The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1903-04-29

Great Advance In Power Of Naval
Rinss-cslculsitons Must Be Revised
Other Ships VIII Be Anscted-Nev
Tyre OF Boiler May BE Chosen.
Washington. D. C.-Captain Eugene
Il. Leutze Of tn" new battleship Maine
came to Washington frsm Newport
News and gave the Navy Department
officials their FIRST detailed information
about the condition Of his vessel. which
developed defects during her shaking
down" cruise in the West Indies.
While Captain Leutze contradIcted
the report that the Maine was structur.
ally weak. his statement showed that
the battleship was In worse condition
than had been supposed from the Of
fcinl information that had been re-
ceived.
Not only are the supports and en-
placements Of her six-inch guns weak.
but the structures Of her turrets are
entirely inadequate to bear the strain
Of firing the big tlrret guns.
In addition to this dlsquleting news
the Department learned from Captain
Leutze that the boilers Of the Maine
had proved to be decidedly unsatisfac-
tory.
There was q disposition on the part
Of naval officials at first to make 1t
appear that Captain Leutze had ex-
planned that the defects In the Maine
were not at all serious. but Secretary
Moody decided hat frankness was the
best policy and directed Rear-Admiral
Bowles, the Chief Naval Constructor.
to make a statement for the benefit
Of the public as to the vessels condi-
ton. This Is the statement:
"The officers who have examined the
turrets Of the Maine have found thar
the damage done consists largely OF
the loosenlng up and breaking Of fas-
Jennings and rivets In the circular struc.
ture underneath the rollers and paths
On which the turret Is supported. and In
no respect due to general structural
weakness Of the ship. The supports
under the roller paths are Of the usual
construction. being built up Of plates
and angles.
'SInce the date Of the design Of the
Maine. however. the use OF smokeless
powder with higher pressure guns has
been adopted and the recolls allowed
have been shortened. Both Of these
improvements. while desirable OF
themselves, have greatly increased the
strain on the supporting structure
which In actual test Of firing has
proven inadequate.
"Were It not for the great weight
Of the revolving part g the turret.
amounting to over 400 tons, the fitting
of the additional stiffening In the sup
ports which has been decided tn be
necessary would not be a ver- ela.or.
ate work. but owing to the great super.
incumbent weight which must he sup
ported. and the inaccessibility OF the
carts. It Is anticipated that the repairs
will take some little time.
"The deformatlons Of the decks iu
the vicinity Of certain six-inch guns.
due to the same general cause. are
much less important and can be easily
cemedied.
"The Chief Constructor considers
that no blame can he attached to the
contractors for the Maine. as there was
no evidence whatever OF detective
workmanship"
No official statement was Issued con.
cerning the defects In the boilers. hut
these were otherwise described as due
to the collection. Of waste material In
two tubes Mt points so situated rs to
prevent the steam from being gener.
ated. thus causing the burning out OF
The tubes, and on account OF the con-
struction OF The boilers making It ex-
remely difficult to overcome the
trouble.
As indicated by Admiral Bowless
statement William Cramp & Sons. OF
Philadelphia. who built the Maine.
nave been acquitted Of responsibility
for the defc It's. These are regarded
AZ a natural consequence Of the great
advance In the power Of nava! rifles.
As the strength and resistance OF the
gun supports Of most Of the armored
vessels under construction were calcu.
lated similarly to the calculations made
for the Names gun supports. 1t VIII
probably be necessary to strengthen
the emplacements of the turret guns
and other high-powered rides on these
vessels.
To do this will require alterations IN
plans. some expense and perhaps loss
If time.