Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-12-23
BEST FIGHTING SHIP
Huge Utah Is Launched in the
Delaware.
HAS NO EQUAL AFL0AT
More Powerful Than All Other Bat
tleships Of Her Type.
CHRISTENED BY MISS sPRY
Governor Of Utah, Congressman and
Navy Department omcials in Big
Crowd at Camden.

| PHILADELPHIA. December 23.-De-
clared to have no equal afioat as a first
| class fighting machine, the battleship
Utah. the greatest warshfp ever built In the
| United States, was launched from the
yard Of the New York Shipbuilding Com
pany at Camden, N. J., today in the
presence Of several Thousand persons,
who crowded the docks ana every vantage
point in the vicinity of the yeard. AS the
big hull started to leave the thickly
creased ways. Miss Mary Alice Spry of
Salt Lake City, Utah, daughter Of the
Governor of Utah, raised her arm, and
with swift hard swing broke gaily
beribboned bottle OF champagne against
the keel Of the great ship and spoke the
words that gave the vessel its mama
Launchings of big warships on the
Delaware river have become a common
sight. but, nevertheless. the latest con-
tribution to the American navy stirred
the enthusiasm of the crowd, whose
cheers and the din created by the
whistles OF the river craft continued sew
eral minutes. On the launching platform
none was more enthusiastic over the oc-
casion than Miss spry, who with a large
bunch Of American beauty roses in her
arm received the congratulations Of those
about her.
| Among those on the platform were rep
| Gov. Spry and members OF his family,
congressional delegation, including the
members from Utah; representatives of
New York. Phiiadelphia aud Washington.
| and nearly all the officers of the ship
| building company.
Fifth Of Her Type.
The Utah Is the nth of the all-big gun
type Of the battleship fleet of the United
States to be launched. When completed
she will be more powerful than the Della
| ware and North Dakota of the Dread
| nought class. and has been dubbed by a
member Of Congress the "Skeered of
Nuthin'." The Utah has length on the
| load water line of $40 feet, or 521A feet
| over all. and q beam of IS feet 2 inches.
| Her trial draft will be 2s91s feet: displace-
ment. 21.S25 tons, or 1000 tons greater
than the Delaware and North Dakota,
and her speed is expected to develop cOz
knots or more an hour.
There will be ten 12-inch breech-Ioadiug
guns in her main armament, mounted in
five turrets on the central line Of the ship.
| Two OF the turrets will be forward. one
amidships and two aft. Each turret will
be protected by armor eight and twelve
| inches thick and will be supplied with
/ Dy electrical nOlStS from the
magazines and shell rooms Immediately
below. The entire handling Of the guns
| will be done by electric motors.
| Sixteen 5-inch guns, protected by armor
OF medium thickness. win be provided for
defense, against torpedo boat attacks.
| Close subdivision and strong bulkhsads
| will form additional protection against
| mine and torpedo explosions.
| The Utah also will be fitted with two
submerged torpedo tubes and will have
ten small guns for boat service and sa-
lutfng purposes.
Is Heavily Armored.
| The main armor belt of the great ship
win be about eight feet wide, with an
average thickness Of ten inches. Above
this will be another belt of an average
thickness OF nine inches. and still hisher
| will DO the easement armor protecting
the secondary battery and funnel bases.
Each baroette will be made Of armor
varying from four to ten inches in thick
ness. and will protect the entire ammu-
mition-handling machinery for the Pinch
guns in the turrets above.
| Ten turbines, six for ahead and four
| Tor aStern, capable of developing $4,000
horsepower. will be installed. steam will
| be supplied by twelve water tube boilers
and coal or oil may be used for mel
The two smokestacks on the ship will
extend seventy feet above the water line.
| The Utah will be fitted for a flagship.
and her complement as such will consist
Of a crew Of 1000. of whom sixty will
| be officers.
While the Utah will have no equal
when completed, she will not hold that
proud position long, as the naval pro
gram following the one which called for
| two ships OF the Utah class provides for
vessels that will be considerably heavier.
| These later ships will mount two more
l2-nch guns than the Utah and will have
| a heavier secondary battery