The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1903-12-26
TO Be ARMORED ALL OVER
IN COATS OF STEEL
Protection of Battleships of the
United States Navy in Building
of Twin Fighters.
JSE OF ELECTRICITY

WASHINGTON, Dec. 25.-The two new
16,ooO-ton battleships Connecticut and
Louisiana, while the largest fighting yes
sells this government has ever built. Will
exhibit several entirely new features of
construction and armament. They will be
clad in complete coat of steel, instead of
depending merely upon an armor belt for
their vitals; they will carry rapid-fire
weapons of caliber and pattern hitherto
unknown and they will utilize electricity
for aiming as well as firing their guns.
The armor for the Connecticut-the ves-
sells are twins, exactly alike-will cost ST.
10000. and she will carry a million dollars
worth of guns. Her steel protection, In
stead of being concentrated in a water
line belt amidships, leaving the ends OF the
vessel exposed, after the method hitherto
adopted, will extend from bow to stern
and above the main waterline belt will be
three thinner belts-the lower easement,
upper easement and superstructure armor.
The two battleships will be the most for
midable fighting vessels on the seas. Each
of them will have four twelve-inch guns,
in turrets, which will throw projectiles
weighing $50 pounds with a velocity of $500
feet, or a little over half a mile a second.
This velocity is one-fourth greater than
was obtained with guns of the same cali
Der on the old Iowa, the Improvement be-
ing due in part TO the new smokelesS pow
der, but mainly to an enlargement of the
powder chamber, which is thus enabled
to hold larger quantity of the explosive.
The guns next in size will be Seven-inch-
a caliber unknown hitherto in our service.
Taking the place of the eight-inch cannon
mounted on the Indiana and other battle
ships, they will be much more managea bic
and at least equally effective. They will
be of the rapid-fire pattern, delivering a
stream of projectiles weighing 165 pounds,
each of which will carrying a bursting
charge of thirteen pounds of black powder.
These explosive shells, for which armor-
piercing projectiles may be substituted
when desired, will travel at rate of 1900
will be something frightful.
GUNS TO BE LONGER.
The explosion of such enormous charges
of gunpowder required for these
huge weapons-the seven-inch caliber takes
101 pounds for each shot-produces tremend-
Gus shocks aboard ship, and the twelve
inch gun of the Connecticut and Louisiana
will be made five feet longer than ordinary
that their their muzzles shall project far
beyond the vessels side when trained
abeam. Thus the blast from them will be
less likely to affect the smaller cannon on
the deck below. All of the new protec-
tiles. by the way, are made with thicker
walls to resist the higher pressures of ex-
stock have had to be thrown away, because
too thin.
Hitherto most of the guns of the second
airy batteries have been three Founders and
six Founders. but on the two new battle
ships these will be replaced by weapons Of
three-inch caliber, rapid-fire, discharging
fourteen-pound shells. The latter can be
fired nearly as fast as the three-pounders
and they will inflct vastly more damage.
Twenty of them will be carried by the Con-
necticut and 1t is easy to imagine what
t,-r, oI1,t. %laxr xxrfn III
of, delivering a veritable hail of bursting
prOjectileS.
The new battleships will be provided with
a new kind of shell which, while effective
as an armor piercer, contains large BURST
ing charge of gunpowder. Up to now the
armor-piercing projectile, utilized exclusive
explosive but this novel agent of mischief
is capable of passing unbroken through
armor plate foot thick. thereupon bursting
and doing an amount of damage well calcu-
lated to demoralize the enemy. Such a
shell, landing in the engine room. would
be likely to put the machinery out of busi-
ness.
Electrity will be employed on the Connecti-
cut and the louisiana for purposes TO
which 1t has not hitherto been applied. There
will be electric ammunition conveyors, and
it is probable that the larger guns will be
aimed as we'll as discharged by electricity.
In a seaway the roll of a ship interferes
good deal with accurate craftsmanship,
and it is now an accepted theory that in
be continuous aim-that is to say, the guns
should be kept steadily pointed at the tar
get. no matter how the vessel moves. One
method of doing this is to keep the weapon
horizontal, by an automatically controlled
electric motor.
SMOKELESS POWDER USED.
To train our gun-pointers in the busi-
ness of hitting the target vast sums of
money are being expended by the Navy
Department, three battleships of the North
Atlantic fleet having used up $4,000 worth
of ammunition within twelve months For
this purpose smokeless powder is employed
almost exclusively; the government has not
made or bought any black powder since the
Spanish war, except for loading explosive
shells and making fuses. From 1000 to 5000
pounds of smokeless powder are turned out
on the Potomac, and enough i'm addition is
purchased from private concerns to raise
the supply to 10000 pounds a day.
The government factory at Indian Head
comprises twenty-eght buildings, which
are scattered widely over about 300 acres of
ground, so that the destruction of one of
them may not affect the others. In July
of last year one of the powder houses was
struck by lightning and wiped out. 1t is
not known what was the cause of similar
catastrophe at Mare Island. Cal. not long
powder blew up The roof of the magazine
was distributed over two counties, but the
walls were uninjured, and the great mass
of gunpowder burned all day long. The
factory at Indian Head last year produced
for making smokeless powder, 37S, SOC
pounds of ether, 1,2l5,492 pounds of nitric
acid and l6.575 pounds of guncotton.
Smokeless powder is likely to decompose
and deteriorate-a trouble against which
the Navy Department has to be constantly
on it's guard. In order to detect such de-
terioration when it occurs, the curious de-
vice has been adopted of mixing with por-
tons of the explosive small quantity OF
coal tar coloring called ''rosaniline," which
imparts to it deep carmine hue. If de-
composition occurs, the powder thus treat
ed loses its color.
For practice in shooting at night the
Navy Department has been using recently
a new contrivance called a 'tracer''-a small
attachment to the fuse of a shell containing
the projectile is illuminated during its flight
through the air. Thus the gun pointer, fol-
lowing the shell with his eye. is ena bled to
watch the path ii takes. Some of our war
vessels have been supplied with these trac-
ers for experimental use at sea.
This government has now twenty-five war
vessels building including nine battleships
Their armament will cost SIS. 0l0, 900, and the
armor for them will come to another SIS
OO00O0 In all they will carry 1859 guns
Nevertheless, the activity of Germany, our
so much greater than ours that in 1907 her
about twice that OF the United States. Ii is
a very serious and well nigh alarming stu
alton, in view of the danger of a collision
with that power, which is considered by
many astute observers to be almost i'm
minent