The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1911-08-26
Senior de Naon Breaks Champagne at
Christening as Thousands of
Americans Applaud.
CRAFT 555 LONG; So IN WIDTH
Armor Strip IL Inches Thick and Elk.
tends 200 Feet-Twelve Guns
in Main Battery.

Quincy, Mass, Aug. 26.-Declared
to have no equal afoat as a first-class
fighting machine, the dreadnought
Rividavia, the largest ship of war
now building OF under design and the
first battleship ever built in the Unit
ed States for a foreign power, was
successfully launched from the yards
of the Fore River Shipbuilding Com
pany shortly after noon today The
Rividavia is being built for the Ar
gentine Republic. A sister ship, the
Moreno, is under construction at
Camden, N. j., and will soon be ready
for launching.
AS the big hull started down the
ways with the golden sunburst on a
field of blue and white, the colors of
the republic of Arentine, flying from
the stern, Sonora de Naon, wife of
the Argentine Minister to the United
States. broke gayly be-ribboned bot
tie Of champagne against the keel Of
the great ship and spoke words that
gave the vessel it's name. In per-
forming the christening ceremony
Sonora de Naon acted as proxy for
sonora Rosa Saenz Pena, wife Of the
president of the Argentine Republic.
Americans Cheer Sonora.
Thousands cheered and waved
their hats as the giant hull rushed
into the water. Among those who
witnessed the spectacle were a num-
Der of the South American diplomats
who are spending the summer in New
England, together with numerous ma
val officers from Charlestown, Brook
Ign and elsewhere and experts from
the naval department and various
shipbuilding companies, all of whom
have been greatly interested in the
construction of the Rividavia, which
has come to be known among ship
building men as superdreadnought
Externally the Rivadavia closely
resembles the British battleship Lion
and the Arkansas and Wyoming Of
the United States navy. In height
she agrees with several of the latest
English and American dreadnoughts
Her displacement, however, exceeds
that of even the greatest of the Eng
liSh and American battleships.
Nearly 600 Feet Long.
Her large displacement of 26,50(
tons is expected to make her very sea
worthy and insure a high offensive
and defensive efficiency. Her length
is 5S5 feet, beam SO feet and nor
NAL draught 81 feet inches. Hel
height above the normal water line
at the foTecastle will be- 25 feet
inches, amidship % feet inches ane
astern II feet 1 inch. The super
structure on the upper deck will be
completely suppressed 10 avoid OBJ
struction of the arc of fire of thu
main guns.
The main armor belt has uni
form thickness of - inches and il
200 feet long, extending feet
inches above and feet inches be
low the normal water line. In gen
eral the arrangement of armor fol
lows English, American and Japanes
ideas, but as regards thickness an
distribution it resembles what ha
been adopted on the Japanese ship
now building. The vessel is divide
into numerous watertight compart
ments, fitted with electrically driver
centrifugal pumps, which can be op
Grated even when the compartment
is completely flooded.
Has Room For 1000 Tons.
The motive power is steam tur
bines and the coal bunkers have ca
pacity of 1000 tons. The main tur
bines can develop $4,000 horsepowe
with one inch of air in the fire rooms
The ship must make a speed of 2
1-2 knots an hour for eight hour
with a displacement of 81, 500 tons
The main battery of the Rivadavi
will consist of twelve II inch gums
mounted in pairs turrets, so that the
can all be fired at. once. In additio
to the IL inch guns her armamen
will include twelve inch and twelv
inch guns, besides smaller field an
saluting guns. She also has two 2