Santa Fe new Mexican. [volume] (Santa Fe, N.M.) 1898-1951, 1898-03-24
WARSHIPS FLOATED
The Kearsarge and Kentucky Were
Launched Today at Newport
News Shipyards.
STEEL BULLDOGS OF THE SEA
Full Description Of the Vessels and Their
Armament-Modern Battleahips in
Every Particular and a Credit
to the United States.

tothe United States.
Newport News, Va, March "a. =
Eighteen hundred persons witnesse
the successful launching of the battle
ships Kearsarge and Kentucky today
The crowd cheered Justify when tn
ships left the ways. The christenin
party was composed Of Balvin B. Or
cutt, president Of the Newport New
| Ship Building company; Mrs. Herber
Winslow, sponsor for the Kearsage ant
maids of honor; Miss Christine Bradley
sponsor for the Kentucky and maids Q
honor; Governor Tyler, of Virginia, ant
the state officials of Kentucky; Lieuten
ant Commander Herbert Winslow, U
s. n, the only surviving son of Captain
Winslow, who commanded the famous
old Kearsarge in the fight with the Ala
bama; members of the house and senate
committee on naval affairs, and othel
distinguished visitors from Washington
Mrs. Wtnslow broke bottle of cham
pagne over the bow Of the kearsagt
and exclaimed: II christen thee Kear.
SARGE"
The Kentucky ceremony was an ex.
act counterpart of the former exercises
Miss Bradley broke bottle of water
from the spring on the Lincoln farm
and said: II christen thee Kentucky
As the vessel started down the ways,
several bottles of old Bourbon whisky
were hurled against her sides by Ken
tuckians who were opposed to a water
christening. Water from a spring on the
Jefferson Davis farm was also smashed
on the vessels sides.
AT subsequent banquet, Governor
Bradley, of Kentucky, said his people
desired the nation to intervene to pre-
vent perpetrating further atrocities upon
the suffering people of Cuba, and, If the
investigation should justify, to avenge
the death OF our sailors, not by demand
ing an indemnity in money. but an in
demnitv in blood"
Description of the Ships.
There are larger battleships afioat
than the twin sisters, Kearsarge and
Kentucky; there are even larger arm
ored cruisers in the British navy, such
as the splendid cruisers Powerful and
Terrible, yet 1t is doubtful whether any
prudent naval commander, even leaving
out of his calculations that great factor
represented by the superb fighting quail
ties Of the American sailor, would care
to venture hostile meeting with one of
these steel bulldogs of the seas; for the
new American battleships embody In
their design and construction the high
est development up to this datein often
sive and defensive warfare as the great
game OF naval strife would be played on
the coast line of the United States. In
to their broad hulls are packed all Of
the engine power, the armor and the
ordnance that the highest scientific
ability Is able to concentrate in float
ing structure that is able to seek base
of operations, supply of fuel and am
munition and an opportunity to
heal wounds received in battle.
Larger ships, those of deeper draft nec-
essarily, may not enter or attack our
ports at fighting range and this con-
sideration was always kept in mind by
Chief Constructor HichbOrn when the
Kearsarge and the Kentucky were
planned. That is the explanation Of the
fact-a new one in naval design-that
these ships with displacement OF
II ,525 tons, draw only % feet six inches
of water, less than the armored cruisers
New York and Brooklyn, which would
not combined be equal in combat to one
of the battleships. Light draft on
heavy displacement is only one of the
many valuable qualities Of the battle
ships, though by no means the least.
Save the Indiana class, they carry the
heaviest batteries in accord with modern
naval practice, and with primary bat
teries fully equal to that class they
mount secondary guns In such fashion
as to make the combination almost un-
equaled in naval architecture. The big
rifles, four in number, are mounted In
two turrets, one sweeping the entire sea
from directly ahead, fully half way
astern, the other with equal range,
placed so as to command the sea from
either bow straight astern. These are
of l3-inch caliber, yet the British navy
now confines its guns to 12-inch. In
inches the difference seems small, yet
the American gun has about rs per cent
more power.
At this point in the armament of the
ships the American designers have en-
barked In a bold and enterprising ex-
pertinent, the result of which will be
awaited with interest by the whole
maritime world. Instead of descending
at one move from the heavy primary
battery to the small calibre rapid-flre
guns, as is done In the case of cruisers,
It has become the custom of naval archi-
tects to interpose battery OF medium
callbre guns, six or eight-inch guns for
instance, and these are placed In smaller
independent currents about the ship. 1t
occurred to the American designers that
If they could dispense with the weighty
and space-consuming machinery at
tached to these turrets, such as the
turning engines and machinery, inde-
pendent ammunition hoist shields and
the like, much more engine power could
be placed in the hull Of the ship and
much more armor could be CARVED.
They solved the problem by rigidly At
taching the smaller turrets, each con-
tanning two eight-inch rifles, to the top
Of the big 13-inch turrets. The plan
had another advantage than weight
saving. Theoretically, 1t tended to a
terrible concentration Of the fire Of the
ship. Probably the craft does not float
that would survive the awful impact
from the four guns Of one Of these com.
bined turrets upon one small section OF
its hull, and because they are trained in
unison their projectiles must strike close
together.
With this saving In weight the de-
signers were able to give splendid armor
protection to the ships. All OF this
arrnor Is OF Harveyized nickle-steel, OF
American invention, and the best In the
world up TO this dste, as is shown by
the many European efforts to equal It
BY other processes Of manufacture.
Moreover, II is skilfully disposed, so a.
TO make. every ounce ofstesl count Tor
the projection Of the crew, The biz
turrets are II inches thick In front,
diminiahing IN thickness TO Is inches Ia