The Montgomery advertiser., 1903-02-08
TWO REMARKABLE WAR SHIPS
Thirteen and one-half Tons of Pro-
 jectiles a Minute.


 | London Telegraph.
 Two most powerful men-of-war take the water this week. When affairs between the Argentine and Chilean governments were strained the latter ordered two ships, one from Messrs. Vicxers, Sons & Maxim, and the other from Messrs. Arm strong, Whitworth & Co.. and the two vessels have been built at Barrow and Elswtck. The latter was launched yester- day Ganuary 10 and the former will leave the slip tomorroy. These ships will have the average speed of cruisers-nine- teen knots-with offensive and defensive qualities which are to be found in few battleships. For instance. in their matter of gunfire these are the figures for either of these Chilean men-of-war, compared with the British battlieship Russell, the former having 8 displacement of 11,OOO tons. while the latter displaces 14,0O0 tons. and Is therefore much the larger ship:
 Chilean ship-Guns, four 10-inch, four teen 7.5-inch. fourteen 14-pounders. four G. pounders. Weight of metal thrown a min ute, 13 1-2 tons; collective energy (foot- tons), 100000; coal capacity. 2,500 tons.
 Russell-Guns, four 12-inch twelve G. inch, twelve 12-pounders, six 3-pounders. Weight of metal thrown a minute, tons; collective energy \foot tons), 100000; coal capacity, 2.0O0 tons.
 As to the other features of each of these new battleships, the armor is not less re- markable than the guns. The hull is pro- tected by an armored belt, by an armored citadel and by a protective deck.
 The belt Is eight feet deep, and practi- cally extends to the ends of the ship be ing terminated at the after extremity by a transverse bulkhead of three-inch ar- nor.
 In the central part of the ship, protect ing the bases of the tunnels, the lower parts of the barbettes ,the ammunition tubes, etc., the armored citadel rises from the belt armor to the upper deck. It Is completed at the upper deck by one-inch plating and by six-inch thick armored bulkheads at the ends abutting onto the barbettes. The thickness of the citadel armor is seven inches.
 The protective deck extends throughout the length of the vessel, sloping, down at the sides of the lower edge of the belt, the thickness within the citadel being one and a half inches. Outside the cita- del the thickness is three inches.
 The armor of the barbettes for the ten Inch guns is ten-inch In front and eight Inch in the rear. except where protected by the citadel armor. where 1t is propor- donately reduced.
 AHO SooSAAaSo pEOLeClon OI the TOUT '.5 inch guns on the upper deck is 7-inch n front and 3-inch in the rear The ex- tension of the citadel armor to the upper instead of to the main deck dispenses with the necessity for casemates for the | :en 7.5-inch guns on the main deck. but | he same measure of isolation is secured, IS in the casemate system, by divisional oulkheads placed between the guns and | formed of 1-inch steel plating. The coming tower Is of u-inch armor, 1 he screen being 9-inch.
 The large type of Yarrow watertube ! boiler is fitted in each ship a kind which 1 s to be tested in the British navy.
 After yesterdays launch at Elswick, Sir Andrew Noble, chairman of Arm strong. whitworth q Co.,, said that for nothing approached the ves- gel in offensixe and defensive power. The guns were the most powerful ever made and each required a charge of 200 pounds Of a new nitro-explosive. The construction of the vessel had been a -ecord one so far as battleships were Her keel was laid in March if last year, so that she had been built md launched in ten months. She would Jan completely armed within eighteen nont1w of her eommencemenS