The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1900-11-26
The new JERSEY.
Plans and Specifications for
the Powerful New
Battleship.
CARRY The HEAVIEST ARMOR
Bureau of Construction and
Repair Carried Out the
Purpose of Congress.

When Congress, in March, 1S99 appro-
priated money for three sea-going coast
| line battleships carrying the heaviest ar
NOR and most powerful armament for
| vessels of their class, it was evidently
the intention to provide for vessels more
powerful than those of any other nation
in the world.
| The unfortunate provision by which
/ the contracting for the vessels was made
| subject to an agreement as to- the price
of armor, while it delayed the work in
connection with these important vessels,
served one good purpose in making it pos
sible to combine with those appropriated
for by the Fifty-fifth Congress the two
provided for by the act of June z, 1900
The five new batt1eships will be the
Pennsylvania New Jersey, Georgia, Vir-
ginia and Rhode Island.
The Bureau of Construction and Re-
pair, in the designs for these five vessels,
has fully carried out the evident purpose
of Congress, and the designs now ap-
preaching completion in that bureau rep
resent five of the most powerful battle
ships which have ever been projected.
The vessels appropriated for in 1899
are required to be sheathed and copper
ed whereas those of the latter eppropria-
ton have been held by the Navy Depart
Ment not to be covered by the provision
as to sheathing, and the Bureau of Con-
struction and Repair has therefore de-
signed two classes of vessels one sheath
ed and the other not sheathed The de-
signs have been further complicated by
the decision of the Board of Construc-
ton to fit three of the vessels with the
superimposed turret, similar to those on
the Kearsage and Kentucky, and to
provide the other two vessels with what
has been designated the "quadrilateral
arrangement" of the S-inch guns of the
main battery. The provisions of the acts
for the five vessels have, therefore, been
| covered by designs, prepared in the
Bureau of Construction and Repair. for
three sheathed and coppered battleships
carrying superimposed turrets and two
unsheathed battleships with the ''quadri-
lateral arrangement of S-inch turrets.
| The general dimensions and chief char
acteristics Of the sheathed and copper
vessels are:-
Length on load water line, 4S5 feet.
Breadth, extreme, at load water line,
rs feet 10 inches.
Trial displacement, about 5000 tons.
Mean draft at trial displacement about
liza feet.
Greatest draft, full load, about 2s feet
The general dimensions of the un-
sheathed vessels are
Length on load water line, 4S5 feet.
| Breadth, extreme, at load water line
76 feet 21s inches.
Trial displacement, about "a, 400 tons
Mean draft at trial displacement, about
"a feet.
Greatest draft. full load, about 2s feet
In the $4,000 tons represented in each
eof these vessels, the many antagonistic
| qualities essential to perfect fighting
machine have been compromised and in
! corporated in proportions which expert
ence seems to have pointed out as the
most desirable and efficient
To begin with, these battleships will
have speed of at least nineteen knots,
which compares most favorably with
| any battleship under construction abroad
as well as with any of the projected
stage. AS all of the vessels previously
designed by the Bureau of Construction
and Repair have shown material excess of
speed over that called for, it may be ex-
pected that this figure will be exceeded
by from a quarter to half a knot.
The vessels will be propelled at this
high speed by twin screws driven by two
four cylinder triple expansion engines of
about $4,000 indicated horse power. having
stroke of four feet, running under con-
ditions of maximum speed, at 120 reyolu-
tions per minute The steam necessary to
this power will be supplied at a pressure
of 250 pounds per square inch by twenty
four Babcock & Wilcox straight water
tube boilers, placed four in each of six
independent water tight compartments.
Each ship will carry four Pinch guns
| forty calibres in length, mounted in pairs
in Hichborn balanced turrets having an
arc of train of go degrees, one forward
| and one aft in each vessel. Of the eight
S-inch guns, 40 calibres in length, which
| Will be carried on each, in the three
! sheathed vessels, four will be mounted
in turrets of the Hichborn type super
posed upon the Pinch turrets above
mentioned, and four in two turrets amid
ships, the amidships turrets having an
arc of train of 1so degrees, and in the
| two unsheathed vessels. all eight S-inch
| 3 oAAS WAiA DC AuOdAtSu III LOuT lHu6penQ-
| ent turrets, each having an arc of train
| of 145 degrees placed two on each side
| at the ends of the superstructure, thus
| forming quadrilateral.
| In each vessel there will be broadside
of twelve 6-inch rapid fire guns. 80 cali
bres in length, mounted six on each side
on the main deck. each with an arc of
train of 110 degrees, and each will also
! have twelve 14-pounders and twelve s.
Founders mounted in commanding posi-
| tions and having very large area of fire.
In the two lower tops there will be four
automatic one-pounders and in the upper
tops four single-shot one-pounders
Experience having shown that above
water torpedo tubes are not only ineffi-
cient weapons but a menace to thei-
possessors the vessels are fitted only with
submarine torpedo tubes. Two of these
are located in one compartment, one on
each side, fitted for the discharge of the
large 1S-inch Whitehead torpedo, and pro-
vision is made for carrying stored in the
torpedo room six of these formidable en-
gines of war.
The magazines Of the vessels will be
specially fitted to enable them to carry
with absolute safety in all climates the
new srnokeless powder, and with this epd
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