The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1915-10-15

I nexibillty and manoeuvring qualities
 will be much improved, and, in par
 tfcular, her backing power will be
 greater than that of any other ship Eof her class.
 The California is coming into our
 navy at the time of the passing of
 coal and the substitution therefore
 of oil as fuel This dreadnought will
 be an oiI-burner, and a second coin
 cidence lies in the fact that a good part of the oil fuel for future use by
 the navy will doubtless come from the rich oil fields of California. Part of the oil fields reserved by the gov. ernment for navy use are in Cali
 fornia, and the courts have recently decided that the title of the govern
 ment to these reserved oil fields is a valid one.
 As the navy will own it's own oil lands. and will in the long run pro-.
 duce, transport, refine, and store it's
 own oil in order that the Navy De-
 partment may at all times be assured of an adequate supply, at-a reasonable cost, and as California, out of her abundance, will supply great part of this fuel, it is indeed fitting and proper that great American war vessel should bear the name of this state, whose resources are so needfuI to the success of ourI navy.
 The California and her two sister ships, the Mississippi and the Idahos already. authorized, will each dfsplaceE 32,000 tons, almost 1000 tons more
 than the new dreadnought Pennsy1- yania, now on the way to completion.
 The California will be ship of
 innovations. She will cost $7s8OO. 900
 without her armor or armament which lis expected to cost as much more.5
 She will have a speed of 21 knots an
 hour. will be SPA feet long. with. an
 extreme breadth of ST feet, IA
 inches. and will draw 30 feet of water.
 Her armament will consist of IF finch guns in four turrets, a sec ondary battery of 22N fve-inch guns and four torpedo tubes Secretary Daniels said in his address that the 14-inch guns were considered the best weapons of their kind in use. Outward1ys the California will bring, a drastic change of line and appear-I the ram bow, of the present-day big fighter, she will have a clipper bow much like those Of the famous sailing ships that carried the American flag Lat the head of the worlds swfftest craft in the 4O,s and sos It will be the first time since the steel ships re-. placed the old frigates and ships of Ethe line that clipper stems have been seen in the fleet Her overhangfng bow will project more than 20 feet
 beyond her cutwater, and will give
 place for three anchors instead of two. as on the present ships. The
 third will hang plumb over the stem l The new bow will make the Califor-s mia a dry ship, as the sailors say, keeping her foredeck free of water In%aH but the heaviest weather The fine under water lines of the other ships which make for speed have
 been carried above the water-1ine on the California, and her bows will be hared near the deck line. so when she does not cut through wave she; will lift her head over it.
 A model of the California's hull was thoroughly tested in the testing tank at the navy yard here before the radical changes were decided
 upon When the new ship is ready for her first trial trip late in 1917 or 1913, her record will be closely stud jed by the naval experts of the world.