The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1900-11-17
MIGHTY ENGINES OF VAR
New Batfleships the Most Fermid-
able in the World.

VnequaIed Fighting Qualities of the
Five Vessels of the Virginia Glass.
All to BE Provided With Guns Of
the Highest Power Speed at
Least Nineteen Knots an Hour.
When Congress in March. 1888 ap2ro-
priatet: money for three seagoing coast
line battIeships carrying the heaviest ar
NOR and most powerful armament for
vess els of their class. it was evidently
the il sention 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 10 an agreement as %
the price Of armor, while it delayed thu
work in connection with these important
vessels. served one good pucpos- n mas
ing it possible to combine with III s a2-
propriated for by the Fifiy-hfth Congress
the two provided for by the act of June
:, 1900
The Bureau of Construction and REAR
y the designs for these ave vessels has
lily carried cut the evident purpose of
7ngress, and The des3gzs now spt,r ach-
Z completion in that bureau represent
of the most powerful battleshiPs
Itch have ever been pToj scted.
The vessels appropriated for IN Is ara
required to be shesJhed and coppeT-d.
whereas these OF the later appropriated
have been held by the Navy Department
not to be covered by the precision as to
sheathing, and the Bureau CT Co1str1c-
ticn and Repair has. therefore d s gned
two classes of vessels-0ne sh aJhed a5d
the other not shsathed. The designs have
been further complicated b. she decision
Of the Board Of Construction 10 f. three
of the vessels with the supsrimpOsed tur-
ret similar to these on the Eear sarge
and Kentucky and to provide the other
two vessels with what has bSe1 des=g-
mated the "quadriiateral arra1gsrn M o.
the eight-inch guns Of the maja batte:y.
The provisions Of the acts Tor the five
vessels have, therefore, been cSFersd by
designs prepared N the Bureau OF Con-
stFuction and Repair for three she athed
and coppered tattIeships carrying snper-
imposed turrets and two unsasathed tat
tleships with the ''quadrilateral ar
rangement'' of eight-inch guns.
The general dimensions and chief char
acteTistics Of the sheathed and copp4red
vessels are:
Length on load water line. aS5 It.
Breach. extreme. at load water
line IS II 10 IN
Tria7 displacement about...-....l5 go tons
Mean DAFT It trial displacement
sgIes ,tt 81, 1,d .bo,,; % u
The general dimensions of the unsbeath-
ed vessel are:
Length on load water line. 455 It.
Breadth, extreme, at lead water
me 10 II 2la IN
Tfia5 5izpi- cement. about. II 900 tons.
Mean dratt At trial displacement,
about ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS - t..
Greatest d.aft, full load, about 26>4t.
Speed of Nineteen Knots.
IN the IS 90 tons represented in each OF
these vessels Of the Virginia class. the
many antagonistic qualities essential TO 2
perfect fighting machine have been COM
promised and Incorporated II proportions
which experience seems TO have pointed
cut as the most desirable and efficient. To
begin with these batttIeships Will have a
speed OF at least 70 knots. which COM
paTes most fayor2bIy with any battleships
under construction abroad. as wen as
with any in 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 expected that this
figure VIII be exceeded by from a quarter
TO half knot
The vessels viii b. propelled at this
high speed by twin screws driven by Two
4-cylinder, tr!ple-expansion engines of
about $4,000 Indicated horsepower, having
q stroke Of 4 feet. running under eondi-
tions Of maximum speed, at about 100
revolutions per minute. The steam nee
essaTy TO this power viii be supplied at
q pressure OF $50 pounds per square inch.
by q Babcock & Wilcox straight water
tube boilers, placed in each of six in
dependent water-tight compartments.
Each snip viii carry four Pinch guns,
30 CalibTes in ZENITH mounted in pairs in
Hichborn balanced turrets having an arc
of train Of 270 degrees, one forward and
one aft in each vessel OF the eight S-ineh
guns. -45 caIibres IN length, which viii be
carried on each, in the three sheathed
vessels. four viii be mounted in turrets
of the Hichborn type, supeTimposed upon
the i2-ineh tuTrets above mentioned, ard
four in two turrets amidships. the amid
ships tuTTeTts having an arc Of train of
$50 degrees; and in the two uHsheathed
vessels. all eight S-inch guns viii be
mounted IN four independent turrets, each
having an arc of train of 145 degrees,
placed two on each side at the ends Of
the superstructure thus forming a quad
TilateTal- In each vessel there will be a
broadside of Il 6-iRch rapid-fire guns, 80
ealibres in length, mounted six on each
side. on the main deck, each with an arc
Of train of 10 degrees. and each will also
have u 14-pounders and y 3-pounders,
mounted in commanding positions and
having very large arcs Of fire. n the two
lower tops there viii be four automatic
1-pou1ders and in the upper tops four
single-shot 1-peundeTs.
Experience having shown that above
water torpedo tubes are not only inefficient
weapons, but a menace 70 their possessors,
the vessels are fitted only with sub-ruarine
torpedo tubes. TWO OF these are located il
one compartment. one on each side, fitted
for the discharge of the large 1S-inch
for carrying stored il the torpedo room six
safety of Magazines.
The magazines ef the vessels viii he spe-
cialIy fitted to enable them to carry with
absolute safety in all climates the new
smokeless powder. AID with this end in
view. provision is being made for their az
.ifeiai cooling by pipes led from the cold
storage system of the vessel in such cases
as may be necessary. Provision viii be
made IN the magazines for the stowage of
at least so rounds for each Of the Pinch
guns, representing a weight OF about IA
tons; 125 rounds for each of the e-inch
guns, representing about $50 tons; 200
rounds for each OF the 6-inch guns the
weight ct which viii be about 190 tons:
500 rounds TOT each Of the 3-psunder and
1-poundeF guns. and an almost inexhsnsti-
bic supply of ammunition for The smaller
guns.
So much for the vessels offensive quail
ties To make their defensive cl,alifes