The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-10-16
one 10000 TON BATTLESHIP.
CONSTRUCTION BOARD HORkING
on PLANS FOR THE VESSEL.

Is Intended 70 Build q ship Equal 10 the
Three New. EnElish BattIeshIps and
superior 20 The -DreadnOusht. which
Is the Greatest Fighting ship AnOat.
WASHINGTON. Oct. l5.-The United States
Navy may build ships. which will equal
In strength the three new English battle
ships, the Inhexible, the Invincible and the
Indomitable, which until q few days z
everybody thought were u be armored
cruisers but which are now known TO be
battleships OF a type even more powerful
than the famous ~Dreadnought, the ship that
caused Congress last winter TO authorize
the construction by the United States Of a
ship "a powerful as that new English fight
ing machine, which attracted 90 much atten-
ton.
Secretary Of the Navy Bonaparte has be-
come deeply interested in the reports Of
the new English vessels, and he has directed
the board Of construction Of the navy, COM
posed Of several Of the highest ranking
navsl officers In Washington, to investigate
this matter OF the new English battleehips.
which have less displacement { In the
Dreadnought but which will make, accord
ing to reports and predictions which seem
auJuohlAC, kEodbcI spctu aLd CbTIyiI8 CAshb
II inch guns, will have as great a broadside
fire, the true basis Of judgment Of the power
Of a warship, as the D~readnought, which
now is the greatest Of all fighting craft.
Until the board Of construction thoroughly
considers the new type of English battle
ship It cannot be predicted what the Ameri-
can Navy will do. Congress has made
appropriations for a nov battleship which
will equal in power the Dreadnought. The
authorization for the vessel does not put
it that way, but when the matter was
up in Congress the D~readnought was what
was considered when the naval programme
wa being prepared by the Committee on
Naval Affairs.
The news Of the new Engl ish battleships
was surprising 10 nava ! people here in
Washington. Great Britain has great orig
inality and initiative in the construction OF
new types Of vessels and a considerable
amount Of s-eoretiveness. For instance, all
OF the facts about the D~readnought were
not known until the ship was nearly finished.
Great claims were made for this vessel
and 9 he has since lived up to them. Al
though of 1890 tons displacement, she
recently made a speed Of over t~wenty-one
knots.
1t is now said that the Invlncible, In
flexible and Indomitable will do even better
than that. The three new ships will have
ESQ tons less displacement than the Dread
nought, but will be forty feet longer and
will make greater speed They will carry
eight ~ inch guns, whereas the Dread
nought carries ten. But the eight runs
Of the new ships will be so placed that as
great a broadside fire can be obtained
as that OF the Dreadnought. There have
been reports that the new ships will
make as much as % knots, but the officers
Of the navy here do not think this will be
possible.
The Bureau Of Construction OF the Navy
Department has been working for months
on the plans for the new vessel to be built
by this Government. 1t is to be of inn
mense proportions, having a displacement
Of over 10000 tons, and all the world will
watch the experiment closely. The Of
ficials OF the bureau are making rapid
Roadway with the plans and will a them
ready to submit to Congress this winter.
This is necessary by the provisions OF the
act providing for the ship.
The Board Of Construction will take
up Secretary Bonaparte's suggestion that
they investigate the new English battle
ships, and their conclusions will doubtless
be made the subject Of a report to the
Secretary which is likely to figure promi-
nently in Congress this winter when the
matter Of building new ships is taken up.