The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913, 1904-08-29

Lord Nelson class for the British navy
nave been completed and their princi-
pal details announced in the House OF
commons. They are TO have q normal
i-sp-acement Of $500 tons. a speed Of
, Knots and an armament Of four 2
eiHch and ten s.2-inch guns. These bat
l-lcs are The most formidable vet
placed in any ship and are far more
.lectTe for long range fighting than
tle oatteships building for the United
states navy. The normal displacement
~ me five American battleships is l6,-
o-9 IONS. on which they carry four p
lrch- eight 6-iuch and twelve finch
suns The range and penetrating
power az The British and American T.
lncn sun IS practically alike, but the
range and power Of the 9.2-inch gun
makes the S-inCh and 7-inch guns COM
raraLve-y Ineffective at = range OF
three 10 four miles.
The -FOUR British armored cruisers TO
ae built are also an advance on the
Duke ~ Edinburgh class. They are
t0 be known as the Minotaur class and
VIII disulace 1880 tons Their speed
IS 10 be e knots and their batteries viii
consist Cr four 9.2-tuCh and ten 7.6-inch
guns. The American armored cruisers
Tennessee and Washington displace IA
800 tons and are calculated 10 steam %
kpOts and their armament consists of
O. fpI:s. 10-inch and sixteen 6-fcch guns.
The greater speed Of the British ships
q realized. gives them a distinct ad-
vantage IN selecting a range at which
the 6-inch guns Of American ships
wCulS be Ineffective.
sSeNenreen tOrpedc-boat destroyers
have been added 10 the British navy
since January, 1902. and two more are
% ready for their steam trials. Two OF
q the accepted boats are fitted with tur-
biDes and have attained speeds OF 81
. acO 26-2 knots during the prescribed
run of four hours II was left 70 the
o several contractors 70 achieve the best
results on displacements between 40
E.Cd $50 tons. with not less than 1000
HORSEPOWER and the guaranteed speed
Of not GDoer 3 knots. The boats,
o therefore, differ in size. but the speed
has II all Instances been exceeded, the
highest being that Of the Velox, OF
40 tons. which made 27.11 knots, the
E6er and Welland, OF $50 tons each.
26-2 knots. and the lowest that OF the
Dee. q so tons 25-5 knots. Yarrow' s
boats were particularly speedy and
NEW RECORD IN GUNNERV.
The British battleship Venerable, at
tached 10 the Mediterranean fleet, has
esra l-ished q worlds record in gun
merry one Of her 12-inch barbetre guns
was fred nine rounds IN three minutes
s--e greatest rapiditv was three rounds
"a one minute and f0rty-seven seconds,
D-r no mention is made Of the number
ot HTS.
ecH-oInlcal
The British battleship Repulse. I4.15C
tons. and II. 900 horsepower. built al
Pembroke dockvard and completed in
-See has been reftted at an estimated
cost ~ s-50010 and has made q salts
factory steam trial She is Of the Royal
sovereign class. 0f which eight were
laid. down in 1SSe-90-91 and were calcu-
lated - have 1900 horsepower and LIS
tU.-s speed. but only the Royal Sow
.ereiEl attained the power and speed
therefore Iheir horsepower has been
limited 10 about 1850 and a speed OF
" -ltreu Knots. The first cost Of these
eight ships averaged $4,000, 900. that Of
-ks E-pu-se being s4.257. 600. The Re
pulse has been nine years ten months
p commission. and her cost Of repairs
- m a year ago. when taken in hand
FOR reft. amounted 10 $3.50, 600. The total
cost ~ repairs I'D 10 the present time
IS $3.50 0o0 equal 10 a little over so pei
cent Of first cost The cost Of maintain
Eng modern ships in proper state OF
efficiency is fully as great as IL was
when wooden hulls and sails were in
use fifty years ago, and the tendency
now. is 10 retain q ship even after Il
has become obsolete. whereas in the old
Hiues the comparative smaller cost
u building a new vessel justified dis
carding those that had become anti
iuated. None Of the battleships Of the
Oregon class in the United States navy,
dating with The Repulse. have as yet
had a thorough OVerhauling and the re-
pairs have chiefly consisted IN making
good damages caused by accidents. and
not-through wear and tear and natural
deterioration. These costs are: For the
n
900, and Oregon. S4759 900. against $500
900 for the Repulse during the same Pc
Rod.
A BATTLE OF BOILERS.
The British Boiler Commission has
submitted its final report after exhaus-
tive and expensive trials, covering a
period OF four years. II comedies that
the water tube boiler has military ad-
va1tages over cylindrical boilers; re-
peats its recommendation made IN
Nay. 1902 that no more boilers OF the
BeIbeville type be used in the navy, and
unanimously recommend the Babcock
& Wilcox and the Yarrow large-tube
types for naval requirements. Admiral
Sir Compton DOurville, president OF the
committee. however, states in his pre-
face: Ny experience with the Belle
Vile boilers on the Mediterranean sta
tiou has been very favorable 10 them as
q steam generator and IL is clear TO me
that the earlier boilers OF this oescrip-
tion were badly constructed and badly
used" This statement IS not easy 70
reconcile with his approval Of the COM
naittee's report and IL IS evident that
the conclusions and recommendations
are not entirely based on facts, for
while the Babcock & Wilcox boiler is
unouestionably the most desirable, 1t
IS not more economical than the Belle
Vile and the latter has proved itself
much less Of a coal consumer than the
Yarrow type. The remarkably good re-
suits Of the Belleville boiler in the
Spartiate and Disdem proved that with
proper handling this type was equal 70
the best Water-tube boiler, yet the
committee selects the Yarrow boiler,
the. servicea bic qualities OF which, In
large ships, Is still unknown. Expert
nnents were made with the box, or
Scotch cylindrical boiler, and water
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