New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1899-11-26
THE KENTUCKY.
n,prr ARMAMENT OF THE NEW
RATTLEsHIP-DOUBLE DECkED
TURRETS.


, sbjps IN the United States Navy have
~, more discussion and given rise to more
''1. .,ort than the Kentucky, which is one OF the
","'' sooeoipc battleships built by the New
pa News Shipbuildng Company. The ships
- aescription Of one is description of the
arc in q class by themselves. not so much
--osoD of weight Of armament or of size, but
&c they have what are commonly called
-. looked" turrets. These tuuets, the
-. carving two 13-inch rifles each, and the
NV" ,., S-inch rifles each, are the striking
w.. ., their construction. and distinguish
To- ,.o,, every other war vessel afloat. Lieu
.ono,t Joseph Strauss. then an ensign Is cred
lien being the originator of the super
,osaa turret plan. and Wheh II was Drought u
pOS'1 -, q the authorities by some Of his
..,.,,o, officers there arose storm OF DIS
I.,,r which stirred the Navy Department TO
rs depths. ,, .,.,,,,,
-, tho Construction Board decided to bulId
., -hi,s with the double turrets there were
- abo predicted dire and dismal failure
~, ,,e sbjps were built. and those laymen VINO
80 soon the Kentucky are not slow IN assert
a., that she is a remarkably powerful vessel
nh, ,bsory that the fire Of two 10 ana TWO
,..h riaas can be concentrated on one spot from
uba, is practically one turret ana Work cor
...odi,clv increased destruction over the oiu
..,.io - gun training has not been tested IN
-. o,5 naval officers are not yet all Of one
u,,8 ,Acardinc its soundness. one OF the IDEAS
advanced in objection to the plan was ''a' II
would make the ship so topheavy that she "ouiu
,A unsafe. owing 10 the heavy weight oI nie'ai
carried so far above the water line. Announcer
,.os that q we'll directed shot from an enemy
Mich, strike and explode in such manner as
70 mt both 1urrets out Of action and so cripple
40 Chi, one # the difficulties found in actual
rsa Is that owing to the imperfections OF the
.,r,,at moving machinery it is much more easy
10 start the ponderous mass Of metal Oh us
tourney around the circle than it is To stop H.
This however. is being remedied. ana VIII soon
cease IN he n factor in the problem
Tho Kentucky is officially known as sea-
,o,g co,st line battleship. She is 36S feet long
% o., o. inches extreme beam, % feet i
49,. aroucht her tonnage being G,N3l gross
,1G4 net and II .525 displacement, when fully
equipped. ready for sea, with al heI SUI %
hoard and a normal coal supply OF 4lo luis
Her engines. Of the vertical triple eApdiiSioi
tvpe operate twin screws under maximum
,ndicated horse power of 10000 each. and the
contract requirements call for a speed VI dt
least sixteen knots.
Her main battery consists OF four l3-lnch ana
,our Sinch breech loading rifles, and fourteen
5-inch rapid fire guns, ard In her secondary
hot,arv are twenty 6-pounder and six l-pounder
,anis fire guns. four Colt machine guns, and
two randi fire field guns. making her one OF the
rost formidable ships afloat 50 far as throwing
natal is concerned. She also carries four tor
rado tubas using the long Whitehead torpedo
ua- nrotoction is ample her side armor being
Icn inches thick. taperng to 13a. inches at the
water line and 9lA inches at the bottom Of the
belt. She also has protective deck "a inches
thick on the fat, 8 inches on the curves
forward and inches aft. The extreme thlcK-
ness OF her ,urret armor is II inches. this pro-
,ecting the big guns, the smaller ones being
within II in n walls, the respective barbettes
being - and - inches thick.
The ship will carry a complement Of forty
officers and 40 men. and on going into commis-
sion will be commanded by Captain Colby NJ.
Chester. She was built under an act Of Con-
gress passed on March p 1890. and the Ken
lucky and her sister, the Kearsarge, kept along
evenly together until the launching. on March
"a 1898 The contract price for the hull and
machinery was S2,25OVO0 for each ship. and
when the Kentucky goes into commission she
will represent in first cost Of hull, machinery.
battery, amor. equipment supplies and other
Items an outlay Of not far from S5,ooO000.