The Bourbon news. [volume] (Paris, Ky.) 1895-19??, 1900-04-03
GREAT BATTLESHIPS.
Thee Of the Most Formidable to
Be Built for Our Navy.
Thr California. Nebraska and West
virginia. VIII Have 10000 Tons
replacement and "a Speed
Of 2s Knots.

-@A1ANs
Washington, March 3l.-No war
ships of such fighting power have
ever before been planned abroad or
a. home as the three cruisers whose
details have just been practically com
pIe-ed by the admiralS of the naval
obstruction board. They are really
most formidable battleships. with the
speed and staying powers of an ocean
Ine-. Never has such a tremendous
battery been mounted afoat as the
California, the Nebraska and the Vest
Virginia win carry. Sixty-six fixed
guns constitute their armament. and
their magazines are TO hold over 400
ions of ammunition.
The board has given these sbiDs
$4,000 tons displacement. D knots
speed. and, with coal bunker caDacitv
Of 1000 tons. steaming radius of =
0l. niles. They viii be the only sbiDs
iu -he navy literally armored an over
their protection extending from be-
Joss the water line above the entire
~.ue.siructure. In appearance they
u. mark notable departure from
existing cruisers and battleships of
their class, in that they viii stand
much higher out of the water. giving
better distribution of batteries and
quarters and making them most i'm
pr.--ive.
The machinery is 10 develop over
2-.Hso horse power 10 drive the ships
- knots. and this. with the standard
naval water tube boilers. must not
exceed 1000 tons i'm weight.
Ire armored protection * 10 in
c.Hi. a waterline belt OF Kruppized
steel six inches thick abreast the en-
gInes and boilers. tapering TO 80
inches al the bow and stern. Above
ibis belt there viii be a five-inch case
maze extending half the ships length.
20 protect ten 6-inch guns. The s.
inch -urrets VIII be six inches thick.
the coming tower inches. and the
signal tower five inches The total
weight of armor, including the 4
in.. protective deck. viii be I.427
r.r-.
Tire armament viii consist Of GO
-l--. distributed as follows: Main
ha cry. four S-inch breech loading
rifles OF - calibres' length: fourteen
G-Iueh rapid fire rifles of 30 calibres'
length. Secondary battery. all rapid
fire. eighteen 14-pounders. twelve 3
FOUNDERS. four l-Poundcr automatic.
Jour l-pOunder single shot. two 3-inch
field guns and two Gattlings. In ad-
dir.cn The hand battery viii include
500 magazine rifles and 200 revolvers.
0l he main deck in the casemate
81 be placed the battery of six
ilch rapid fires i'm broadsideS. five on
each side. with not less than 10 de-
gree. are of fire. except the forward
pair. which are 10 be sponsored so
as 20 permit them TO aim directly
ahead. The automatic one-poundcrs
HiH 20 I'm the lower military tops.
There viii bee two submerged tor
pel0 tubes I'm one compartment for
ward and six whitehead torpedoes
Ui-' rc carried. The aggregate weight
oft -Li- armament exceeds 400 tons.
t- indicating the rapidity OF de-
s-rU.,ive fire TO be attained with this
great battery. provision rs made for
rhe ammunition hoists to deliver
charges 10 each gun al the following
rates: Eight-inch. one every fifty
seconds: G-inch. three rounds a min
Utr- l4-pounders. SIX rounds min
utr. and 1-pounders, ten rounds a
misure. The rounds and weights
of ,he ammunition 10 be carried on
each ship are as follows: Five hun
aret rounds. S-inch complete. go
fa.-- $500 rounds. 6-inch complete.
---- tons: 4.5OG rounds. l4-DOunder
complete. 51.7 tons: 6.0O0 rounds, B
pomlers complete. ISIS tons: all
other. twenty tons: total, 409.6 tons.
|re construction board has also
pra-, icaily completed the designs for
fle hattleships Pennsylvania. Georgia
and NeW Jersey. no material mOdifi-
cation from the original plans having
been made. They wll represent as
distinct an advance In their class as
fas cruisers do over the New York