The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1899-04-24
NEWS OF FOREIGN NAvIEs.

French gunners at the sea Notifications
of France are admitted to he deficient by
Mr. Lockroy, Minister of Marine, owing
to the fact that the coast defenses are
jointly under the control of the army ana
navy. He recommends that the sea coast
forts he placed under naval supervision,
as the present dual C mand means abb
sence of responsibility.
Loebjoernen and Havoernen, or Sea
Bear and Sea Eagle, are the names OF
the first two torpedo-boats built at the
dockYard at Copenhagen for the Danish
navy. They are of 143 tons displacement
JAG feet inches in length and made
twenty-four knots on trial with 23l7 horse
power Smaller boats built by Thorney-
croft in 1884 for the Danish navy cost
100000 apiece, while the new boats, 50
per cent larger and one knot faster. cost
only $77,500 each.
There are thirty-two cruisers of speeds
from % to % knots belonging to the several
naval powers of the world, and OF
these only two-the Powerful and Terri
ble-are credited to the British navy. The
several navies are represented as follows:
France, 5; Japan, 4; Argentine, Chile,
Germany. Brazil and United States,
each; China, Italy, Portugal and Great
Britain, each. This number embraces
vessels exceeding 1000 tons displacement.
A third torpedo-boat of the Boa and
Cobra type has been completed at Yarrow
for the Austrian navy. The latest boat
is named KigyO, and on March 10 last
averaged 243 knots during a three hours
continuous trial, carrying a load of forty
four tons. These boats are receiving high
praise from British and other naval Off
GERS and are pronounced to be better than
any of that size in the British navy They
Il nd Of
152 feet in length, but possess excellent
seagoing quality and are capable Of
standing usage which would disable
larger and swifter boats.
The FIeurus, third-class cruiser
launched in 1oo3, has only recently passed
through final successful trial. She was
intended to make eighteen knots, but
reached only about seventeen owing to
defective boilers, and a second set was
put in. With NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. 1000
horsepower was reached with coal con-
sumption of 1&z pounds and a speed of
eighteen knots was attained. While this
vessel has been experimental with for
five years, the speed of cruisers of her
length-which is nearly go feet-has
reached considerably over twenty knots,
and the I leurus must be classed with the
black numbers" of other vessels built
twenty years ago.
An armored cruiser named Gromovoi is
nearly ready for launching at the Baltic
works on the Neva, near st. Petersburg.
The vessel is 473 feet in length. 6S feet 6
inches beam and displaceS u 1886 tons on q
draft of 26 feet, and will have engines Of
Is 900 horsepower, calculated to give a sea
speed of 20 knots. The armor belt is of g.
inch HarveyiZed steel extending for
length 800 feet, and all the gun projections
are of the same material and thickness.
The battery is unusually heavy and eff
fective in its distribution, consisting Of
four S-inch quick-irers in classmates, two
forward and two aft; sixteen 6-inch quick
firers located as follows: Ten in broad
side on main deck, two aft in recessed
ports, two in recessed ports under fore
castle, one in the eyes of the bow and one
right aft in the stern. The minor guns
are twenty 12-pounders and twenty-four
smaller size down to machine guns. MAX
ing a total of GA guns. The hull will be
wood sheathed and coppered