The evening times., 1899-09-12
UNIQUE Fighting CRAFT
Departures in the Kearsarge and
Kentucky.
Naval Experts Looking Forward to
the Official Test With Great In
terest-The Practicabilfty of SUI
perpOsed Turrets Under Trial-Di-
mensiOns of the New War Vessels.

Naval experts are booking forward to the
official trial of the new battleship Kear-
sarge with more than ordinary interest
1t is not SO much whether the vessel will
make the required speed as the manner
in which a ship with superposed turrets
| fore and aft, mounting four 13-inch and
four S-inch guns withstand heavy seas and
fast time. The Kearsarge and her sister
ship. the Kentucky, are unique types of
battleshp construction, and far different
frcm any yet undertaken. They are expe-
rimental in a large degree and their bat
terry arrangement is according to the ideas
of Admiral Sampson when head of the
Ordnance Bureau.
Their turrets may be best described by
likening them to one small cheese box plac-
ed on another almost double its size, the
top box having two S-inch guns protruding
from port holes, and the lower one two
l3-inch guns pointing in the same lateral
! direction. To train these guns it is nee
essary that they all point at the same tar
| get. This is thought to be one of the de-
/ fects of the invention, as it prevents the
| S-inch guns being used at some other tar
get for example, while the larger guns are
| operating in different direction. Beth
vessels were authorized on March 2, 1895.
! and their cost was limited, exclusive of
armament, to $4,000, 900 each.
The general dimensions and features of
| the ships are as follows: Length on load
water line, 36S feet; BEAM extreme ~
| feet l-2 inches; freeboard forward IA
feet inches; freeboard. aft, IL feet 8
inches; mean draught, with 410 tons of
coal, % feet inches; displacement. II, ,525
| tons; speed i'll knots, per hour, 16; indi-
| Gated horse power, 10000; normal coal ca
| pacity, 410 tons; bunker capacity, 1910
tons. Main batteries-Four 13-inch guns,
four S-inch. fourteen 5-inch. Secondary
| batteries-Twenty 6-pOunders, six I-pound-
ers. machine guns. There will be four
| torpedo tubes-two ON either broadside.
The Bureau of Construction and Repair
paid special attention, in preparing the de-
signs for these ships, that their gun posi-
| tions should have complete armor protec-
tion from distance of four feet below the
water line to the top of the S-inch turrets.
This armor, as well as all other armor
used on the vessels. will be Of solid nickle
| steel, Haiveyized. The lower part of the
protection-the barbette. SO called
will have armor Is inches in thickness.
| The armor of the 13-inch turrets will also
be Is inches. except Immediately in front,
where it will be made II inches. The
armor protecting the S-inch guns will be 8
! inches. but that also will be made inches
| heavier Immediately in front.
The protection of the hull against injury
TO the water-line region will be effected by
means Of side armor belt of a maximum
thickness of 16 1-2 inches, with a mean
| depth of I 1-2 feet, so disposed, in ref
erence to the load line, that the vessel
! with 410 tons Of coal on board will have
3 1-2 feet of this belt armor above the wa
ter, and with 1.210 tons of coal on board
| will have feet above the lead line. The
belt will extend from the stem to the after
barbette, and will maintain the maximum
thickness from the after end of the bel,
TO the forward boiler room bulkhead
whence ii will taper gradually to a thick
| ness of inches at the bow. Protection
will be afforded ab6ve the main side armor
by steel belt 5 inches thick extending VI
to the level of the main deck and running
in a fore and aft direction from the centre
of the forward TO the centre Of the after
barbette. On top of the main side armor
belt will rest fiat steel deck 2 3-4 inches
in thickness. and forward and abaft the
machinery and boiler spaces the deck will
be inclined at the sides and the thickness
on the slopes Increased TO and inches
| To further protect the vessel against rak-
! ing fire. athwartshp bulkheads of armor
10 and II inches thick will be worked at
the points where the deck is worked with
inclined sides. In addition TO the armor
belts. cofferdams filled with compressed
freproofed American corn pitch cellulose
| will be worked the entire length of the
vessel in the region of the water line. The
coming tower will have armor 10 inches in
thickness, with a tube inches in thick
ness leading down TO the armor deck for
the protection of the voice pipes tele-
graphs, steering rods, etc Throughout tbs
vessels the use of wood is reduced to a
minimum: the stateroom bulkheads will b.
made of steel covered with cork sheathine
and every attention will be given to light
ing. heating, draining. and ventilating the
vessels in the most approved and efficient
manner. All wood materials of every de-
scription will be tested by the electric fire
proofng process.
AS these ships will undoubtedly be flag
ships. their compliments will be $40 per
son5-officers, seamen, and marines. The
vessels will be driven by triple expansion
engines and twin screws. Five boilers
three double-ended and two single ended
in four water-tight compartments vii
generate the necessary steam.
\ comparison CT these vessels with an
foreign battleships built or building will
experts say. in every case, be t.
the advantage of the United State
ships. They carry heavier guns ant