The times dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1903-1914, 1905-06-25
Our Greatest Battleshp Compared With the Greatest
Types Of England, France, Germany and Japan. The
Glories of the Fleet. Ten Immense Armored
Cruisers With Vast Destructive Energy
and Twenty-Five Knots Speed.
and Twenty-Five Knots Speed.
MORE THAN QuADRUpLED IN SEVEN YEARS
An Aggregate Of 265 Vessels Of All Kinds Carried on Our
Naval Register Problematcal Elements in
Our Battleship Construction.

power will be the now armored cruiser
class OF which ten will all be entirely
alike in size, armor, speed and armament.
They will be longer than tho longest
battlesh,p In the fleet, being 502 feet
waterline. They will run $4,000 tons
at least in tonnage, and their speed As
to be % knots. Their waterline betting
will be and inches Of steel and their
gun turrets are armored in g. and 9 W
inch plate. They are all practically ready
to enter service. In case OF need thoy
could be hurried into commission in
short period.
Each OF these swift ships mounts TO-
inch guns and 16 G-inch guns In the sain
battery The secondary batteries carry
90 3-inch guns. ~ 3-pounders, II
FOUNDERS, Q 3-inch field pieces and 80
calber pieces. Four torpedo tubes pro-
ject below tho waterline OF each. Thoy
cost more than the battleships. for whlle
tho estimated cost OF the Idaho and
mississippi battleships is three millions
dollars each, tho arlnored cruisers VIII
cost four and n half millions ut least be-
fore they are ready for sea.
Could Smother Old Type.
Thor immense batteries arc so far su-
perior to the batteries. both main and
secondary. carried by the two armorcd
cruisers OF the old type, the New York
and Brooklyn, that the new armored
cruiser class could smother those two
ships with both armor- piercing and
smaller shells to affect upper works and
personnel. y5st5
Tho new type has prcpondernttng
strength over the old In every way. ex-
ceeding the New York and Brooklyn by
1000 In tonnage, more than 100 feet IN
length, S 1000 In horsepower, and having
almost double their armor belt at the
5waterline 85 8 j.5s IN
Against the terrible battery power OF
the new type. the Brooklyn carries e.
main battery OF 8 S-inch and IL b-inch
rifles, and the New York has 9 S-inon
and ~ 4-nch guns. Neither ship carries
any 3-inch guns except two field pieces
still. with ali this superiority, he new
armored class can include both OF the old
armored cruisers In Its formation and
still remain homogeneous whole, be-
cause. though their watorlino betting IS
much thinner, the barbettes OF the old
type Eare heavily protected; and rs far
as speed Is concerned, the New York and
Brooklyn are only knot inferior and
thus could steam In perfect formation ~
any ordinary cruise. The slower OF the
two old ships is the New York with y
knots: The new type is designed for
uniform speed OF % knots, as said.a
The cruising radius OF the twelve In,
squadron at ten, knots an hour Is such.
that they can so around the world with
not more than seven stops for coal; that
7 is they would never need to depend on
foreign coallng stations even IN circum-5
navigating the globe. for they could al
ways reach an American naval station;
before their coal bunkers were exhausted
California, Colorado. Maryland, Penn