The Washington times., 1915-03-16
D. SIS, PENNSYLVANIA
!: SLIDES DOWN WAYS
Miss Elizabeth KoIb Breaks
Bottle Of Champagne on
Great Steel Sides.
CONTINUED from First Page.)

one of the many proofs of the strength.
effectiveness: and steady development
OF the American navy of 1915"
He then quoted the Presidents refer
ences to naval affairs in his December
message to Congress. and declared that
In that message the President had paved
the way for the passage of the best
naval bill in the country's history.
The Pennsylvania" continued the
Secretary. with its displacement of
81 400 tons. and speed of twenty-ope
more powerful battieship than the
Queen Elizabeth. of which much has
been published recently. Although the
oguns Of the Queen Elizabeth are an
Atotal weight of shells fired in one broad
'side by the Pennsylvania Is about %
per cent greater than the broadside
'hred by the Queen Elizabeth
-. Tribute To Air Craft.
Secretary Daniels then paid tribute
TO the use of air craft in war. and de-
clared that the navy would expend
ss1,oeoooo in developing this. branch this
year. He continued:
II am directed by the President to
say that he is proud of the new Penn
,sylvania, and he hopes it never will be
called upon to demonstrate its prowess
s1n war. There never was time when
IT was so important for the United
States to set warning world an exam
pie of peace"
Referring to the appropriation of sA,-
100000 for under-sea craft. the Secretary
said:
mo nation has placed such substan-
,tial faith In the deadly power of this
yunder-sea craft. Within compare
ctively short time. when our mighty fleet
lies In Hampton Roads, ready to trav-
aerse the ocean. it will be accompanied
by submarines which can make twenty
knots an hour. and send hurtling
through the water torpedoes capable Of
sinking the leviathan ships that any ma
tion can construct"
|, Seek Vantage Points.
I. More than an hour before the time set
for the launching the crowd began to
Assemble. and when the gates of the
shipbulding plant were opened at 8
o'clock thousands swarmed in and be-
igan a search for vantage places about
the ship. Half an hour later the
sponsor and her party, composed of
maids Of honor. relatives. distinguished
Government officials. men we'll known
In public life. army and navy officers
men and women we'll known in society
in Virginia, Pennsylvania, and WASH
ington. entered the yard in carriages
md special trains and were conducted
10 the spacious launching platform To-
GATED under the mammoth steel Prov
pf the, ship. The stand, built in tiers so
that those farthest away could see over
the heads of those closest to the ship
although arranged to accommodate sew
eral hundred persons. was taxed to its
capacity. The sponsor was taken in
charge by General Manager Homer l..
Ferguson. and while her friends and
others gathered and looked on deeply
, Interested. she was instructed in the art
Of throwing the bottle so that there
would be no doubt about its being shat
tered against the -receding hull. She
was impressed with the fact that II
sthe bottle failed to break on the first
attempt there could be no second trial.
kFully instructed and feeling just little
enervous, Miss Kolb posed gracefully for
The photographers. after which. as the
time for~sending the big ship down the
.ways drew near, she took her position
beneath the bow. bottle in hand ready
,.for the signal.
The ship dressed" in new coat Of
paint, and gayly bedecked in Tags. pre-
sented an imposing and magnificent
sight. The great hull lowered more
than a hundred feet above the crowd
with the bow extending above the steel
rtrestle beside which the ship"was built.
Weighs $4,000 Tons.
As the hull rested upon the stocks
ready for its plunge, it weighed ap-
rproxirNately $1,000 tons, which exceeds
. that of the battleship Texas, launched
here about three years ago. by 1000
g.. tons One thing that impressed the
crowd, especially those familiar with
Launching and ships. was the degree of
completion of the ship. In the short time
of little more than sixteen months, the
.keel having been laid October -. 1913,
sthe builders of the dreadnaught had
smade the vessel 20 per cent complete. a
feat unequaled by any nation in the
ssconstruction Of ships.
When the work of driving home the
t@I l.
..mass of steel lifted clear of the stocks.
sthe initiated knew that the time Vas
xsAort. An order was given to knock out
sthe keel blocks, and in response several
Launching cradle. and only the sound of
Examiners could be heard. Recalling from
sthe faces of the yard officials that the
rperiod was an anxious one for them,
sthe crowd awaited the sound of the
whistle that would warn the workmen
Ito a place of safety. The keel blocks
sand shores supporting the sides of the
sship cleared away the signal ready"
was given, a danger whistle blown, and
stnstantly the workmen began u wild
scramble to safety
2 So slowly at first as TO be almost in
s.perceptible, the hull started down the
sship started, the crowd broke into
scheers. Truly, the welcome was one
fitting the new Queen of the Navy"
B With the first motion of the ship, |
n ttention. was given the signal Now"
sShe hurled the bottle of champagne
against the steel PROV and was re-
swarded by seeing the glass smashed.
sWhile the big ship which she had
: just christened the pennsylvania"
.floa tad majestically out into the river
Ste be later captured and towed to
zone of the piers by tugs, Miss Kolb
swastbusily engaged in receiving con-
zgratulatiors from her friends. Later
Tshe was honor guest at luncheon by
sofficials of the shipbuilding company.
= Some idea of the size and strength
Eof the Pennsylvania may be obtained
. from the following characteristics:
Longth over all, COS feet; extreme
Fbreadth, 81 feet. " inch; draft on ..ial,
S2S feet, 10 inches; trial displacement,
81 400 tons; Full load displacement
) 32.567 tons fuel oil capacity, 694,S3O
> gallons (2,322 tons) indicated horse
power, 3l.500; speed on trial. 81 knots;
. cost when completed, $l3.00O.00O.
. The Pennsylvania will be manned
! by crew consisting of 65 officers
: a63 men, and a detachment of - ma
rines. The list of officers is as fol-
l lows: Flag officer, comman nding Of
I ficer. 81 wardroom officers, executive
officer, marine officer, 16 junior Of
! flcers, and 10 warrant officers, includ-
ing fleet pay clerk.
Plans ami specifications for the
. pnTn rlxtr ~