The times., 1898-10-05

Government. Her keel was laid in the
Summer of 1896 and the vessel would
have been launched earlier but for the
decision TO have her completed as far
as possible before the launch. The re-
suit of this course is that she is fur
ther advanced toward completion than
any other battleship which has yet been
launched for the navy. There was yet
another reason for this delay, and a very
good one, which was the difficulty exist
ing between the armor plate makers and
the Government, and the resulting failure
to deliver the plates for her sides at the
time specified
While some objections have been made
TO the Illinois and her sister ships on ac-
count of their lack of speed. this disad-
vantage, il is contended by her designers,
is more than offset by their comparatively
light draught. which will enable them 10
enter almost any harbor or river. This
type of battleship is believed TO be an
Improvement in design in most respects
over almost all vessels at present belong
ing to this or any other navy, until the
qualities of the Kentucky and KearsaIge
shall have been tried and thoroughly
| tested.
The Illinois differs in many material
points from her sister ships the Alabama
and Wisconsin, and Is an improvement on
them. The ships will be the last 10 ralIy
the old thirteen-inch guns, the Newport
News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Com
pany, the Cramps and the Union Iron
Works having demonstrated the possibil-
| ity of building eighteen-knot battIeships
armed with modern twelve-inch :.fles.
which are fully as effective as the thlr-
| teen-inch guns. 1t is claimed by experts
| that the effective work of the small cali
| ber rapid-fire guns al Santiago showed
| the wisdom of doing away with the eight
| inch rifles on the Illinois and substituting
| heavy broadside batteries of six-inch
| guns. II is further claimed that nothing
1 now afloat will be a match for her. y
| comparison of this type of battleshiDs
| with any foreign vessels of he same c.ass
| will in every instance lie found to be in
| favor of the American ships. Our vcs-
| sells have heavier guns and more Of them:
| the armor is heavier and more widely dis
| tributed, more thoroughly protecting the
| Vitals of the ship and gun crews. Il is
| true that their normal speed of sixteen
| knots will be less on paper than that of
| most foreign battleships, Lut this speed
| viii be obtained with 4 mod crate forced
draught and without undnly pushing the
| engines.
The most conspicuous departure in the
| construction of the Illinois from the
| Kearsarge and Kentucky, and ships of
the Oregon class, is a decided change in
| the character and arrangement of the
main and secondary batteries the whole
| tending toward a reduction in the num-
ber of guns and turrets and the use of
fewer sizes in caliber. The kearsarge
will carry fifty-two guns, while the IL
linois, of the same dimensions almost in
detail, will carry but forty-one. The
Kearsarge has four turrets and the shins
of the Oregon class have six, but the Il
Iinois. which is expected to nearer meet
the ideal of a battleship, will have only
two turrets for the heavy guns. The
turrets are oval in shape, with the front
plates slightly inclined and the rear
plates vertical, in order to give ample
room for the handling of guns and their
leading appliances. The center of gravity
in the revolving parts is in the rotary
| axis, which makes the turret balanced
| and makes it possible to turn it by its
! engines without serious retardation, even
| when tn vessel has a heavy list. The for
| ward turret il at a level of the forecastle
! deck the axis of the guns being 26 feet
| inches above the nominal load water line.
In this feature the Illinois again differs
from the Kearsarge type, the latter
carrying all turrets on main deck. Each
| pair of guns on the Illinois sweeps an
| are of 135 degrees from the midship line
| Between these 13-inch gun emplace-
| ments and within the armored classmates
1 are el2Nt SlN-lncN InOQeTH DTttCil-lOddihE
| rapid-fre rifles in broadside, four on each
side of the ship. The total arc of train
, with these guns is 90 degrees. They are
| protected by six inches or armor and are
| capable of firing fore and aft. On the
gun deck forward is another pair of six
| inch guns protected by an armor plate
| six inches thick.
Three sighting hoods are provided for
| each turret the one in the middle being
/ rx-lA cn1a dI1fxT
| is to keep the guns pointed at the target,
as far as their lateral direction is con-
| cerned. The hoods on each side are for
the gun pointers.
The auxiliary battery consists of seven
| teen six-pounders and six one-pounder
guns Four broadside torpedo tubes, pro-
| tected by 5 1-2 inches of armor, complete
| the armament. The weight of fire of one
| discharge (neglecting the auxiliary bat
teryl from all the guns available on yes
sells of the Illinois class will be 2,40C
hounds ahead and astern, and 5.100 pounds
| bow to quarter The coming tower, the
position of the officer in command, is in
closed by armor ten inches thick.
The hull is protected against injury a
the water line region by heavy taperet
armor of maximum thickness of 16 l.
inches. and extending from feet inche:
above to feet below the normal loan wa
Ter line The maximum thickness Il
maintained for the entire length of th'
engine and boiler spaces. From the for
ward athwartship coal bunker bulkheat
the thickness is gradually reduced unit
1t reaches inches. which thickness i
maintained to the bow. At the top Of tn
belt for the length Of engine and boile
spaces, a fiat protective deck 3-4 inche
in thickness, worked in three layers. ex
tends from side 10 side of the vessel beini
tap-riveted to the upper edge of the sid
| of armor Forward of the machiner.
space however, the protective deck
turned down or inclined TO the armo
shaft level.
Thus, any projectile passing through tn