The news & observer. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1894-current, 1901-12-28
1T TAKES PLACE TODAY
Miss Marion Cockrell Will Serve as
the Sponsor.
A DAUGHTER OF SENATOR cocKRELL
The Missouri Sister Ship Of the Ohio and The
Maize. Ranks Next to Battleshlps Of
the Georgia Class in
Speed.
(By the Associated press.)

Washington, d. c., Dec 27.--Members
of the Presidents Cabinet with their FAM
lilies and several bureau chiefs of the
Navy Department, guests of the Newport
News Ship-building and Dry Docking
Company left here for Newport News,
Va, at 10 o'clock this evening by special
train, to attend the launching OF the bat
tleship Missouri at II o'clock tomorrow
morning. c. B. Orcutt, president Of the
Ship building Company, accompanied the
party. A large number of Senators, men,
bers of the House and others, including
Senator Francis M. Cockrell of Missouri
and his daughter, Miss Marion CockreIi.
who is to act as sponsor at the launch
ing sailed for Newport News tonight and
will arrive there early in the morning
The Missouri is a sister ship of the
Ohio and the Maine. Her contract price
was $2,885, 900. Her keel was laid Feb
ruary 7th, 1900, and on the latest con-
struction report she is set down as 81 per
cent completed. The Missouris contract
speed is 1S knots an hour SO that she will
rank next to the battleships Of the Geor-
gia class in regard to speed. Her COM
plement will be forty officers and 511
men.
The hull is built of steel and is un-
sheathed. 1t is 3SS feet long on the
load-waterline, 72 feet 21s inches extreme
breadth, and at a mean draught of 23
feet inches, dsplaces II, 230 tons. The
hull is protected abreast of the boilers
and egines by a side armor belt of from
71R to IL inches thickness and by the
casemate armor, six inches thick. In the
casemate are placed ten of the six inch
guns, the vessel carries. Above this on
the upper deck four six-inch guns are
placed, in the vicinity of which six-inch
armor is worked far enough forward and
aft to afford protection to the crews of
these guns
Protection is afforded the vitals of the
ship below the water line by protective
deck with armor from 2% to 4 inches
thick. The main battery of the ship con-
sists of Az inch rifles placed in two bal
anced turrets and sixteen six-inch guns.
The turrets are turned by electricity and
can revolve through 1850 degrees in one
minute Ten of the six-inch guns are
within the casemate as before stated
two others are on the berth forward in
on the upper deck Those in the sponsons
forward and two on the upper deck can
fire directly ahead and the other two on
the upper deck directly astern, in adj
dtion to having a broadside fire. The
secondary battery consists of six 3-inch
guns, eight 6-pounders; six 1-poundcrs,
two Colts and two 3-inch field guns.
A new feature introduced into the Of
,~f4 ..I,s, e..,l,
merged torpedo tubes. While German
warships have been equipped with these
tubes for number of years the Missouri
and her class are the first battleships
of our navy to be supplied with them.
There arc two military masts fitted with
the usual signal yards, tops and top
masts, one mast as usual being over
the forward coming tower. The Mis-
souri, carries Ii beats. of which one Is
forty steam cutter and another 36 foot
steam cutter Of the usual navy type. The
boats arc handled by four cranes opera
ted by steam and each Of which can lift
the heaviest boat that it has to handle
at the rate Of forty feet per minute. Bilge
keels to reduce rolling arc fitted to the
vessel, experiments in recent years in our
own and foreign navies having demon
SIfateQ the great eIHclency OF LneSe keelS
in preventing excessive rolling. Hydraulic
gear is used in steering the vessel and
can put the rudder from hard aport to
hard astarboard in twenty second when
the vessel is moving at full speed. Elec-
tricity is used for lighting the vessel and
operating the turrets and hoists and for
communicating between parts OF the ships
and for other minor purposes. Four pow
erful searchlights will give warning of
the approach of hostile vessels. For night
signalling the ship carries two sets Of
electric signalling apparatus
The normal coal supply Is one thousand
tons and the capacity OF the bunkers is
two thousand tons. The arrangement of
the bunkers is such as to afford consid-
cradle incidental protection 10 the ma
chincry.
The Missouri and her class arc the
first battleships of the United States
Navy in which water tube boilers are
provided. Steam for the propelling ma
chinery is supplied by water tube boil
ers of the Thorneycroft type placed in
four water-tight compartments. There
are three smoke pipes. The two propell-
ing engines are Of the vertical cylinder
direct acting triple-expansion type, hay-
ing four cylinders. The collective indi-
Gated horsepower is about 5000 when
the vessel is making Is knots.