New-York tribune., 1913-09-14

Hiyel at the government yard, Yokosuka.
on November I. 1911. II is not expected
that either OF these vessels will be COM
pleted before 1916. The strategIcal and
tactical qualities OF these four battle
cruisers were taken from experience
gained IN the Russo-Japanese naval bat
ties
Guns Mounted in Pairs.
OF course, II Is the armament that makes
tie Kongo what she is. II includes eight
ii-inch guns. sixteen s-inch guns. sixteen
smaller guns and eight submerged tor
pedo tubes. The eight i4-Inch guns are
mounted In pairs IN four bsrbettes, which
are so arranged that four guns may fire
forward and four aft, while all eight can
nre on either broadside.
The armor protection Is most effective.
The pain broadside armor is carried 20
the height OF the boat deck. which is con-
tinued on the same level as the forecastle.
forming a gun citadel, into which the
5-nch gun casemates are worked. There
is special arrangement OF armored
bulkheads protecting the vital parts OF
the ship The main belt Of armor ex-
tends considerably below the waterline'
and under this there Is an auxiliary
armor belt extending some distance below
the normal armor shelf. The thlrty-Sx
water-tube boilers in the ship are OF the
Yarrow large-tube type, arranged TO work
under forced draft and closed stoke
holds They will be htted 10 burn oil fuel
az well as coal, and there Is complete
installation OF pumps. heaters, filters and
collectors fitted for this purpose. The ship
has coal capacity OF 400 tons and an
oil capacity OF 1000 tons.
Complete protection 10 the machinery In
time OF battle has been aimed at. The en-
gines-two sets Of turbines on four shafts
are ranged IN two compartments with
dividing bulkhead, and the boilers are
ranged in eight compartments, four on
each side of the centre lines. The coai
bunkers are also segregated one from an
other and thus the arrangement estab-
fishes the complete Independence OF the
port and starboard sets OF machinery.
Gun Trials Satisfactory.
The Kongos officers are particularly
gratifed with the gun trials. The severest
test was the firing OF all the l4-inch guns
and 6-inch guns on the starboard side
making a broadside Of sixteen guns in all.
and II was remarkable that the cascades
thrown I'D in the sea by the loo-pound shot
from the 6-inch guns were almost sinul-
taneous, showing a splendid uniformity
in the Trajectory. The ricochet OF these
100 pound guns was almost simultaneous
with the first contact OF the l4-inch shot,
so Il was really almost impossible 20 tell
which size shot struck the water first In
all the discharge OF about eight tons or
metal.
one OF the most interesting things about
this gun test WAS that tho ship WAS hard
Is jarred, no damage whatsoever was
done 10 her structure. and about the only
thing necessary 10 repair was the side
planISing OF a few of the iifeboats. which
had been sprung by the succeeding air
blasts.
The gun mountings are hydraulic, es-
pecially designed by Messrs Vickers, Ltd,
at BarrOw-in- Furness, the builders OF the
Kongo. bu, electric gear Is installed In
case OF accident TO the hydraulic system.
The Janny- Williams gear has been built
IN the Kingo for the first time TO the
turret control. and fast and slow speeds
In revolving the turret are achieved with
equal facility.
The cost OF the Kongo Is approximately
S2 10000. and II the other three ships
are estimated at the same amount
Japan's outlay for the four great sisters
will be sjO.0o0.0oo.
Two or three days before she sailed
farewell "at home" was given by the cap
tain and officers 10 the army garrison and
the naval officers stationed at Plymouth
and various other visitors were included.
The Japanese Ambassador In London was.
Of course, present with his staf, and
Admiral Sir q. lie Clerc Egerton. X. {. b.
and also Major General f. p Penton,
C. V. o., G. B., attended with their stats
and family parties. Hundreds OF uni
forms made the scene dazzling and
p,cturesoue. or course. flowers were
everywhere, the embiematic chrysanthe-
NUNS and the stately iris being most
prominent. as well as a wealth OF wis