Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1898-03-24
KEARSARGE AND KENTUCKY.
DESCRIPTION OF THE BIG VESSELS.
dogs OF the seas-Ncw Departures In
the Line of warships.

Newport News. Va, March 2.-The
Kearsarge was successfully launched
at 1902 am.
The Kentucky left the ways at ll.3o.
There are larger battleships aiioat
on the ocean than the twin sisters
Kearsarge and Kentucky; there are
even larger armored 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 repre-
scented by the superb fighting qualities
of the American sailor, would care to
venture hostile meeting with one of
these steel bulldogs of the seas; for the
new American battleshps embody In
their design and construction the high
est development up to this date In Of
fensive and defensive warfare as the
great game OF naval strife would be
played on the coast line of the United
States. Into their broad hulls are
packed all OF the engine power, the
armor and the ordnance that the high
est scientific ability is able to concen-
trate In floating structure that is
able to seek II base of operations.
supply of fuel and ammunition and an
opportunity to heal wounds received in
battle. Larger ships, those Of deeper
draft necessarily, may not enter or
attack our ports at lighting range, and
this consideration was always kept in
mind by Chief Constructor Hichborn
when the Kearsarge and the Kentucky
We're planned. That Is the explanation
of the fact--a new one In naval design
that these ships with II displacement
of ,b2b tons, draw only rs feet
Inches of water, less than the armored
cruisers New York and Brooklyn. which
would not combined be equal in COM
bat to one of the battleships. Light
draft on heavy displacement is only one
of the many valuable qualities of the
battleships, though by no means the
least. Save the Indiana class, they
carry the heaviest batteries in accord
with modern naval practice, and with
primary batteries fully equal to that
class they mount secondary guns in
such fashion as to make the combina-
ton almost unequnled in naval archi-
lecture The big rifles. four in number.
are mounted In two turrets. one sweep
ing the entire sea from directly ahead
fully half way astern. the other with
equal range, placed 50 as to command
the sea from either bow straight
astern. These are of thirteen-inch
caliber, yet the British navy now con-
lines Its guns to twelve-inch. In inches
the difference seems small, yet the
more power.
AT this point In the armament OF
the ships the American designers have
embarked In bold and enterprisins
experiment. 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 of the small-caliber rapid fire
guns. as is done In the case OF cruisers.
II mas become the custom of naval
architects to interpose battery of
medium callber guns, six or elght-inch
guns. for instance. and these are placed
m smaller independent turrets about
me ship. II occurred to the American
designers that II they could dispense
with the wcighty and space consum-
ing machinery attached to these tur-
'ets, such rs the turning engines and
machinery, Independent ammunition
moist shields and the like, much more
engine power could be placed In the
null OF the ship and much more armor
could be carried. They solved the
problem by rigidly attaching the small
n turrets. each containing two eight
nch rifles, to the top of the big thir-
leen-inch turrets. The plan had an
other advantage than weight saving
Theoretically, II tended to terrible
concentration of the fire OF the shin.
Probably the craft does not float thai
would survive the awful lmpact from
ne four guns of one OF these combined
turrets upon one small section of its
hull, and because they are trained in
nnlson, their projectiles must strike
.lose together
with this saving In weight the de-
'igners were able to give splendid ar
nor protection to the ships All of this
,rmor Is of Harveyized nicke-steel, Of
american invention, and the best I'm the
world up to this date, as is shown by
he many European efforts to equal 1t
oN other processes of manufacture,
Moreover, II Is skilfully disposed, so as
20 make every ounce of steel count for
the protection of the crew. The big
turrets are seventeen inches thick in
'front.', diminishing to fifteen inches in
the rear. where they are less liable to
oe struck because in action the guns
are supposed always to be turned to-
wards the enemy. The smaller turrets
above, for like reason. vary in thick
ness from eleven TO nine inches To
make sure no stray shots strikes the
ammunition hoists leading from the mag
azines to the turrets, the former are
fifteen inches In thickness. Mounted in
his fashion the guns are almost invul-
nerahle from the eight-inch rifles
mounted high in air with good range
and capable OF piercing the walls of
most arinored ships at fighting quar-
,ers, TO the big thirteen-inch guns that
can project their armor-piercing shot
dozen miles across the sea.
The combination battery is supple
nented by a numerous auxiliary bat
terry of smaller guns perched on every
convenient point OF the superstructure.
Al are rapid-fire or machine guns. for
nc navy department has profited by
he lessons taught In the Chino-Japan-
i5e war OF the terrible power of guns
); this type. About four motions suf-
ace to load, discharge and reload one
VI these guns. and in rapidity of fire
.hey are equal to three Of the ordinary
navy breech-loading guns. The largest
are five-lnch caliber fourteen in all,
sheltered behind six-lnch steel walls
and separated one from another by
.wo-lnch steel walls TO minimize the
effects Of an exploding shell In any
compartment. Then there are six
Founders. one Founders and Gattling5,
mainly for the warm reception Of hos
ile torpedo boats or to clear deck
tr an open portfolio or earthworl<s. To
facilitate this some OF the machine
guns are plased high in the military
ops where they can rain bullets down
below. To protect the hull which car
lies all Of this offensive power, sixteen
md half inches of armor is placed