The Columbia herald. [volume] (Columbia, Tenn.) 18??-1935, 1900-04-06
Three of the Most Formidable in
the World TO Be Built for
the American Navy.
WILL HAVE sPEtD OF OCEAN LINERS
Never Has Sueh a 7 nendous Bltters
Been Mounted Ail1at as These
New Vessels VIII Carry.
The California. Nebraska and Wesi
virginia VIII Have 1900 Tons
displacement and IA Speed
of % knOts.

Washington, March 31,--No war
ships of such fighting power have
ever before been planned abroad or
at home as the three cruisers whose
details have just been practically com
pleted by the admirals of the naval
construction board. They are really
most formidable battleships. with the
speed and staying powers of an ocean
liner. Never has such a tremendous
battery been mounted afloat as the
California, the Nebraska and the West
Virginia will carry. Sixty-six fixed
guns constitute their armament, and
their magazines are to hold over 400
tons of ammunition.
The board has given these ships
$4,000 tons Displacement, 23 knots
speed, and, with coal bunker capacity
of 1000 tons, Ateaming radius of T.
900 miles. They will be the only ships
In the navy literally armored all over,
their protection extending from be-
low the water line above the entire
superstructure. In appearance they
existing cruisers and battleships of
their class, in that they will stand
much higher out of the water, giving
better distribution of batteries and
quarters and making them most i'm
pressive.
The machinery is to develop over
$4,000 horse power to drive the ships
% knots, and this, with the standard
naval water tube boilers, must not
exceed 1000 tons in weight.
The armored protection is to in.
clude a waterline belt of Kruppized
steel six inches thick abreast the en-
gines and boilers, tapering to 31b
| inches at the bow and stern. Above
this belt there will be five-inch case
mate extending half the ships length,
to protect ten 6-lnch guns. The s.
inch turrets will be six inches thick,
the coming tower inches, and the
signal tower five inches. The total
weight of armor, including the f.
inch protective deck. will be 1922
! tons.
The armament will consist of GO
gums, distributed as follows: Main
battery, four S-inch breech loading
rifles of AS calibres' length; fourteen
finch rapid fire rifles of SO calibres
length. Secondary battery. all RAPID
fire, eighteen 14-pounders, twelve B
Founders. four 1-pounder automatic
four 1-pounder single shot, two 3-incl
field guns and two Cuttings. In adj
dition the hand battery will include
800 magazine rifles and 200 revolvers
On the main deck in the casema,s
will be placed the battery of six
inch rapid fires in broadsides, five or
each side, with not less than ITO de
grees arc of fire, except the forward
pair, which are to be sponsored 81
As to permit them to aim direct ly
ahead. The automatic one-pounder.
will go in the lower military tops
There will be two submerged tor
pedo tubes in one compartment for
ward, and six whitehead torpedoe,
will be carried, The aggregate weigh
of this armament exceeds 400 tons.
AS indicating the rapidity of de
structive fire to be attained with thi
great battery, provision is made fo
the ammunition hoists to deliv.r
charges to each gun at the following
rates: Eight-ineh, one every fit.
seconds; 6-inch, three rounds min
ute; 14-pounders, six rounds min
ute; and 1-pounders, ten rounds
minute. The rounds and weight
of the ammunition to be carried ~
each ship are as follows: Five hun
bred rounds, S-inch complete, Oh.
tons; $500 rounds. 6-inch complete
227.5 tons; 1850 rounds, 14-pounde
complete, SIT tons; 5000 rounds,
Founders complete, 1873 tons; al
other, twenty tons; total, 1926 tons
The construction board has ais
practically completed the designs TO
the battleships Pennsylvania, Georgi
and New Jersey, no material modif
cation from the original plans havin
been made. They will represent a
distinct an advance in their class a
the cruisers do over the New YOr'
and the brooklyn
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