Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1916-10-25
the three gun turret construction on
the Pennsylvania and later ships.
FIRST SCOUT CRUISERS.


The scout cruisers will be the first
scouts, designed for that work alone,
to be added to the navy. The old light
cruisers Salem, Chester and Birming-
ham, known as scout cruisers, have not
the speed necessary for a modern sea
picket.
The scouts will make sustained
speed Of SO knots an hour. They will
look like big destroyers and be nearly
six times as large as the greatest tor
pedo craft, displacing ZOO tons and
having a length of $50 feet. The mass
of machinery necessary to drive them
at express train speed will be covered
by light armor and each will carry
eight long range 6-inch rifles. two g.
inch nti-aircraft guns and four tor
pedo tubes.
The most striking new feature of the
ships will be the installation of cata-
putt 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 90 new destroyers will be vir-
tually the same in design as the latest
craft of the type laid down except that
they will have maximum speed under
full load Of So knots an hour, an in
crease of nearly five knots over the
present high speed mark of the Amer
lean flotilla. The boats are expected to
be as fast as any destroyers afloat
They will carry four 4-inch guns each.
two 3-inch anti-aircraft guns and four
triple torpedo tubes. giving each boat
broadside fire of u 21-ipch torpedoes
the most deadly naval weapons ever
devised
THIRTY NEW ST. 6MARiNES.
OF the 80 submarines 81 will be of
the coast defense type substantially
similar to the L-type boats now in
commission improvements and refine
ments of design have been made but in
the main. the present type has been
duplicated in the interest of speedy
construction. They will have new feat
ures but their nature had not been dis
closed beyond the fact that all will
carry disappearing 3-inch rifles for
surface use.
The otner three submarines Will vary
in size between 500 and 1900 tons. Each
will be essentially different in type
from the others as ii is planned to
make them experimental fleet sub
marines to accompany the battle fleet
on the high seas. The sea going quail
tiles of each will be appraised to de-
termine a fixed type later for Ameri-
can fleet submarines. nine of which, in
all, are included in the three-year pro-
gram.
The hospital ship will be the first
vessel of it's type In the American navy,
built especially for her work. She will
displace $500 tons and have accommo-
dations for 500 patients. Her equip
mont will in ude the last word In APP
pliances The vessel will be $50 feet
long and have q speed of Is knots.
Tho fuel ship will be similar to the
tankers now in the navy service with
n capacity OF $500 tons of oil fuel and
equipment for refuelng battlecraft at
sea in any but the toughest weather.
The gunboat will be similar to those
recently designed for tropical service.
carrying three four-inc guns, four
machine rifles and two field pieces for
landing operations.
The new battleships will each re-
quire an estimated complement of 1922
officers and men. the scouts $50 each
md the dcStroyers 95.