Waterbury evening Democrat., 1905-08-12


 Philadelphia, Aug. 12.-The battle ship Kansas which will be launched to-day at the yards of the New York shipbuilding company in Camden, N. J., is a sister ship of the Vermont, now being built at the yards of the Fore River Ship and Engine Building company, Quincy, Mass. She will have the same armament as the battleship Minnesota launched several months ago ot Newport News.
 The keel plates of the Kansas were laid February 10. 1904. She is known as a 45O-foot battleship and her con. tract calls for maintenance of IS knots speed for four colCecutive hours. The hull is of steel through out and is fitted with bilge and dock ing keels. Her general dimensions are as follows: Length on load water line, 45O feet; lenghth over all, 456 feet four inches; extreme beam, 76 feet, five and one inches; outside of plating, 76 feet, eight inches; extreme beam to outside of armor. 76 feet, 10 inches. Her trial displacement will be 16,000 tons and when she goes on her speed test she will carry 900 tons of coal al- though her bunker capacity is 2,200 tons. Sixty-six tons of feed water will also be carried on her trial trip. Her trial draft to bottom of keel will be A feet, 6 inches. Bottom of keel to moulded base line 15 inches. Her armament will be main battery, four 12-inch: eight s 8-inch; twelve 7-inch breech loading rifles. Secondary bat tery, twenty 3-inch tor IA pounder) rapid fire guns, 20 calibre in length; twelve 3 pOunder semi-automatic guns: six pOunder automatics;I two one pounder semi automatics; two g. inch field pieces; two machine guns of 30 calibre and six automatic guns of 30 calibre. These guns will be amply armor protected.
 For her protection the Kansas will have complete main belt armor, nine feet three inches wide on the water line having uniform thick ness of 9 inches through the maga- zine and machinery spaces tapering to four inches at the ends. Seven inch casemate armorI will protect her be- tween the main belt and the main deck. This armor will extend to the limits of the magazines at both ends. The 12-inch barbettes will extend from the protective deck to about foIir feet above the main deck and con sists of 10-inch armor in front and 115inch arInor at the rear above the gun deck. Between the gun and pro tectiye deck it will be of a uniform thickness of six inches. The S-inch barbettes will be 6 inches thick in front and 4 inches in the rear. The protective deck will extend from stem to sterm. being fiat amldships but sloped at tie sides and at each end.
 Her propelllng power will consist of the vertical twin screw four cylinder triple expansion type of engine of a combined indicated horse power of 16.sOO. The ship is to be provided with an ice plant with a cooling ca pacity of three tons of ice daily. an eyaporating plant of 16.J0o gallons capacity. and distilIing apparatus capable of condensing 10000 gallons of water a day. She will be equipped with powerful searchlights and her masts arranged for wireless tele- graphy.
 Designed for flagship accommo- dations have been provide for one flag officer. commanding officer. chief of staff. 10 warlroom officers. 10 )n- nior officers. 10 warrant officers and go mon including marines.