New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1916-11-22
A. REAL navy FOR
THE UNITED STATES
Bids Received at Washington for
Fifty-eight WarshipS

Washington, Nov. 22.-Bids for the
: first fifty-eight ships to be laid down
IN 1917 as part Of the greater navy
pbuilding program has been received at
the navy department.. Congress has
authorized the beginning of &c ships
in 1917 as the first installment of the
>i55 auth orized for the navy increases.
Vessels for which estimates of pri-
waite bidders were examined today in
cfude four battleships, four scout
cruisers, twenty destroyers and thir-
~ coast submarines, Early in De-
cember bids will be opened for four
@battle cruisers and at a later date
figures will be received on one am
munition ship
Under the terms Of the naval bill
all the 1917 ships must be contract
ed for or work on their construction
in government yards begun before
February 1. Construction Of a hos
pital ship, fuel ship and a gunboat has
already been started at the navy yards
ct Philadelphia, Boston and Charles
ton, respectively.
To Carry 16-Inch Guns.
The four battleships will be the
first Of the American navy to carry
16-inch rifles in their main batteries
Each will be equipped with eight Of
these big guns-the heaviest known to
have been placed aboard Warcraft, |
although it Is currently reported that
Great Britain is preparing to arm an |
experimental ship with 18-inch rifles. !
Until names have been selected the |
ships will be known as Nos. As, As, At |
and As. They will be similar in ap-
pearance and general design to the
superdreadnoughts Tennessee and
California, now under construction,
but will be 900 tons heavier in dis
placement, totalling $4,000 TONS The
additional tonnage is due to more tor
pedo protection and side armor
The ships are expected to have a
cruising radius Of nearly 1000 sea
miles without refueling They will
have the steam electric drive and
make at least twenty-one knots.
An addition to the 16-inch rifles the
new ships will carry eighteen 5-inch
torpedo defense guns, four Of the new
high range 3-inch anti-aircraft guns
and the usual equipment of torpedo
tubes Their main batteries will &be
mounted two guns ito a. turret de-
parting from the three-gun a@turret
construction on the Pennsylvania and
later ships, :. ~--1a Sir7 -, 1,>>
s.. .~A. ~: Scout. Cruisers &%l IT,
The scout scriiisers win be the first
scouts designed for that Work alone, |
to be added to the navy The old light
cruisers Salem, Chester and Birrning-
ham, known as scout cruisers, have
not the speed necessary for a modern |
sea picket.
The scouts will make sustained
speed of thirty-five knots an hour.
They will look like big destroyers and
be nearly six times as large as the
greatest torpedo craft, displacing
7.100 tons and having a length Of $50
feet. The mass of machinery neces-
sary to drive them at express train
speed will be covered by light armor
and each will carry eight long range
77inch rifles, two 3-inch anti-aircraft !
guns and four torpedo tubes.
The most striking new feature Of
the ships will be the installation of
catapult devices which will permit the
launching of hydro-aeroplanes in any
weather. Each scout will be fitted to
carry four aircraft to extend her
range of observation.
The twenty new destroyers will be
WI Ludlly tn0 SdIuo I'D design as the |
latest craft Of the type laid down ex-
cept that they will have a maximum
speed under full load of 35 knots an
hour, an increase OF nearly five knots
over the present high speed mark of
the American f1otilla. The boats are
expected to be as fast as any de-
Btroyers af1oat. They will carry four
s4-1nch guns each, two 3-inch anti
aircraft guns and four triple torpedo
tubes, giving each boat a broadside
fire of twelve 21-inch torpedoes. the
most deadly naval weapons ever de-
vised.
Submarines for Defense.
Of the 80 submarines 27 will be of
the coast defense type, substantially
similar to the L-type boats now in
commission. Improvements and re-
nnements of design have been made
but in the main, the present type has
been duplicated in the interest of |
speedy construction. They will have