The Portland daily press., 1900-10-04

| Massachusetts naval militia. She Is So4
feet 8 1-2 inches long, 81 feet 1ncnes
wide and at D feet draft OF water dls-
places 400 tsns. She carried originally
a battery Of 46 guns. Her engines %
IOOO h0rse-p were considered only
as auxiliary power, her sails pelhS
mostly relied upon for propulsion
Ihe most radical departure from pre-
cedent in the history Of war ship con-
s5ructon came while the Minnesota anu
her Class were still new, and one OF then,
the fFanklin, unfiished, and is represent
ed lnOn Of the pictures, which SHOWS
Ine original Monitor accompanied py Ohe
latest DEVELOPMENT of the monitor type,
5ne Arkansas and class. Ihe monitor
was built bv John Ericsson in 1861, ana
although individually she was TIE nrsU
! CRUDE DEVELOPMENT Of an idea. she eYo lu-
6lonlZsd the navies OF the World her
splendiu service showed that spars ana
sails lnust no longer be cons 1dered as
part OF a war vessels means OF pr opuI-
sion and that ships must be prot9cJed
Dy af1a0r to meet the improvements IN
ord1 nance. While the monitor type has
long since passed out Of favor as a sea-
nghtef, there are certain phases OF nation
al defense for which many authorities
conslder It's latest development, the Ar
kansas, the Connecticut the Florida,
ana ehe wyoming, now building, the
Dese Vessels that can be devised. IN Gnem
the only radical departure from the orlgl-
nal Consists in providing living accom-
nlOua1Ons above water. O6her ulue1
enees are those of detail.
q Another picture shows the Katahdln
ana The Holland. The former is IL
sense the outcome Of the idea given ~
the Confederate ram Tennessee Admiral
Alnmen, who participated in the hght
De1Feen that vessel and the federal ship,
always thereafter held liked bellef 6ha5
1ne Fam was the most formidable weapon
OF marine warfare and finally persuaded
Congress to authorize the construction
OF a Vessel after his designs, and the
ha1ahdin was commenced at the Bath
IRON Works In July, 1891. Owing to the
ullHo0lty in procuring her arInor she
was not completed until February, 1886
She Is 25I feet long, 43 feet inches vice,
Z! Ieet deep and at 15-foot draft dis
pIaces 2l55 tons, Her turtle-back dec
rises only six feet above the water and 1s
ar4noned all over with steel plates rang
ing from six inches thick at the sides to
Two Inches thick at the center. ner
armament comprises only four six-pound-
or guns, and the combings around THESE,
6he afmored coming tower and the
1nokegtack and Yentiletors are the only
projections above the deck except the
oaVlts andsgalloWs frames for slowing the
boats.
The Katahdin had no opportunity to
display her qualities during the Spanish
war The ofner vessel Is the submar Inc
boat Holland, lately purchased by the
government Congress during the last
session having authorized the construc-
oion Of five similar boats. accompanying
1hese two is the steel tug boat Unadilla,
a y Pc of several which have been con-
shrueted in recent years for naval use.
She Was built at the Mare Island navy
yaro In 1926, and is 110 feet long, % feet
VIDE and at 10 feet draft displaces 345
tons
The final and up-to-date picture of the
series shows the first-class battle ship OF
Ohe Fennsylvan1a class, the designs for
which are being completed by the bureau
OF Construction and repair. In the same
picture is shown the new Maine and the
torpedo boat destroyer Farragut. The
Penhsylyania class will be Of 1,600 tons
displacement and have speed Of I9 knots
Psr hour. The principal dimensions are:
1Jen lie ngth, load water line, 435 feet; beam,
70 Iset, and draft, % 5 feet. The Maine
is being constructed at Philadelphia, and
is 5eS feet long, u feet 1-2 inches wide
ana has a displacement OF u, 300 tons.
Inc Farragut was commissioned just
ABOUT a year ago in California, having
Deeh built at the Union iron works, San
FRANCISCO. She is 213 feet 6 inches long,
~ Ieet 7 3-4 inches wide and at six feet
ora[t displa9ss 279 tons. Her speed on
Grlal was 8013 knots, with $500 horse
PoWsr. She is armed with two lS-inch
Whitehead torpedo tubes and four six
pouhder guns.