The times., 1898-09-02
THREE NEW WAR VESSELS.
Bids for Them Opened mt the Navy
Department

Department..
As result OF the bidding for the con-
struction of the three battleships at the
Navy Department yesterday. the Gov
ernment will secure three frst-class
eighteen-knot vessels. to be constructed.
one each by William Cramp & Sons, Of
Philadelphia; the Newport News Ship
building and Drydoek Company. and the
Union Iron Works of San Francisco.
The Newport News Company was the
lowest bidder for an eighteen-knot boat.
S2.S50.0o0. but it did not offer to duplicate
the ship. so it can get but one. Cramps
offered to build one for s.. $50 COO. or two
Tor S2,sl0.0OO each. and will get one. The
Did OF the San Francisco firm. the SCOTS.
was the highest, s.. 500 600. but as the law
gives them an advantages of Der cent
requiring one TO be built on the Pacific
Coast unless the bid was more than 4 nsr
cent greater than the lowest bid on the
Atiantic) they will get a ship at that
figure.
The firm might have asked s.. .964. COS and
still got contract.
IN Cramps. it is the expectation about
the department, will build practically. il
not exactly. duplicate OF the battle
ship which they have just contracted to
construct for Russia. which is a better
ship in many respects than the one the
department mas called for This expee-
tation is based upon the fact that il viii
be cheaper for the firm 10 duplicate the
Russian vessel than to make Plans and
models FOR another. which must be so
much like her.
That vessel is To be S7s feet long. y
wide. Is feet draft. OF 200 tons dispIace-
ment. and with a coal capacity OF 2.y0J
tons For twelve hours she must main
tam an average speed Of eighteen knots.
The tests of the United States require
but four hours sustained speed
j. H Dialogue & Son, of Camden N
j., proposed to build q ship on the de-
| partment's plans for - s0.e00. but as
/ that contemplated a speed of only fifteen
knots, it viii not be considered.
| The eighteen knot ship proposed By the
/ Newport News Company is based on the
/ departments plan. IL is proposed 70
| lengthen the hull some fifteen or twenty
feet. making vessel Of about 1850 tons
/ displacement The machinery is practical
/ ly the same as in the plans proposed by
the engineer-in-chief for cylindrical boil
ers with Powder forced draft
They found las all outside builders
hayel that in order 10 get the necessary
machinery for giving eighteen knots
{ without undulY crOwding it, II was neces-
sary to Iengthen the ship. This was ex-
actly what the engineer-in-chief wanted
/ Government plans for the new vessels
( originally, and had this been granted, the
Government plans for the new vessels
I would have called for eighteen knots
| from the very first
The following general characteristics
I were embodied in the design: Normal
displacement, 355 feet: nodded breadth al
I water line y feet; mean draft at normal
displacement. about . - feet: normal
displacement about 1850 tons; total coal
I capacity, loose stowage, 1,200 tons.
I 1t was practically certain that If any of
| the builders offered designs Of their own
for greater speed and radius of action
| without any decrease in the amount OF
/ coal carried. that water tube boilers
would be used. and the Alternative de-
/ sign submitted by the Cramps. which is
for vessels that will be duplicates OF the
Russian ship now building. provides for
1 the use of Nielausse boilers While this
will be The first use OF water tubs boilers
in battleships Of the United States navy
I it is not their first use in armored ves-
| sells of the United States navy. as ths
! United States steamship Monterey has
had water tube boilers Of the Ward typo
! ever since she was built in 1850, and they
have given an excellent account Of thens-
/ selves
The design Of ships proposed by the
/ Cramps IS about a thousand tons larger
I than the original Government plans. and
amounts 10 what would have been the
/ case had the hulls of battleships :, 8 and
9 been heightened about fifteen feet. Had
| this been done there would have bean no
| difficulty whatever in putting in Erachin-
| cry with tube boilers for speed of eight
| cen knots. and at the same time carTyin2
| a greater amount OF coal than the depart
ment plans as they were actually put out
The Union Iron Works plans for secur-
ing eighteen knots are 10 lengthen the
| hulls and put in additional boilers of tbs
| water tube type