The Bellefontaine Republican. [volume] (Bellefontaine, Logan County, Ohio) 1855-1905, 1904-10-04
The Connecticut was Sue
cessfully Launched.
PLANS OF HER BUILDERS
Call for the Finest and Most
Powerful Ship i'm Our Navy.
WILL COST OVER S4,OOO,OOO.
When Fully Manned the Connecticut
Will Carry AZ Officers and 761 men,
A Short Description Of the New Ad-
dition to Our Navy.

New York, Sept. 30.-Although sue
cessfully launched yesterday, the bat
tleship Connecticut did not have the
bottle of wine broken by Miss Alice B.
Welles. who had been selected as
sponsor for the ship. She threw the
bottle at the bows as the ship began
to move of the ways, but 1t failed to
break when 1t struck the vessels side.
Secretary of the Navy Morton and
Rear Admiral Rodgers stood beside
Miss Welles.
Rear Admiral Rodgers attempted rc
grasp the bottle as 1t rebounded, but
failed, and the ship was moving of
into the water when a workman on the
deck seized the string that held the
bottle and dashed the glass receptacle
of the champagne against the side of
the ship. shattering it to pieces, to the
relief of the superstitious. This was
the only variation of the prearranged
plan, despite the many sensational
stories of attempts to do the vessel
damage.
The navy yard was crowded, 1t be-
ing estimated that almost 10000 per-
sons witnessed the launching. Every
point of vantage was occupied. Stands
for invited guests had been erected
about the big red hull, and outside OF
this was fence behind which the ma
| jority of visitors were kept.
The Connecticut is a sister ship to
the Louisiana, and both vessels were
authorized by an act of congress in
1902. The Connecticut was built in q
government yard and under govern
ment supervision, while the Louisiana
was built by a private shipbuildine
firm at Newport News, Va. The con-
struction of both ships has been fol.
lowed with keen interest, as it was
recognized that it was a test of the
governments ability to cope witt
private enterprise. Much depended Oh
this competition of construction, for Il
the Connecticut is completed before
the Louisiana then most of the gov
ernment shipbuilding will be done By
the latter, and II is expected the New
York navy yard will be the shipbuild
i ing center for government work.
The Connecticut when finished viii
be the finest and most powerful boa
in the American navy and will ranl
with the most powerful battleships o
the navies of other nations. Notwith
standing the fact that a new plant ha,
to be erected for the construction o
the Connecticut, this vessel is but
per cent. behind the Louisiana, al
though laid down two months later.
The keel of the Connecticut wa
laid down on March 10, 1903, the sten
was erected on July 2S, the first armo
placed aboard April "a, and the frs
boiler shipped on July 7.
The Connecticut is of steel with
trial displacement of 10000 tons an
a maximum displacement of 1871
tons. The vessel is 450 feet on tn
load water line, 1864 feet over al
76.10 feet beam and 24.6 feet draught
The engines will be of the twi
screw, vertical, four cylinder triple
expansion type with a combined hors
power of 16,500 and these will &C
cumulate a speed of IS knots.
Her armament will consist of fou
12-inch breech loading guns, one pal
: in the forward turret, and another aft
and eight S-inch guns mounted
pairs in four turrets on the super
! structure. In the main deck batter
there will be IL finch rapid-fire gun
mounted six to a broadside In add
b tion there will be IL 14-pounders, ]
three-pounders, six one-pound auto
matte guns. two one-pound semi-autC
Q matte, and eight 30-inch machin
= guns.
= Ordinarily she will carry sufficier
coal to steam 1000 miles at IL knot
or $500 miles at is knots.
The Connecticut when in commits
sion will carry ~ officers and 761 me
She is not to exceed S4.212, 900 in cos