The Washington herald., 1908-08-25

London. Aug. 3.-H- n S. IndomitahIs
is the idol Of the hour The record whicn
she has established for war ships on her
passage from Quebec to Cowes viii prob
ably stand FOR long time Certainly ii
did not need the embellishments with
which some Of the papers tried TO
adorn IL
Taking the figures which suited them.
they wished TO make tina Official record a
81 knot passage The King, however. has
ordered that the passage SHAH be reckon
ed from land 10 land. from South Point.
Belle Isle, % Lands End, and with tals
the average works out al 2iS knots
At one time for four consecutive hours
she steamed 26.4 knots Her average from
Belle Isle 20 Fastnet OF Cork was z515
knots The average for the whole voyage
from Quebec 20 Cowes was IA knots
During the whole time she was In wl-e-
less communication with one side CT the
other, sencirs and receiving messages
al a distance Of 100 miles and esta bllsL-
ing a record for ship-borne messages
Fighting Machine Is Unique.
The true significance Of these figures
can be appreciated only IN cor5unctlou
with a consideration Of the class OF YES
sci Il which the IndomltabIe belongs. Al
present she is stlI unique in the worlds
navies. but she has Two sister vessels
Just being completed for sea, the Inviac--
bic and the Infexi5le. These vessels CO
not come under the des. .gnat.oa Of either
battle saip OF cruiser.
Except the Dread1ought. there IS no
battle ship in the world as heavily ARMED
as the IndonitabIe. and in no feet in the
world IS there any vessel larger than a
torpedo boat destroyer which approaches
her in speed She may be called e COM
b.nati1n Of the Dreadn0uslt and the
LUsl,8nia. and is more heavily arnor=d
than battle ships Of the Royal Sovereign
class. which ten years ago were c1nsid-
cred models OF completeness la proJsc-
ton
She has a belt Or Krupp cenented
aru7r. seven inches rElcz auidsE-ps. and
carries eight tveIve-inch guns OF new
and most powerful type. 50 mounted that
they can all he brought 90 bear on either
oroads.1e- Each gun weighs rfrv-eiglr
tons. ana fires an E8-polld prl5ec--s
with an initial velocity Of 300 feet q
second At G1J yards the shell -ean
make a hole through twenty-five inches
Of wrought iron and lt range OF nearly
three miles can penetrate seventeen and
q half inches Cf lroD
These guns are carried in -oUr turrets.
protected with ten inches Of a-uor- are
controlled electrically. working with The
greatest sw.tcress. ease, and accuracy.
Three Vessels Being Contracted.
BY the end Of the sumner Great Brit
ain VIII have three OF -1eze mighty YES
sells actually il the service and iu q
couple Cf years the squadron Of four VIII
( be complete, representing an expe1d. .tl-s
OF S-sl1.l1 Yet this enormous cost q
more than S7.sa1ll for each vessel is re-
garded as an economical expenditure
The four ships Of the In5o-1st4ble class
VIII mount as many big suns as eight
battle ships of the older design costing
some S5.nuc1l each They VIII need O1-y
about half the number OF officers and men.
while the cost Of repairs, general Up-keep.
and stores viii also II Is estimated. only
amount 20 about half.
The I-douitah-a was laid down By the
( Fa5rleId Company AZ G0val in March
March. --1- in April. IsS. she was hand
ed over for her trials Full particulars o-
. these have not been revealed The con-
tract speed was ~ knots. but il is be-
licved that she actually attained . knot.
{ for a considerable period Her voyage
from Quebec shows that she can easily
maintain more than the contract = knots
3 Has Displacement of 1881 Tons.
Her displacement as given in the Navy
List Is I-.15I tons. but IT is probable wiz
/ the sinkage 10 deep load disp.aceu5lt
due to maximum coal and storage sup
/ ply-she took on 30l1 tons Of coal al Que
/ bee. and carries oil fuel as weII-that she
B has something like -l-tds tons Her length
az the water line is so feet. 80 feet longer
than any preceding cruiser her beam Is
. = feet inches. GrauEE- about e feet
The eight -5l-caIber Pinch guns are
mounted in pairs IN ba-5ette turrecs- one
turret is forward another abaft, and The
ether two amidslips. placed in ecLelcn.
With this arrangement they can all bs
fred on either hroadside. OF broad on the
bow OF quarter. and six Of them directly
ahead or astern- Other guns are said "a
be about sixteen 4-iuch guns Of the new
model for anti-torpedo boat work
The machinery consists Of BabCOCk d
I wilcox water tube boilers designed for
G,ol3 horsepower. with Parsons turbines
Advantages of This Type of ship.
The advantages Of such vessels are to-
1 obvious 10 need detailing. The critics OF
the Indonitable alIege the great cost Of
/ the class as a Disadvantage, depriving the
admiralty Of the power OF constructing an
adequate number Of vessels for commerce
I protection The new classes for smaller
cruisers are supposed TO give an answer 20
this objection. while the conditions OF
commerce defense are not held 10 exclude
7 the IndomiJable class from exercising q
decisive influence II ASSOCIATION with
smaller cruisers.