The Washington herald., 1907-03-03

The flower of the French. German, Ital-
fan. and Russian navies would be blown
10 pieces in no time
In short, it looks 10 one Of the most
able naval constructors in the country
as il shlpbuilders would say, IN a
completed battle ship of the Fore River
type, the last word on naval prowess.
! The designs have been prepared under
the direction Of President Francis T..
Bowles. formerly chief constructor and
rear admiral IN the United States navy.
This Fore River battle ship, details OF
which are now published for the first
time, could hurl a Pinch shot
farther than any other vessel afi0at.
tho DTeadnOught not excepted. She
would have a larger displacement than
the Dreadnought By about 400 tons;
she would be longer by 30 feet. broader
By six feet and a half, Just as fast.
more steady. Of smaller draft and Of
Unquestioned greater general efficiency.
Not even the new vessel of 1000 tons.
which the United States has author
lied and which has already been done
into figures and blue prints. would COM
pare with her and she would reign
queen Of the seas, says one expert. IN
til something astounding in the way Of
new inventions had come along.
Lesson of Japanese War.
She Is q consequence OF the Russo-Japa-
nese war. The naval engagements in that
war sounded the kneH on large equip
ments Of guns of comparatively small
caliber. Il was learned in that war BY
the japanese and by the English naval
attaches aboard TogO's men-of-war that
the vessel that could strike the hardest at
a distance from the enemy was the best
boat. The Dreadnought and the Satsuma
were among the first consequences Of the
war, and the Fore River ship-call her the
Fore River, after one Of the best ship
yards in the country-would be, in type,
probably the last
After the Fore River, says an expert,
there viii not be any further improve
ments except that OF refinement. or what
economists under similar conditions would
call intensive development. II more heavy
guns are TO be added 10 one OF these
great floating fortresses, IL viii be only at
the sacrifice Of speed
Improvement over what, Il was thought,
would be the model for all times. the
DreadnOught, there is a more or less
close following OF the type Of the Dread
nOught. II is a jusJifiable patterning
however. for what surprised naval engi-
.neers when the DreadnOught's plans We're
made public was the close following of q
type originated by an American. The
Fore River would simply be a case Of this
gentleman, who saw a foreign country
adopt his battery plan, improving on that
plan after the traditional fashion OF the
master.
As TO the life of the Fore River, there
would probably be little difference of
opinion among experts. one man cOmpe-
tent 10 speak on the subject has said that
the Fore River should be good for twenty
years. Ships Of smaller displacement, he
states viii probably make thirty knots an
hour once the advantages of the turbine
system Of propulsion are utilized fully
but such vessels viii not be able to stand
up and exchange blow fer blow with a
battle ship Of the Fore River type OF the
Dreadnought or Satsuma type. All, how
ever, VIII have the 12-inCh guns.
Superior Weight of Gunfre.
What would happen if the Dreadnought
and the Fore River. each manned, Off
cered. and unanswered with all the eff
cheney OF the two nations, were 10 meet
in battle?
Take the force of the broadsides, for ex-
ample The Dreadnought can utilize eight
Of her twelve-inch guns abeam at once.
The Fore River could reply with twelve.
The best ship Of the United States, the
Michigan. could answer with eight.
Take the efficiency Of the guns that
could be brought to bear astern. The
Dreadnought could employ six The Fore
River could spout fire from ten, the
Michigan four. Ahead, the Dreadnought
can work six. the Michigan four, and the
Fore River eight.
That is. the Fore River would have SO
per cent more strength ahead than the
Dreadnought, so per cent more abeam, and
66 per cent astern. 1t makes the satisfy
ing general superiority Of just - per cent.
The highest twelve-inch guns of the
Dreadnought are thirty-five feet above
the water line. The highest of the Fore
River would be forty-twO feet, and there
would be four pairs of guns thirty-four
feet above the water line.
1t was thought astounding that the
problems Of gravity could be 50 han
died by the British constructors that guns
could be placed safely as high as thirty
five feet. The Fore River would set a
new record in that line The superior
elevation of her highest guns. which are
those just forward of amidships, would
give her an immense advantage in range
COuIdn't Touch DreRdnOught
Ten years ago" says a scientific paper
of England, the Majestic type were the
finest ships in the world. To-day, there is
no question that the DreadnoUght could
lie al 10000 yards (about five and five
seventies niles and sink an entire feet os
Majestics as easily as the japanese fleet
sank the Russians at Tsushima. Indeed,
the Majestics would practically be unable
to reply. their guns not really being ef-
fective much over 5000 yards. 1t is prob
ably no exaggeration To say that the
Dreadnought could fight a couple OF the
latest King Edward VII types and come
out best
What is true OF the Dreadnought may
be emphasized. Of course. in the case Of
Fore River. There has been a tremen-
dous Improvement in The last few years.
but the limit seems to be reached in the
size Of the guns. The pinch YEA
pons. with the best ammunition, are bet
ter than tire old l3-inch guns with
black powder. Anything greater than
pinch caliber calls for disp-opor-
lay. In the quality of the guns them