Omaha daily bee., 1910-06-04

The authorization Of congress " the
building of two new 1900 ton battleships
marks the highest notch la naval progress
yet reached one Of these ships will be as
large as two Of the best which took part
In the Spanish American war. In gun power
1t Will surpass the strength OF any three
OF the ships which helped to sink Ceyeras
fleet off the coast Of Cuba. The fourteen
Inch guns which these new monsters will
mount are powerful beyond anything yet
known to naval ordnance. with a s65
pound charge OF smokeless powder, Of an
explosive force compared with which dynu-
mite seems as harmless as sawdust, they
hurl 1,4OO pound she'll through the air
at an initial velocity of nearly one-half
mile a second. So great is the force with
which this shell is propeued that II has
possible range of nearly twenty-five miles
At seven miles it will pierce the heaviest
armour that covers the hull of any battle
ship in any European navy. At every
broadside of, these two ships their twenty
fourteen inch guns will hurl fourteen tons
of metal against the opposing fleet. This
metal viii be propelled by nearly eight
tons of powder and the aggregate cost OF
each broadslde will represent more than
the annual salary of the admiral of the
navy.
1t Is claimed by the English that they
stand ahead Of all the rest OF the world
In the manufacture OF powerful guns They
use the wire-wound method OF gun manu-
facture. The guns consist of a compare
lively small steel tube wrapped with wire
1t is asserted that when thus made the
guns can stand a pressure of from ninety
to 100 tons to the inch, as compared with
n 20
tons TO the inch in the case of steel jacketed
guns, such as are used in the American
navy American ordnance experts do not
agree with those of England in this part-
cular, and. while they admit that the life
and safety of the British guns may give
them some advantage, yet they assert that
these advantages are counterbalanced by
others in favor Of the American guns.
There is a wide difference Of opinion as
to what the actual cost of the new battle
ships is to be. 1t was asserted recently by
Senator Hale, who for a long time was
chairman of the Naval committee, that the
ultimate cost of each vessel would be be-
tween $4,000 600 and S1S,OOOOOO, On the other
hand the present chairman of the com
mittee, Senator Perkins of California, de-
clared that the cost would not be more
than S9OOO,OOO for each ship. Later, Senator
Lodge said that $i1,OOO,OOO would approx
mate the actual cost. If the experience of
the past may be taken as a criterion
the figures stated by Senator Hale will
more nearly represent the ultimate cost
than those given by Senator Perkins. But.
however much they may cost 1t is but little
as compared with the outlay in their up-
keep. In times of peace they will require
the services of 1000 men, and an outlay of
100000 year for maintenance. This out
lay will be exceeded to considerable ex-
tent in time OF war.
So rapid has been the progress In naval
armament in the past decade that the last
word of yesterday in battleship building
goes almost unreckoned today. Even the
great Dreadnought, which but few years
ago was the talk of naval circles through
out all the world, and the admiration and
despair of every rival OF John Bull, today
seems hopelessly eclipsed by the monsters
that are being authorized by the various
governments. Two of the battleships Just
authorized by the American congress would
make more than three like the first Eng
fish Dreadnought
Not only have battleships grown in size
and in the strength of their guns. but also
in their efficiency. The use of steam tur-
bines instead OF the reciprocating engine
has brought about a wonderful improve
ment in speed and economy of coal The
Delaware of 10000 ton displacement, burns
less coal than the Connecticut of 900 tons.
The Massachusetts, with tonnage of
slightly more than half as much as that of
the Delaware. required more fuel to steam
sixteen knots an hour than the Delaware
requires to steam twenty-one knots an
hour. This same condition OF economy has
been found to be possible in other branches
of battleship operation. In the matter of
lubricating oil a vast saving has been ef-
fected, and as big battleship uses thou
sands OF gallons of oil asyear the import
ance OF this item is not to be overlooked. |
On some of the newer vessels oil is forced
into the bearing OF the machinery under |
heavy pressure. This has been instru-
mental in effecting great savings through |
the overcoming of hotboxes and similar |
troubles. 1t was noticed in the examination |