New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1898-06-17
po1xrs OF THE vEsUvIUs.

,vscp,pryoS BY CHIEF ENGINEER plNoN'
WHO HAS SERVED ABOARD HER
=, tho naval officers in this city VINO nav
- w. dynarnite cruiser Nesuvius Is 'ho'
rne,neer Dixon, OF the Naval AuN'a, Il,
nra u,bch meets IN the ARM Buo'ns "
.naaktng OF the recent performance VI NC -
% a renorter for The Tribune yesterday MI D'"0"
said .o- 400 lust
- vent 10 China She is Q fine vessel ana
ON lad she has acquitted herself SO "e'' 49,,
was sort OF prejudice against he' III VI" =,
but every man who has served upon hei @
love with he'll so speak She was quiz AZ
r.n., .bi,vard In Philadelphia, about a dozen
,.ears AGO and was launched at the same tlnse az
the yorktown. The Dynamite Gun company ""'
her built for the use 10 which she is put an" w
was bought by the Government by act OF oons'ess'
The plans called for her construction Win 'uo.'
or guns as they called. but the resi- OF inc
mans were left to the builders. and she was TO De
a good fast vessel She made 2l's KNOTS OH '''e
trial Of her eng nes which have 4SO horse-po"e''
She has trp.e-expansion engines forced oraue"'
and twin screws Fourteen knots Is her regular sea
speed.
She has three dynamite. or guncotton' guns or
tubes built IN her and running down through her
decks at an angle Of 80 degrees into her hoio Inc!
are "a feet long, of thin castron ana the pore Is 10
inches About fifteen feet OF their Length IS aoo'e
deck and at the angle at which they are placed
the muzzles are about up to my chin. or nVe lee'
from tho deck. There are two air compressors'
and the reservoirs extend In the biige OF the ship
They compress the air TO pressure OF TWO thou-
sand pounds to the square inch. From the reser-
voirs 1t is admitted into the firing chambers me
guns are loaded at the breech. the lower section
OF each. down In the hold, having
be- lowered Se tn into hSrlzontsi POSITION There is
revolving chamber. which holds i've charges just
ton i lifted to its place BY Hydraulic pressure ana
ouaA tatnt he
charge naSsfs 1a' s Rsfff" feet long AMI ~ inches b
damsisr sd with WIGS the back to sesR s
loaded with two hundred pounds Of guncotton and
The guns, or tubes. being mmovably fixed in the
vessel II is necessary TO m1ve her 10 ser o nns
Of compressed air let into the nri9e chamber 1t is
posgs ss Dsssd in her @ All soSS Be
ayoasd, anS there must ts rssular asce,sTatiSn
Of Ola mile rmee TO mile and half Abou; seven nun
dischsrss more ike big popgpn thar. anything
called, a, the compfessed air i dissipstsd., 4
sa the s from hh the
he readily determined: 1t Is a.so possible to find
sSns MIN shish the M 'S 'af She
has no srmor. depending on her bees for her pro-
PHr with the ns
Her are mar to '"1 the Wo ~"f Fort
Hancock Sandy Hook but those are mounted on
@ t, ad car III oe s,eeaos1 VI ueprrsssu' Lneg
the Vesuvius. The chief difficulty with her
plosives was In the fuse. but believe that has all
been overcome. The same fuse is used Sandy
Hook When was on the vesuvIus she was used
IN blowing up wrecks and derect vessels along
the Atlantic coast. We would attach q torpedo TO
mast and then go three hundred or four hun.
dred yards on In a small boat. with an electric
wire. end fire the explosive. blowing the wreck into
little bits. ] am clad TO see that the Vesuvius
has acquitted herself so well. ] suppose the first
attempt was made at night as she is tender. and
they didn't want TO run any risk Of her being nit
md blown IN before she did some damage shot
IN her would explode her guncotton, and there
would be nothing left to tel! the tale"