The sun., 1901-04-14
BRITISH VIEW or OUR WARsHIPs.
Prof Byles's Paper Before the Institute Of
Naval Architects.

LONDON. March 2s-Ths Institute Of Naval
Architects met In London yesterday
Prof Byles read his paper on Ten Years
Naval Construction In the United States.'
He said American ship designers and build
ers have been very capable In producing
vessels quite equal TO their promises. No
ship of war Is built In America without Q
special act being passed for its construction.
30 that the design has 10 be discussed. After
1t Is passed the designs are got out in ao-
cordance with the act.
I'm 1891 there was one class OF battleships
and five types OF cruisers. The total tonnage
then was 1856 646 tons, costing go, 900.
while the total tonnage to-day projected or
bullt was s5S,400 tons. costing G2o oi27, 900.
There has been no attempt TO build moro than
one battleshlp OF one type at ono time, and
this guaranteed continued Improvement.
They still adhere to the old lyle Of arrans-
ing the armor Tho l9-inch guns are pro-
tected with turrets with sloping sides seventeen
inches thick. In tho Iowa the thickness
Is reduced TO fifteen inches Tho four
teen 6-inch guns are mounted on tho broad
side on the main deck within an armored
superstruCture or box battery
IN the Alabama class the s-inch guns are
done away with. and the fourteen b-inoh,
guns are displaced by fourteen e-inch guns
so that they now practically agree with the
British authorities In their ideas as to the
arrangement of armament The earlier
hattleships attained seventeen knots The
Georgia and Virginia have their largest guns
reduced TO l2-inch and they have battery
Of s-nch guns eight in number.
There are no ScCOnd-Class battleships
| Four 3ooo-ton monitors have been created
| for harbor defence They are to steam twelve
| knots. bunker capacity 200 tons and the
| draught j. - feet inches
| 'lp 10 ls5S thero was no attempt 10 adopt
! water-tube boilers In the Maine there are
! twenty-iour \icldusse boilers in the Nis
! souri, and ONO twelve Ihornycroft boilers
| n eaCh The Tour monitors are fitted with
Thorn croft \tclapsSe, Mo,her, and Bah
! cock and ilCoN boilers. which arrange
! meni Will give hn opportunity of comparing
| results
In cruisers the Americans tried TO dom
| inato with armament having ?-lnch guns
nEWn>t our N-in,h guns ~ the Drake class.
| Bu' our speed is higher They have nothing
which compare with our thIrd-class cruisers.
| but they have built min" gunhoats Of 900 10
i,%op tons and Of thirteen 10 fifteen knots
speed They have no protection, but are
armrd YIN olN i-.prh guns
! deNtoyer- Of tweu'y-eight to thirty knots
speed, the last bcng 245 feet length. 29,
i%"t beam, by ~ feet having an armam ent
J two lN-lU,h torpedo tubes IN the broRdsids
| The load m trial j. forty-siX tons
| In tho hattlcships tho striking difference
! between ours and theirs are, rrst, the protec-
| ton %. the g Ch bGtterv which IL nrmored
| all rounI ami second the nddtion Of s-inch
prot" Tod guns - tho principal armament
/ ~ IN" Indiana III" s-inCh guns interfere with
| thn NorRins of tn" l?-inch guns Anyway,
they hay" elgHt N-lEch guns more than our
! battles hips, In the British ship4 the dis
/ pli'" urui CooNCl"utS are Cut down nj A
sa"rliic" ~ iino tons displacement. equal 70
/ 10 p"r cent with "A rOuntorva ling alvantags
| which Is not apparent. a. the speeds and horse
| pow""- ar" th" -l'uc
"lnth"t tplnmhil hcr most economical speed
airuW twelve e. tlite"n Kn rs and her radius
| nl ~l'lmluE Is d,uul knots, and Sir Johp
iol"wh made few cuwuarI-Ons with our
construction The tonnage l- about the SANE
| l5.mn tons To chang" this wa keep tho
! -aur u,auruNrIus urw".
! Tho Americans ~ unt keep ~ the sans
| type, hlt k""p oruln alv Improving In
| armpr they ar" up - date There are no
| soft emf, thcr" b, d belt an owe. and also on
! the main H.. rs Ih" smell must 10 kept out
pf the hu.n of the funnel Then they havs
! Introduced the N-iu'h guu lu" objection IL
the s-inrh gun l. superiupos"i IN largo guns
| Thor driugu', also, Is small They havs
| stuck = Nh" W. Grows
"A,holEh tho French, Germans and Rus
/ SLAMS are irving three screws why should va
| n,t try ouoo" fWus Then the" L. not a Belle
! vile boiler In thor ship mud 'hev do not
! plunge for a boiler without atyIrg thoroughly
! 'r,od IL DO not lct us pluuS" for any boiler
J until We thoroughly know If
| The tprped' boat, 40 tons, have thirty
! knot, speed, and ll th"v ll mat they. beat
| ANYTHING Va hav" PROT B'lr- said 10 was
| imuossibn 10 NV what vH- lc't ont Of ths
! British shin. Whom they W"rr "aid 10 hays
| the same displacement with le~s armament,
for no Information Is given blythe Britash
Admiralty. L