New-York tribune., 1903-01-28

N4VY'S BIGGEST SHIP.
The Battieship Connecticut's W0ys
IRE E.rtremey Strong.

In the navy yard in Brooklyn. hard by the
commandant's office. is rude structure OF mas
sive timbers extending to the waters edge
which is of the most interesting pieces OF
construction in the city. IL is the bottom part OF
the ways on which is to be reared the battle
ship Connecticut which will be the largest yes
sci in the navy. and will have a displacement Of
10000 tons. Her length, which is the length OF
the ways, is to be $50 feet Longer ships have
been launched in this country, although not in
the vicinity of Brooklyn. but the launching
weight of the Connecticut will probably he
greater than that of any other snip ever
launched in the United States.
For this reason the ways now being con-
structed are probably the most substantial IN
the country Over three thousand piles nave
been sunk for the foundation, and thousands oI
feet of yellow pine and live oak have been used
The work that is to go on them is on the largest
scale ever attempted by the Navy department.
and WILL therefore, be watched with the keenest
interest
There is an erroneous impression among lay
men that the ways for a vessel must be COM
pIeted before work the ship Is begun. AS
matter of fact the Ways include all of the super
structure that goes up as the boat ltseiI grows
and no ways are complete until the vessei Is
ready to be launched. That part or the ways
now ready consists of the building olochs' Ihe
forward cribbing and the keel blocks ana tne
work of laying the keel of the battieship couio
be started to-day. The first keel plate no"esei'
will not be laid on the blocks until April. Wheh
the big cantilever. travelling crane VIII Do
finished. as II would be waste OF energy 10 ae-
+en,rt to assemble the steel frame by ordinary
darr,cks This must not be taken to mean'
however that there is any delay In the con-
struction of the boat. The steel work Is All
being made ready in the shops, ana VIII riSe
with great rapidity after the first keel plate ls
in place.
Some difficulties were found in constructing tne
foundation of the ways on account OF the nature
of the SOIL it being largely soft. made lahu-
These have all been overcome. and the ways
which are to be permanent, and on winch olhel
vessels will probably be built, are as stanch as
erv i, the country In driving the piles two
sunken vessels were discovered, one an olu
schooner. near the waters edge. the other Wnat
it was thought might be the remains OF the OLD
prison ship Jersey of Revolutionary war IN
famy The latter point was not settled, as tne
rotting hulk was not unearthed
The decision to have battleship built at a
navy ward was made by Congress AT the IasI
session. after a fight of many years IL was
nrovided that the cost should not exceed
81 100000 and that the ship should be READY
for commission forty-two months after oesii-
ming work. The Connecticut VIII proodDlS D
launched two years from the coming sprlns-
Unusual difficulties will be presented theh' az
cerding to the anticipations of the naval con-
structors as the piling will have TO be built out
into the river for considerable distance
Only four other vessels have ever been
built by the Navy Department itself. the bat
tIeships Texas and Maine, Of about $3.50 tons
each. and the cruisers Raleign and Cincinnati OF
31S3 tons The Maine and the Cincinnati were
built at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. and the TWO
others at the Norfolk yard The Maine was
launched in 1890 from ways which were ABOUT
one hundred feet from the present ways