Las Vegas daily optic. [volume] (Las Vegas, N.M.) 1880-1908, 1904-09-29

that Il is the first ship Of the modern
navy TO be constructed by the navy
department and not by private con-
tract the progress of Its construction
has been watched with keen interest
in naval cii'cles.
The Connecticut IS $50 feet long
and has beam of 76 feet, 10 inches.
Her normal mean draft with 500 Tons
Of coal in her bunkers VIII be "a feet
inches. Her nomnal displacement
will be 10000 tons. Her complement
will be AZ officers and 760 men. She
will be fitted with twin screws and
twelve Babcock-WilcoX boilers, de-
veloping 1880 horse power, She will.
have a speed OF eighteen knots.
Her turret armor will be twelve
inch Krupp steel and her barbette ar
NOR ten,inch Krupp, while the side
armor will be eleven inches thick at
the more exposed portions Of the hull,
tapering down to nine inches at the
bow and stern.
In armament the Connecticut will
be mora powerful than any American
battleships now afloat. She will have
four twelve-inch guns in fore and af-
ter turrets, and eight eight-inch guns
in turrets at each corner OF the su-
perstructure. In addition the main
battery will have twelve seven-inch
guns. This size rifle Is an in.
novation in naval armament, but
1t is believed they may be handled al
most as easily as the eight-inch gun,
and is expected to be much more ef-
fective in armor piercing than the
six-inch rapid-fire rifles. The second
AIRY. battery also will have larger guns
than hitherto have been used. 1t will
be composed of twenty three-inch
rapid-fire guns. discharging fourteen
pound shells; twelve three-pounder
semi-automatic rifles, eight, one
FOUNDER automatic rifles, two three
inch field guns, and eight machine
guns. In addition it will be equipped
with four submerged torpedo tubes.
TIE vessel will be thoroughly equip
ped with electrical appliances for
handling ammunition, aiming the
guns, and for all other necessary pur-
poses. 1t is now an accepted theory
that in order to do satisfactory shoot
ing there should be continuous aim
that Is to say, the gun should be
pointed steadily at the target, no mat
ter how the vessel moves. One meth
cd of doing this is by keeping the
weapon In horizontal position all
the time by an automatically con
trolled electric motor. The guns on
the Connecticut will be equipped with
such motors.
Most Powerful Afloat.
NEW YORK, Sept. 29.-The Con-
necticut, a sister battleship to the
Louisiana, was successfully launched
at the government navy yards here
at 11:16 this morning The Connecti-
cut was built in a government yard
under government supervision, while
the Louisiana was built by a private
shipyard at Newport News, Virginia.
The construction of both ships was
watched with keen interest, as it was
recognized as a test Of the govern
ment ability to cope with private en-
terprise. Much depends on this com.
petition of construction, for IL the
Connecticut is completed before the
Louisiana, then most Of the govern.
ment shipbuilding will be done by the
government The Connecticut, when
finished, will be the finest and most
powerful boat In the American navy
and will rank with the most powerful
battleships OF foreign navies. Not.
withstanding the fact that the new
| plant had to be created the Connect.
cut is said to be eight per cent be-
hind the Louisiana. although laid
down two months later.