The evening times., 1898-06-15
THE NEW BATTLESHIPS.
A Description of Their Main Fea.
fnreS.

Secretary Long has published a circu-
lar defining the characteristics of the
three seagoing coastline battleships au-
thorized by the recent naval appropriation
law.
1t is proposed that the new ships shall
have load water line, 1853 feet; breadth
at water line. Y feet: mean draf; at mop
NAL Displacement. % 1-2 feet; normal dis
placement. II 800 tons; total coal capacity.
100 tons: hull to be of steel, not sheath
ed. with double bottom and close water
tight subdivisions.
No sail will be carried, but two military
masts are TO be fitted with fighting
tops. The hull at the water-line is to be
protected by a side armor belt of a max
imum thickness of not less than 16 l-2
inches. and a mean depth of feet 6
inches. This belt is to extend at least
from the stem to the after barbette. and
to maintain the maximum thickness
through the engine and boiler spaces.
From there forward it hay be tapered
gradually to uniform thickness Of
inches. The transverse armor at the
after end of the belt and that just for
ward of the boiler space will not be Less
than L inches IN thickness.
Bar5ettes for 13-inch guns will have ar
NOR fifteen inches thick except in the
rear, where il will be reduced to ten inch
es. The turrei armor is TO be fourteen
inches throughout. The ships sides from
the armor belt TO the main deck will be
protected by not less than five and one
half inches of steel armor from barbette
10 baiioette. Coal is TO be carried back
of portion of this five and one-half-inch
casing armOr.
Throughou, the length Of the vessel. a
protective deck Is to extend. Where this
deck is worked fiat the total thickness
will be not less than two and three-quar-
ter inches. and where worked with IN
clined sides, the slopes will be three inch
es in thickness forward and five inches in
thickness aft. A cellulose belt is to be
fitted along the sides OF the whole length
of the ship.
In suitable commanding position for
ward a coming tower of not less than ten
inches in thickness, having an armored
communicating tube not less than seven
inches in thickness will be carried. The
6-inch guns on the upper deck will be
protected by five and one-half-inch ar
NOR. The vessels will be driven by twin
screws. The engines will he of the ver-
tical triple expansion four cylinder type,
two in number, one on each shaft to 6e
lNU water liSlll tOiH-
partments. The boilers to be cylindrical,
single ended. eight In number. to J -: led
in four separate water tight compartments
to he constructed for a working pressure
of 30 pounds.
Four 13-inch guns mounted in two heavy
armored barbette turrets on the midship
line. one forward and one aft; ten 6-inch
rapid firing guns in broadsides on the
main deck, and four on the upper deck
within the superstructure. and a seconda-
ry battery of twenty-four rapid firing
and machine guns will oppose the arma-
ment.
There will be two submerged torpedo
tubes extending a length fore and aft of
about twenty feet and having a height
of at least six feet. This compartment
will be fitted up for the storage of eight
T-foot terpedoes and appliances and
means for handling and operating the
same. r=...a
II on trial the average speed shall equal
or exceed a speed at sea of sixteen knots
an hour for four consecutive hours the
vessel will be accepted so far as the speed
is concerned. If the speed falls below six
teen knots and exceeds fifteen knots an
hour, the vessel will be accepted at a re-
duced price. the reduction being at the
rate of $4,000 a quarter knot deficiency
Of speed from sixteen knots to fifteen and
half knots, and at the rate of $4,000 a
quarter Knot denciency OF speed from ff-
teen and half knots to fifteen.
II the speed falls below fifteen knots an
hour. the vessel may. in the discretion of
the Secretary Of the Navy. be rejected or
accepted at a reduced price to be agreed
upon by tn Secretary and constructors.
The board OF construction of the Navy
Department today recommended that the
Holland submarine torpedo boat be CIV
en- another trial.
RepOrfs hfch hayo hoar ,,,hliSb al .ynaa
the arrival Of the cruiser Cuffalo at New
port News. declaring that that vessel was
unseaworthy, are strenuously denied by
department officials. The engines are in
good condition. but the boilers must be
retubed.