Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1898-03-24

the like, much more enigma poxof ooulI
be placed IN the hull OF lho ship ou1 much
more srmor could be carried. They solved
the problem BY rig'dly attaching tbs
smaller turrets, each containing cV eight
ioss oss us ,s 70 re Tss top % e 1 ia p pss e
vantage than weieht-sevfnx. Thsoreti-
cally, II tended to terrible concentration
of tine era Of the ship. PROBABLY the craft
does not hoat that would eufylve the : sWfui
impact from the four guns a ona Of kAoss
combined turrets upon one snail oecttons
OF its bull, and because they or3 trained 10
unison their projsctiles rnust strike close
With iii, saving ia wsiekt<b - 1ssikuers
we're able to give splendid 6tncr :protsc-
tion TO the. skips. All Of thl6 hrWor Is Of
HarveyiEed pickel-ste el, of Ameri6an in-
ventioD, and the best in ~ world .pp to
this data, as IL shown BY III many Euro
peup efforts to equal It by o(her processes
OF manufacture. Moreov6f,{k is sEflifuIIy
disposed, so as to make every ounte Of
steel count f,r the protection Of the crew.
1he big turrets are seventeen inchesthick
in front, diminishing in thicknesp to dfteen
inches In the rear, where they IRE; less
liable to be struck because ID action the
guns are supposed always 10 BE- tarned
towards the enemy. The fmallef tutfets
abo .. for Alike reason, vary 10 tbicktle $
from eleven to nine inches. To u1lfs sur >
no stray shat strikes the afnnuuitiCq boists
leading to f1be magazines to the turfets,
the fornex are enctossd n tpbss Of hard
Mounted In shis fsshIQf ehs guns are
almost iuvulnecabIe, frout the< eiRht-inch
rifles mounted hiKh In air with good range
aud capstie 0f ptsrclug the walls of most
Arm0red ships ~ Gghting qHatters. to the
big thi en-ine6 guns that csti project
their armor- pie cling shot dozen miles
across the sea.
The combination battery f ssnpplsmented
by numerous auxiliary battery OF small
er guns perchsd op every cotysoiens
1s or r' msssas nae sdH ~ bs navy rspss de-
partment has prodted by the LESSONS
taught In the China-yapan war of the ter
ribfe power of guns OF this type. About
four motio6s suffice to load, discharge and
reload ons Of these guns, and ip rapidity
OF fire they ere equal to three, Of the ordi-
nary navy brsech.losding guns. The
largest are 6vs-inch calibre, four.
ssso inch in steel 81 wan. 'Asssd ssS ssssd
one from another ~ fwo-inch steel walls
TO minimizc the effects OF an exploding
shell in any Compartment. Then there are
elk FOUNDERS, one -poundsrs and 0atiings.
mainly for the warm reception Vt hostile
torpedo boats or to clear q dscG or ad-open
portfolio or earthwork. To facilitate THIS
some Of the machine guns are placed high
In the military tops where they c IN r4if
bullets down below. 10 protect the hhil
which carries all this Offensive power,
sixteen hpd-a half inches OF armor Is
placed along the sides, dipping four feet
below the water line, and numerous heavy
bulkheads are disposed to prevent any
shot that may enter from trAversing. Tue
eng ines, the visals OF the ship, are covered
by an arched steel deck two and three
quarter Inches thick, placed on an angle
calculated to defect and throw upward any
projectile.
Under the deck lies 10000 horse power OF
boilers. engines aud other. machfnery
capable Of pushing the vast hull through
the water. at the rats OF at least sixteen
knots, . good speed for freight train on
land, and besides there are no less than
eighty smaller engines 10 hoist anchors,
pull mp boats, drivp dynamos and other
wise help the crew. The big turrets swing
noiselessIy and quickly by electricity, the
largest application yet made Of electric
power in this way, and everyw here in the
ship, from winchea and veDtiiatoss to light
ing and telephony, the electric fluid plays
useful part.
The .sKearsargep and the kentucky"
are 1888 feet in length. 70 feet 5 inches beam
aud % feet 6 inches draft. They carry
normally 4l0 tons Of ceat but may take
aboard 1910 tons, aud 5ll officers, sailors
and marines are required to navigate each
Of them.