Palestine daily herald. [volume] (Palestine, Tex.) 1902-1949, 1906-12-15
THE CRUISER MONTANA
WAS LAUNCHED TO-DAY
MISS MINNIE CONRAD cHRIsTEN-
ED THE NEW 5oAT-PoWERFUL
CRUISER GOES INTO SERVICE.
Special to the Herald.

Special to the Herald.
Newport News, Va, Dec. 15.-The
armored cruiser Montana was launch
ed today at the yards OF the Newport
News Shipbuilding and Drydock COM
pany in the presence of distinguished
guests from the state for which the
vessel is named and a number of navy
and army officials. As the big hulk
left the ways and took her maiden
plunge in the ripping waves of the
James river, Miss Minnie Conrad, of
Great Falls, raised the beribboned
bottle of champagne and dashed it
against the receding wall of steel, ex-
claiming, Il christen thee Montanai"
As the Montana glided into the riv-
er. there was a great cheer from the
spectators, the band played The Star
Spangled Banner" and the steam
whistles in the shipbuilding plant and
on the vessels in the harbor gave the
new defender of the flag a loud and
enthusiastic welcome.
OF 1850 tons displacement, the
Montana will be one of the most pow
erful cruisers constructed. In nearly
every detail she is n sister ship to the
Tennessee and the Washington, the
two crack cruisers that were selected
to escort President Roosevelt on his
recent trip to Panama. That this new
type of ship is the coming cruiser and
a desirable adjunct to the navy is the
prevailing opinion among naval con-
.structors and engineers.
The Montana's length on water line
is 500 feet; breadth at load water line,
y feet 10 IL inches; mean draught
on trial displacement, IS feet: mean
draught at maximum load, q feet:
coal bunker capacity, 1000 tons. The
steaming radius at 10 knots will be
$500 knots; steaming radius at full
speed, about 300 knots.
The armor of the Montana is of suf-
ficient thickness to withstand the i'm.
pact of projectiles fired at fighting
range from vessels carrying guns of
the same calibre as those she carries. |
The armor plate protection ranges |
from nine inches for the turrets to
five inches for the belt.
The cruiser will have a very heavy |
The main battery will
consist of four 1O-inch breech loading
rifles, 45-calibre in length; sixteen
6-inch rapid fire, 5O-calibre in length.
The secondary battery viii have
twenty-three 8-ineh rapid , fire L.4aEs,,-
twelve 3-pounder automatic and two
one-Dounder rapid fire guns, two
3-inch field pieces, two machine guns
Of 80 calibre. and six automatic guns
of 80 calibre.
The ammunition and shell rooms
will be so arranged that one-half the
total supply of ammunition will be
carried at each end OF the ship. For
handling siX-inch and threeinch am
the ship will be provided
with a central passage extending COM
pletely from the forward to the after
and four side passages at
each end to extend a sufficient dis
lance forward and aft to provide for
the ammunition within the
armor protection on the decks above.
The propelling engines will be of
the vertical, twin-screw, four-cylinder.
triple-expansion type Of a combined
indicated horsepower of $4,000. The
steam pressure will be $50 pounds and
the stroke four feet. The engines will
be located in two separate water-tight
The arrangement of quarters pro-
vides ample accommodations for the
following complement: One com.
officer one flag officer. one
chief of staff, nineteen wardroom Off
GERS, twelve junior officers. ten war
rant officers, S1i men, including sixty |
marines, a total OF SIS.