The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1901-12-09
FIGHTING VALUE
OF THE WORLDS
BATTLESHIPS


no fixed rules to determine the
same Various methods have been sug-
gested, some very ingenious but lack
! ing in simplicity. A very interesting table
OF comparisons is made by the London
Engineer, which, as it places United
states battleships ahead of all others,
VIII commend itself to American read
ers- The gun units collectively are taken
OF forty battleships in seven navies,
with the following results: United
States-New Jersey Glass, 116; British
hlng Edward, 1O4; Italy-Beneditto Prin,
1O4; Professionalism "a: Germany
| Wittelsbach, 50: Russia-Knarz Poteu-
SKY TaVrisetscky, SO; Japan-Shikishima
! e. Slngularly enough, the Japanese bat
tleshtps Asahi, Hatsuse and Mikasa are
not included in the list, although they
are actually afOat and ready for service. 4
while many of the others exist only on
paper.
The Japanese battleship Mikasa. built
| at Vicker's yard, Barrow is ready for
! departure. The keel was laid January Is.
! 1899, and the launch came off November
8, 1900. She is practically sister ship to
/ the Asahi and Hatsuse, also built in
England in 1899, and isa4OO feet on the
| water line, 432 feet over all, rs feet beam
| and displaces 1882 tons on draught of
4 q feet inches. The water-line protec-
ton extends all around the vessel, diff
/ fering in this particular from the other
| two Ships in which so feet from the
stern is left unprotected. The main belt
| is inches thick for a distance of 156
| feet, tapering to S72 and to 81 inches and
| 4 inches at bow and stern. Above the
| main belt and extending through the en-
| tire citadel of 156 feet the armOr is s
| inches up to the upper deck, and the
| guns on the upper deck are in 6-inch
| easements. The barbettes are IA inches
to 10 inches In thickness, and the heavy
guns are protected by heavy shields. The
coming tower is IA inches thick; the OBJ
I serVation tower. aft, is inches All the
arrnor is of Krupp nickel steel The
| armament consists of four 12-inch, ten
6-inch on the main deck, four 6-inch on
the upper deck, twenty 12-pOunders,
eight 3-pounders and four 21z-pounders.
The total weight of metal discharged by
this armament in one minute is 111s
tons, and the weight of one brOadside
discharge in one minute is "a tons. The
speed is calculated at Is knots with 1900
horsepower. The weight Of the machin-
cry is 1856 tons. She has IS BelleviIle
boilers, and the coal capacity is 400
tons. The cost Of this unrivaled vessel
is reported as being 9,845, 466 yen for hull.
machinery ana outfit and 4,44,668 yen
for armament, making total of 1920,
134 yen, or narly S,130,OO0. The most ex-
pensfve ships in the United States navy
are the Oregon and Massachusetts, of
1925 tons, reported to have cost $780,
O32 rs and $6,O47, III So, respectively, with
the Wisconsin, of 11,525 tons, a close
third, estimated at $6,O4O,726 6S. The six
| battIeships of the ATbemarle type, 1900
| tons and IS knots speed, building for the
British navy, are estimated to cost
IS, 100000 each, and the two battleships
proposed for the United States navy of
5000 tons and Is knots will exceed
100000.
The triple-screw cruiser Columbia, the
/ former commerce destroyer, which has
: taken the place of the old Vermont as a
receiving ship at the Brooklyn navy
yard, is apparently not a happy ship.
At one time last month no less than If
ty-six men were under confinement on
the cob deck, some cells containing
three or four. An incipient riot finally
broke out over the rough treatment of
a prisoner. and in some unknown way
they secured some of the silver service
from the Columbia, which they broke
up and stuffed into the keyholes of their
cells. Then with some bars, likewise
mysteriOusly obtained, they tried to
break out through the barred windows
but none of them escaped. Considerable
damage was done while the riot lasted,
and eourt-martials with severe punish
, ment are likely to follow.
1 SLGefe0
, | torpedo took place recently at Hughen-
! den, England. in the presence of naval
attaches of Germany, Austria and the
United States. 1t is called the
"actinauts," and is the invention Of Or
ling Armstrong a Swede. The torpedo
was manipulated at a distance of 1900
yards, and without wires the ruader
moved to port or starboard, according to
the operators will. The experiment was
entirely successful. 'Actinauts'' have al
ready run with success at Stockholm and
, Portsmouth An electric lamp enables
the operator to guide the torpedo at
night, while in the daytime jet of wa
I ter expelled by the 'actinaut'' locates
, its position.
Docks Nos. u and 10 at the Portsmouth
doekyard are to be heightened to ac-
commodate ships of the Drake class,
which are over 500 feet in length. The
docks are Asa feet at present.
Lieutenant Hepworth S. Alton. COM
handing officer of the British destroyer
Thorn, has been court-martialed, severe
ly reprimanded and dismissed from his
ship as a result of his vessel running
down boat and drowning three men,
A curious circumstance connected with
the trial was the fact that the Admiralty
> directed that the accused be allowed to
: give evidence on oath. 1t is a privilege
conceded to soldiers on trial. but hfth-
erto denied to sailors.
The recent failure of the steam trials
F.. of the Jeanne dare and Chateaurenault
owing to defective boilers, has brought
out the fact that the French Ministry of
Marine has committed stupendOus blum
der. The ships referred to were fitted
with Guyot-Dutemple water-tube boilers
a type which had been tried with indif-
ferent success in some tOrpedO-bOats, but
have since been discarded. Without as
r pertaining with some degree of certainty
: that these boilers would answer as we'll
e when $4,000 horsepower was developed as
: when only about 1000 horsepower was re-
! quired, the naval authorities contracted
: for 10000 horsepower of the GuyOt-
/ Dutemple boilers, to be installed in seven
: ships, The total failure of these boilers