The Guthrie daily leader. [volume] (Guthrie, Okla.) 1893-1996, 1910-05-12
NOT FINISHED BY
EIGHTEEN MONTHS
Description Of New KIND Of
War Vessel Which Is Most
Wonderful Atloat
tBy Associated Press)


New YORK, May l2.-The biggest
ship id the American navy slid oh
the waves today At tile New YORK
uavr yard, when the bsstieship Flor-
la dropped into the MAKER Later
hi when the Arkansas and me VIII
oming. nov under cpnst'npiion, are I
afloat they will exceed the Floriaa .
Ii Size 81 s.ee9 tons difference
sufficient to make pretty goea
nts inc IN Itself The Florida
herself is BIZ no means finished io'
n she went of the waves today she
was only about sixty PET cent ar
xareed towards completion, TiicH
means that she ~as not much mofe
than vast emty huh and SUM
awaits all Of the thousand boilers
and main and secondary engines ana
armour and equipment that 20 e
make ~ the snip ready for commits
sion. .,.,..,.
probably there Is not a batLleshsp
afloat that could tackle the fioi'ea
an even terms. when her comuaA'
aer's flag flies from the ungFacelui
but formidable, skeleton masts @hlsn
vii lbe placed upon il, that IS plo1iu,
ed the naval designers do not enanee
rlleir minds, as TO the utility OF this
naval feature OF marine architecture
within the next eighteen months ~
which time the Florida should be ID
commission.
The ship Is the first OF any res.
importance 10 be constructed IN d
government navy yard Tor NUM-
Der of years and naturally ner per
formance viii be watched with Keen
interest by the private shipbullders'
who are now building her sister SNIP
she Utah, In Camden, \. j. AS
matter of fact the North Dakota
huilt by the Fore River Ship Buildins
company. and the Delaware, construct
ad al Newport News( with the Florids
ana Utah, will make what is deserlb
ed az unit in naval parlance. near
ing that these vessels are praelcais
OF the same type and may be expected
10 oDerate together in naval warfare
The North Dakota and the DeiaWaf'
are nearly two thousand tons smalle
than the other two vessels, though th'
armament IS practically the same am
the smaller vessels are rated al abou
a quarter OF a knot faster
The Florida Is 81 feet, six inche
long. nearly as long as a city block
her beam is IS feet, II inches, sh
draws rs IL feet OF water and d.
places u S25 tons in light order, an
while when fully loaded. With her sui
niles and ammunition she VIII me-
ure up to 23,e33 tons Her estimate
speed Is 20 3-l knots per hour. whlc
would have been regarded few year
ago as the t0pnotch for a swift y
armored cruiser. She viii carry 2'9V
tons OF coal in her bunkeEs Nhie
should enable her TO make the ronn
trip across the Atlantic al nall spec
Parsons turbine engines, built IN N
New York navy yard. of the enorm9,
poger OF 2S,000 horse power VI
maintain the high speed OF this D
ship and the steam will be supplied
sectional boilers
The main battery Of the ship W
consist Of ten 12Snch rifles arTang
in pairs in tnrrets Looking at n
bow-on one would think that the Flc
sda had Khat is called superposed
double decked tnrrets Ike The hei
sarge and the Kentucky but as
matter Of fact, there a,e only u
guns in each Of the five tuTrets al
thu second turret in the fore-part
the shin is necessarily elevated on
suuersffuctnre so as 70 be able 10 y
freely over the top Of the forems
turret. There Is very te1miaai
secondary battery composed Of :
fe 5-inch rapid firers. four S'pour
els. two l-pounders and a number
machine guns. There are also two
inch submerged tubes iof torpedo
Just what the afmor Is TO be
these ships The naval designers v
not tell. That marks the adoption
a new policy In the American ma
where heretofore i has been the G
tom to set out 10 smallest detail
the chief coutfuctOr's annual repq
the thickness Oi every iuch OF arm
on the ship. Il Is believed thou
that the side armor Will average abb
twelve inches ana that IL viii be
tended over q length Of the ship he
tof0re uncovered and VIII be mu
wider than the ordinary arm0f o
80 as not to expose the under be
of the ship when She rolls IN a 5
wave.
Ii will teke more thar a ihousa
men 10 manage this great fight