The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-10-05

rsy.saa t1,ss, yvisirs win be a request for k1ae construction Of battle cruisers ss1 pardor in speed and power to anythlng now af1oat. This fact was deveIepeo { 5sgead at the white House between lFresident wilson. Secretary Dan1els oI 16llA Navy Department. and Cnairfal1s'1111rll ls11rl 1sadxett of the House 3Cornrn1ttee on 7gayal Affairs It became salsl..s qrls < s- efer the conference that the ad1nin lsszratioza would recommend more than l two ;battieships, one or more battle lcrnirers, and a large number or sup marines.
 . ,T,e hattie cruisers will be the feag- lss,rs of the naval program F>reliI1l in issv desagns for these vessels haVes ta,rser, orepareG by the Naval Constrlc- tors and are before thes sGeneraI Hsossra, @ Isecretary Daniels and the Fre7sle 7lstn, eienl Inlternative designs, but the partEllssu- lar one which will proba ply be adopred fcAIIs for five knots speed. T hls IS ieua1fvalent to a Traction over Io1ty ny. Hand miles an hour The Tas5est .ostl pa F. lI4 cruiser thus Tar built by any or the. the : f4,nvvers is desisned for not more than an, s4hirty knots CppsequentlY the Am ' ter5czz1 battle cruiser would be able to ;san rings around any fQreag agn svesseii; Of similar type now in sof1aIEpl i4eeted hattie cruiser have not been de- f4ezun1ned by the experts or the <1eneFraIs Z Hoard of tn Navy but the under- fsstanding is that this new type or Ves- sseTs main aTnrOr will pc about elslat inches thick and the vessel will mount efaht 14-5nch guns, of 50 calIpre ne tssost Of the battle cruiser will be about e1a GOO 900, or about S. 00o, coo more than &he dreadnought battle ships now pe- Bang built for the United Stales na5vy. . Tshe battleships to be recommended :f in this year, s naval program will also cost about SIS 0O0 GOO each, the increase befng due to the rise in the price of war material
 Lessons from the War.
 The decision to recoEnmend one or more battle cruisers is the result of Q xsareful study of the lessons taught Tv t1,es naval side of the war in Eur ope Secretary Daniels and Presi- E dent wilson have before them a re- port made by Lewis. B. McBride Ma val Constructor, who has been attach i cd ho the embassy in London, dea5lng R with the operations of battle crulssers of the British and German navies ! saa4xfne the war, and dernonstrating sa171nfstakalbIy that this new type of vessel is most valuable adjunct to 4 ! defense and offense- The escape or \! the German ar1nored cruiser Goeben h the Mediterranean from the com .4s a5inedK British and French fleets in the earlier stages of the war, solely by reason Of superior speed. was the < first dennonstra atton during the pres- tsnfs conflict of the kvalue of the battle ] cr1.iser Tn the naval battle in the 4 North Sea- and likewise in the battle f5 off the Falkland Islands, battle cru1s- CTS were a. determining factor
 Speed Plans a. Secret
 Offcaals Of the Navy Department today refrai1fed from disclosing the detailed characteristics of the pro- 4e,cfed battle cruiser. Secretary ADan-
 
 signed for 5 knots Another high i ofHcdal said the propelling machinery would consist Of turbines. Beyond this no information was obtainajble II from any source as] to the essential charac4er1stics of the projected war s sllap when one high official was ! asked how it was proposed 10 ob- tazn the speed ofs35 nautical miles an hour, he responded:
 4sThe first Bratdsh battle cruisers were the Inhexible. InvtnciDIe and IT. don1ifabIe authorized in 1907 and completed in 1908. These vessels are Identical They disp1ace 1T, ,250 tons each mount eight 12 inch guns" have am amid ships belt of Finch arndor, and on trials recorded from 26-6 knots The next class of British bat tie cruisers embraced the Indefatiga- ble and New Zealand. each of 18,75o tons displacement These two also each mounted eight 2-inch guns. and carried S-tnch armor belting. On their trials they recorded 26 and 27 knots speed In 1911 the British government authorized three addition al battle cruisers of the Lion class. the other two being the Princess Roy al and the Queen Mary In these vessels the displacement ram up to S6,- $50 tons. Each carries eight 1S. 5 inch guns, and full power trials they made 29 knots an hour. The heav- lest armor carried is inches amid ships
 Fast Ships Of Other Navies.
 Tn the Tiger type of battle cruiser. authorized in 1913 for the British navy, the displacement ran up to 50,- GOO 4ons, the main batteries are the same as in the immediately preceding class, eight 1S.5-fnch guns, and the heaviest arnor carried was g inches annidships. The Tiger was designed 2 { for 30 knots an hour, on a designed horse power of 100. 600. The Tiger is propelled by the Brown-Curtis type Of turbine.
 The German battle cruisers were designed as a reply to the British ves- seIs Of this type, and beginning with She von der Tam, authorized in 1909, have included the Ndo1tke and Goeben, the Seid1itz and Derf1inger and the Ersatz Hertha- The von der Tam made 2T.4 knots on triaf, the MoItke made 2S.57 knots, the Goeben 28.6 knots and while the Seidlftz and 4DezTIiner were designed for 27 knots. 1t ia understood they have each made 29 knots. The most recent of the German battle cruisers have ten H. inch guns and their heaviest arrnor has run from to 1osinches.
 The Japanese have been building four battle cruisers of the Kongo type, each designed for z7 knots on 5000 horse power derived from turbines, on a displacement of 27. 800 tons. The Japanese battle cruisers carry eight 14-inch guns each and 1o-inch arnor.