The record-union., 1899-07-03
THE NEW CRUISERS.

| At its last session Congress MADE
provision for the construction of SIX
| new cruisers In several respects these
| cruisers depart from the models OF
| those we now have in the navy. First
and it is an important matter, they
will be schooner-rigged, with capacity
| for sailing that in case of accident
| to machinery they will not be quite so
helpless as are the ships of the pres
ent type. That is to say. the sail ca
pacity of the new boats will be very
considerable, not less than 6,O0O feet
of canvas.
| Another departure is the sheathing
and coppering. thus rendering them
fast for a longer time than the ships
! which are not sheathed or coppered.
For a long time Constructor Hichborn
has stood alone in advocacy of sheath
ing cruisers and battleships. He has
finally won against the most persist
ent opposition, and the six cruisers,
three first-class battleships and the
armored cruisers twelve in all, are to
be sheathed and coppered, according
to the Hichborn plan, thus reducing
by rs per cent the necessity for bot
tom cleaning.
The dimensions of the six lighter
cruisers give us materially different
form, and insure speedier boats. Take
the Des Moines, which is the model for
all. She is 292 feet in length on the
load water-line, and 30S.2 in length
over ALL with breadth of 43 feet.
The mean draught, with two-thirds of
the coal capacity used. ammunition
and stores load, batteries and men will
be Is feet 6 inches, and when fully
loaded one foot over that. The coal
tainable speed with 4,50O horsepower,
triple expansion engines, will be six
teen and half knots.
This insures these new cruisers a
| radius of action of fully $500 miles
without recoaling at full speed. But
at a rate of ten knots they will be able
to steam $500 miles; no other ship of
the cruiser order has ever been able
to accomplish such a distance without
recoaling. The new cruisers are to be
able also to carry more ammunition
than any others yet constructed. For
each of the five-inch guns the Des
Moines will carry $50 rounds, and for
each of the six-pounders 500 rounds.
The armament will be radically diff.
ferent from any yet made up. Thus
of five-inch guns there are to be ten
80 caliber rapid-fire and breech-load-
ing. OF the six-pounders there will be
eight, also rapid-fire guns. There will
be two one-pounder rapid fire guns,
and four Colt machine guns. All the
weapons will be adapted to use smoke
less powder, and the new fve-inch
guns will be greatly more effective than
the present order of six-inch guns.
In each of the new war ships all the
machinery and magazines will be
placed below water-tight decks. There
will be the lowest possible minimum
of woodwork about the vessels, and
such as is used will be treated to make
it non-combustible. Each of the cruz
sers will have. quarters for 23S Blue
Jackets, % Marines and q Officers.
There will still be such room that
there will be no crowding, and no lack
of space in which to work the ship in
time of action. 1t will thus be seen
that our new cruisers are to be long
distance. high grade, heavy carrying
and the most effectively armed of all
cruisers thus far evolved by the con-
structor's art.