The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-09-15
UNIQUE TYPE OF SHIPS.
KEARSARGE AND KENTUCKY ARE
LARGELY EXPERIMENTAL.
Have Formidable Armament-Ex-
perts Wonder bow ships with SUI
perpOsed Turrets VIII stand
Heavy Seas and High speed.


the forthcoming official trial Of the Kear-
sarge IL is not so much whether the YES
SCI viii make the required speed as the
manner in which a ship with superposed
turrets fore and aft. mounting four 13-inch
ana four S-inch guns viii stand heavy seas
and fast time. The Kearsarge and her sis
ter ship, the Kentucky. are unique types of
hattiesh'p construction. and far different
from any yet undertaken. They are expert
mental In large degree and their battery
ARRANGEMENT is the product of Admiral
Sampsons inventive genius when head of
The ordnance bureau.
Their turrets may be best described for
the average reader by likening hem to one
small cheese box placed on another al
most double its size, the top box having
two S-inch guns protrud.ng from port
holes, ana the lower one two l3-inch guns
pointing IN The same lateral direction. To
Train these guns il is necessary that they
an point al the same target. This Ia
thought 20 be one OF the defects of the
invention, as Il prevents the S-inch guns
being used at some other target for ex-
ample, while the larger guns are operat-
ing Ia a different direction. Both vessels
were authorized on March q 1895 and
their cost was limited, exclusive of arma-
ment, 20 100000 each.
The Eeneraf dimensions and features of
the ships are as follows:
Length on load wafer line, S6S feet beam
extreme, z feet, 2l2 inches: freeboard, for
ward. II feet 3 inches. freeboard, aft, IL
feet inches, mean draught. with 40 tons
Of coal % feet inches displacement. H.
625 tons speed In knots. per hour, l6 in
Dictated horse power, 10000 normal coal
capacity, ll0 tons; bunker capacity. 1.2l0
tons.
Main Batteries-F -Four lS-inch guns, four
S-nch, fourteen 5-inch.
Secondary Enthusiastically 6-pounders,
six l-poundets, 4 machine guns There wiS
be four torpedo tubes-two on either broad
side
The bureau of construction and repair
paid special attention. IN preparing the de-
signs for these ships, that their gun posi-
tons should have complete armor protec-
ton from distance of feet below the
water line to the top of the S-inch turrets.
| This armor as well all other armor
used on the vessels, viii be OF solid nickel
steel HarVeytzed. The lower part of the
protection-the barbette, so called-will
have armor Is inches in thickness. The
armor Of the 13-inch turrets viii also be Is
inches, except Immediately in front where
II viii be made II inches The armor
protecting the s-inch guns will be 3
inches, but that also will be made inches
heavier Immediately in front.
Protection of the Hull.
The protection Of the hull against injury
to the waterline region will be effected BY
means of a side armor belt of a maximum
thickness of 1919 inches, with mean
depth of 7ls feet, so disposed, in reference
to the load line, that the vessel with 40
tons of coal on board, viii have 31a feet
Of this belt armor above the water. and
with 12l0 tons Of coal on board will have
two feet above the load line The belt
will extend from the stem TO the after bar
| bette, and will maintain the maximum
| thickness from the after end of the belt
| to the forward boiler room bulkhead.
whence it will taper gradually to a thick
ness of four inches at the bow. Protec-
| ton Will be afforded above the main side
| armor by a steel belt five inches thick, ex-
| tending up to the level of the main deck
| and running in fore and aft direction
| from the center Of the forward to the cen
| Ter of the after barbette. On top of the
main side armor belt will rest fiat steel
| deck On inches In thickness, and forward
| and abalt the machinery and boiler spaces
the deck viii be inclined at the sides and
the thickness on the slopes increased 70
| and inches.
To further protect the vessel against
| ralling fire, athwarship bulkheads of ar
| NOR ten and twelve inches thick Will be
worked at the points where the deck -
worked with inclined sides. In addition
| to the armor belts cofferdams filed with
| compressed, hre-proofed American corn
| length of the vessel in the region of the
water line. The coming tower will have
armor ten inches in thickness, with a
| tube seven inches in thickness leading
| down to the armor deck for the protecy
] ton of the voice pipes telegraphs, steer
| ing rods, etc Throughout the vessel the
use of wood is reduced 10 a minimum; the
| stateroom bulkheads will be made of steel
| covered with cork sheathing and every at
| tention viii be given to lighting, heating.
| draining and ventilating the vessels la the
/ most approved and efficient manner All
| wood materials of every description viii
| be tested by the electris fire-proofng pro-
, cess.
VIII He FIagships.
| As these ships will undoubtedly be flag
| ships, their compliments will be $40 per@
sons-officers, seamen and marines The
| vessels will be driven by triple expansion
| engines and twin screws. Five boilers
l three double-ended and two single-ended
L in four water-tight compartments, Will
I generate the necessary steam.
A comparison of these vessels with any
| foreign battle ships built or building will
| In every case, be TO the advantage of the
| United States ships. They carry heavier
| guns and more of them; heavier armor,
| more widely distributed and protecting
| more thoroughly the vitals of the ship and
| gun crews. Their normal speed of Is knots
| win be less on paper than that of most
| foreign battleships, but this speed will be
| obtained with a very moderate forced
| draught and without unduly pushing the
1 engines, so that It may be expected that
| at any time this speed can be duplicated
| by our vessels, while II is notorious that
! foreign battleships never again approach
I their trial speeds. The United States has
| never fallen into this error as regards its
| battle ships, and In every case has re-
| quired that the maximum contract speeds
| should be obtained under conditions which
| could be reproduced again at any time
upon a well-drlied ship.
The vessels will be able TO carry their
| fully supply of coal 2l0 tons-with the
| greatest ease, their bunker space being so
ample that this quantity may be carried
| without trimming or packing. This amount
| will be ample for the ordinary contingent
| cies OF cruising and for service in time Of
war along our coast, as at cruising speed
| Of 10 knots, 1t will be sufficient to enable
| the vessels to steam over 5000 miles, and
| al 70 knots, nearly 1900 miles. In case the
| services of these battle ships we're needed