Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1906-07-01
ONLY TWO SIZES OF BIG GUNS
English as Well as French Ideas are
to be Incorporated in the New
vessei-Fishting Tops are Design.
ed So as TO be Able to Withstand
lizard Knocks.
Especial to the Daily press)

WASHINGTON, ID. c., June 80
While the plans for the next battle.
ships likely to be authorized by Con.
grcss have not been drawn, there are
some of the features upon which
there has been an agreement by the
experts.
TIL design for the new type of bat
:lshiD embodics what are known to
he many of the ideas entertained by
officers who have studied the con.
struction of buttleships, and who
have come to the conclusion that
there ought to be big.gun ship with
only two tyres of guns ON board, one
being the twelve-inch for the often.
sive battery of the ship. and the 9th.
er being the small guns for torpedo
defence.
Marks Departure In Service.
This marks departure In the com
position of tho armament of Il bat.
tleship and does violence TO Il treas
urcd and highly respected tradition
OF naval ordinance. But the most
modern baltlcship will probably have
no intermediate guns of eight and six
inch between the big guns and the
torpedo defence battery. IL becomes
at once, Of course, an interesting
question what shall constitute the
torpedo defence part of the ships
armament.
1t appears that naval expert view
on the subject Is practically unani.
nous In expressing the opinion that
The torpedo defence guns should not
be less than three inches In calibrc,
mainly for the reason that 1t hes been
demonstrated that flrst-cass iorpe-
DO boat destroyer cannot he stopped
by six Founders, three Founders and
other guns of that class.
Big Gune Necessary.
Recent experiments which have
been held Indicate that the three.inch
Drojectle Is too small to be certain
OF stopping the first-class destroyer.
and as result of this investigation
probably the British government has
decided, 1t is reported, upon eighteen
Founders rs the calibrc for all tor.
pedo defence guns. The importance
of the size of these guns may he an
prcciatcd from the fact that even n
four-inch gun will not stop IL destroy.
Ell attacking head-on. equipped with
armor of one inch of steel.
1t would seem to he entirely with.
in the bounds, of possibility If the
torpedo d6fence guns Of the future
were at least fovr-inchcs in calibre.
a notable feature Of the next battle.
ship is the great increase in the
height Of the gun positions. It is
now generally recognized that large
ship Of 10000 tons displacement could
not use her guns In scaway unless
they are well out of water.
Disposition of the Guns.
While the detail of the construction
OF the. English Dreadnought are not
yet known, 1t seems to be reasonably
certain that she carries her twelve.
inch guns in five double turrcts, dis.
posed as follows: The forward gun
Is on an elevated forecastIe like the
cruisers forccastie, aud the muzzlcs
OF the guns are about thirty-flvc feet
from the water. This forecastlc does
not extend the full width of the YES
sci, but Is cut away at the sides SO
as to permit the end-on fire of two
forward waist turrets that are on the
deck below and that are still sufTl-
ciently elevated to be well free of
the water. They are long way
from the blow, about abreast of the
foreward smoke pipes.
The other two tirrets are at the
same height above the water and are
placed tandem on the quarter deck
so that they will fire on tile broad
| side. but only one of them can fire
| astern. This battery may be ln0di-
fled so as to allow one of these tur.
rets to fire over the other.
'Masts Are Made Secure.
AS it is now generally Appreciated
that the fire of naval guns can be
sufficiently controlled only by obser.
vations from an elevated position, the
lower masts of these new vessels are
| designed on the skeleton principle.
as well as the upper masts and yards.
The idea, which will probably be in
corporated for the plans of the next
battleships built for this government.
I Is to have structure which can
not be brought down DIV any reason.