Of resisting torpedo
boat attack and enhladlng the open decks
or unprotected gun stations OF an enemy,
twenty Founders, six I-pounders, and
four Gatlngs will keep up a destructive
mitrailleuse; and woe to the venturesome
small craft that exposes itself to the fury
Of that steel-clad blast. -Four torpedo tubes
two on each side amidships, will complete
the offensive phase Of the ships.
The 13-inch and the S-inch guns are
inch guns are in the upper half which is
fixed rlgidly TO the lower half The whole
structure has a total swing OF 20 degrees
and all four guns are pointed In the same
general direction and swung from side 20
side by the one great turning gear, engag-
ing the lower half. The design has been
seriously questioned here and abroad, and
there Is a prevailing opinion that the ex-
pertinent will never be repeated.
The 8-.neh guns are sheltered behind
walls generally 9-inches thick, but aug
mented 70 II inches at the front. The 49,
inch guns are covered by 10 inches of hard
ened steel also, except at the front, where
there Is an added thickness OF two inches
To pierce the walls Of the lower turret, a
shot would have 70 strike them, from a
distance Of !, 800 yards with all the pent-up
energy equal to bearing that shot quite
th.ricen miles.
The auxiliary battery Of fourteen 5-inch
rapid-hre guns Is mounted In the super
structure on the main deck. This super
structure whore il faces an enemy is
composed of hardened steel inches thick /:
and no explosive 6-lnch shell could ever
get through that bulwark Each gun sta
ton is separated from The adjoining gun
by a pinch wall OF steel that the effect of
penetrating shot ana bursting shell may be
localized. Each Of these guns has a service
rate of speed Of quite six aimed shots a
minute: and as each shot weighs 60
pounds, a little arithmetic tells the story
The 6-Dounders 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
very desirable range Of fire. The 1-pound-