New-York tribune., 1905-01-28
MARYLAND PROVES SPEED
Averages 29.9O6 KnotS-May Be
Queen of Class.

Boston. Jan. 27.-with a keen northwest win
try wind striking her abeam, the armored
cruiser Maryland, which was built for the Unit
ed States government by the Newport News
Shipbuidng and Dry Dock Company attained
on her official trial trip to-day an average speed
of 22.3O6 knots an hour, thereby exceeding her
contract requirement of % knots. The Mary
land is the fourth and last of type of fast
cruisers to have trial off Cape Ann. OF the
three which have preceded. the Pennsylvania
the fastest of these. averaged a speed of 81. .43
knots an hour. 1t cannot be said, however at
this time that the Pennsylvania is queen Of the
class. for it was unoffcialiy announced by the
trial board to-day that the tidal corrections for
the trial of the Maryland are in the ships
favor by from II TO Is knot. If this tidal
correction is over 124 knot the Maryland
will be recorded as the speediest cruiser OF the
class The Pennsylvania and the Colorado, the
latter making % "a knots, built by the
Cramp Shpbuidrg Company, Of Philadelphia
The West Virginia, the third sister ship of the
Maryland, was built by the Newport News Com
I pany. This ship averaged speed Of oil on
her official run
While the existing government regulations no
longer provide for bonus in case a warship
exceeds the contract requirements, the trial to-
day Of the Maryland attended by circum-
stances of unusual interest from the fact that
the builders of the Maryland endeavoTed to
prove her the speediest of TIE four cruisers of
this type The trial was regarded as most sue
cessful in every way. Particularly was this so
with reference II the general sea behavior of the
MARYLAND the warship showing herself remark
ably steady under severe winter conditions
The trial course to-day extended from Thatch-
er's Island. off Gloucester. 10 Cape Porpoise, a
distance Of forty-four knots and the was
out and return, Lightweight knots. The course
was marked by eight stakeboats, which divided
the distance into seven sections. The first two
legs of the course were covered at an average
speed which was under the required contract,
which required that the cruiser should cover the
entire course of eighty-eight knots in four hours
On all the succeeding legs except one, however,
the cruiser exceeded the required twenty-five
knots, and the trial developed at once into race
between the Maryland and what had been ac-
complished by the Pennsylvania The exception
as 10 the succeeding legs was the last one, on
the run home, when the speed was 21 1926. The
best speed on an individual section was 22.S
The Maryland was found to have quick work.
ing steering gear, she establishing a record for
the throwing OF the Felm hard over when the
big ship described a figure 81 at the close Of
the official run. During the trial the two en-
gines Of the cruiser developed an average horse
power Of 1900.
TIE MARYLAND has length Of 502 feet and an
extreme beam of 6G feet 61z inches. She has two
sets Of vertical inverted triple expansion, direct
acting propelling engines. The main battery
consists of four S-inch breechloading rifles.
There are fourteen 4-inch rapid fire guns, and a
secondary battery of eighteen 3-inch and twelve
3-pound guns, besides four l-pound automatic
euns. four 1-pound rapid fire guns. six Colt
automatic guns, two machine guns and two j.
inch field guns.