The Vinita daily chieftain. [volume] (Vinita, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1902-1913, 1910-05-12
FLORIDA LARGEST
AMERICAN SHIP
Probably No Rattleship AfIoat Could
Tackle Florida on Equal Terms
Nov Only Great Hull.
BY Associated Press.

BY Associated Press.
New York, May IL. = The biggest
ship in the American navy slid off the
waves today at the New York Navy
Yard, when the battleship Florida
dropped into the water. Later on
when the Arkansas and the Wyoming.
now under construction are afioat
they will exceed the Florida in size
by three thousand tons, a difference
sufficient to make pretty good little
liner in itself The Florida herself is
by no means finished, for as she went
off the waves today she was only about
sixty per cent advanced towards COM
pletion, which means that she was
not much more than vast empty
hull and still awaits all Of the thou-
sand boilers and main and secondary
engines and armor and equipment that
go to make up the ship ready for
commission.
Probably there is not a battleship
afioat that could tackle the Florida on
even terms, when the commanders
flag flies from the ungraceful, but
formidable, skeleton masts which will
be placed upon here, that is, provid-
ed the naval designers do not change
their minds, as to the utility of this
novel feature of marine architecture
within the next eighteen months, by
which time the Florida should be IN
commission.
The ship is the first of any real i'm
portance to be constructed in gov
ernment navy yard for number of
years and naturally her performance
will be watched with keen interest by
the private shipbuilders, who are now
building her sistership the Utah in
Camden, N. ]. AS matter Of fact
the North Dakota built by the Fore
River Ship Building company and the
Delaware, constructed at Newport
News with the Florida and Utah will
make what is described as unit In
naval parIance, meaning that these
vessels are practically of the same
type and may be expected to operate
together in naval warfare The North
Dakota and the Delaware are nearly
two thousand tons smaller than the
other two vessels, though the arma-
ment is practically the same and the
smaller vessels indeed are rated at
about quarter of a knot faster
The Florida is 521 feet, six inches
long, nearly as long as city block
her beam is So feet 2 IL inches; she
draws 2S IL feet OF water and dis
places 21 ,S25 tons in light order, while
when fully loaded, with her supplies
and ammunition she will measure up
to 23,033 tons Her estimated speed
is 20 S-4 knots per hour, which would
have been regarded a few years ago
as the topnotch for a swift unarmored
cruiser. She will carry $500 tons of
coal in her bunkers which should en-
able her to make the round-trip across
the Atlantic at half speed Parsons
turbine engines, built in the New
York Navy Yard, of the enormous
power of $4,000 horsepower will main.
tain the high speed Of this big ship
and the steam viii pc supplied BY sec.
tional boilers
The main battery Of the ship will
consist Of ten tvfelve-inch rifles ar
ranged in pairs inSturrets. Looking at
her bow-on one would think that the
Florida had what is called superposed
or double-decked turrets like the Kear-
sarge and the Kentucky. but as mat
ter of fact there are only two guns in
each of the five turrets and the second
turret in the fore-part Of the ship is
necessarily elevated on super.
structure so as to be able to fire
freely over the top Of the foremast
turret, There is a very formidable.
secondary battery composed Of six
teen five-inch rapid firers, four three
Founders. two one Founders and a
number of machine guns. There are