Pine Bluff daily graphic. (Pine Bluff, Ark.) 1893-1942, 1915-06-20
laughter of Governor Hunt
Christens Leviathan
of the Seas.
GOVERNMENT BESTS
PRIVATE SHIPYARDS
Arizona Built in Is Months, Three
Months Less Than Required to Con.
struct Sister Ship, Pennsylvania.
by Private Yard.

New York, June 19.-The largest
battleship in the world, was launched
here this afternoon at the New York
navy yard in Brooklyn.
In the presence of many thousand
spectators pretty seventeen-year-o old
Esther Ross, of i rescott, Arizona
smashed across the bow Of the mighty
ship bottle filled with the first wa
ter that passed over the spillway of
the great Roosevelt irrigation dam.
Thus the superintendent was
christened with the name of prohi-
bition state.
Loosed on her ways by a hydraulic
trigger, the gaily decorated vessel,
still minus her mighty guns, slid ma
jestically into the waters of the
East river. Twenty-Five thousand
pounds of grease had been used to
ease her passage.
Cheers came from the vast throng.
Those present included Governor
Hunt and fifty prominent citizens of
Arizona, Vice President Thomas Mar
shall, who represented the president,
and Secretary of the Navy Daniels.
Triumph for Government.
The Arizona is great triumph for
Rear Admiral Nathaniel r. Usher,
head of the navy yard and his SUBJ
ordinate directors. She was built in
10 months, or three months less time
than the privately built Pennsylvania.
On the ways which the Arizona quit
construction will Immediately be be-
gun of the California, the first cleo
trically driven battleship in the world,
which will be a thousand tons larger
than the craft launched today.
The Arizona, in the opinion of Sec
rotary Daniels, could meet and van
qush the Queen Elizabeth. the best
ship in the British navy.
She will be able to throw from her
dozen fourteen inch rifles broad
side of 1890 pounds a distance of
70 miles and make good target prac-
tlce at twelve miles.
She will displace 81 400 tons light
and more than $4,000 tons when fully
equipped and manned. The nearest
approach to such a tonnage is made
by the four new dreadnoughts being
under construction for Japan. These
ships displace about 10000 tons.
On the water line she will measure
QUO feet and will have an overall
Length of Cos feet. Her beam is 97h
leet and her mean draft almost 20
leet She will have five decks, with
bridge and two platforms. There
are "a main traverse watertight com
partmont and about 400 compartments
IN all. She will develop about $4,000
horsepower and make almost % knots.
New Plan Of ArmOr.
the Arizona is armored according
10 a new and entirely American plan,
which is also used on the Oklahoma.
'ne Nevada soon to go into cclnnlis-
sion, and launched The armor is
concentrated along the water line and
around big guns. The turret armor is
g e be Is inches thick. Tie exact De.
iails of the armor are kept a secret,
put is known it will be heavier than
mat on any foreign battleship.
Her '4irch guns fire rrotecti'e
weighing 1.4Oo pounds. They are ar
ranged in four turrets of three guns
each. She can fire all these guns Ill
broadside and half of them either
ahead or asterr.
The big battlesh!p will have a COM
piement of 65 officers, 500 sailors and
q marines. The cost exclusive OF
armor mi ar nament. is 3.,425 n"O and
when she goes into commission this
VIII have re. cd about $l$ soc .NnO.