The Madison daily leader. [volume] (Madison, S.D.) 1890-current, 1917-02-07
new CRUISERS
BIG AS LINERS
Novel Designs For Our Nays
Latest Ships.
GAN DEVELOP GREAT SPEED

Battle Cruisers Equal Lusitsnis or I'm
Perator In size. and Can Travel Forty
Miles an Hour. Which Renders Then,
Safe Against Torpedoes-Bis Crews
Necessary.
Judging 10y the accepted design for
orr new battle cruisers. the construction
Of a division Of six Of which was au-
thorized last summer, il will be agreed
that without exaggeration these stu
t,endous warships in their combination
of size, speed and power must be con.
sidered TO be the most novel and sensa-
tional Off We may use the word) ships
designed for any navy since the day or
the British dreadnaught. says the Sci
entific American. They have the length
OF the largest transatlantic liners, the
speed of the fastest destroyers and the
gun power of modern battleship
Big as Largest Liners.
The new battle cruisers are 500 feet
between perpendiculars and ST4 feet
over all. Their beam is ninety-one feet
and their draft il more than thirty
feet. Now, $50 feet between perpen-
liculars is just 100 feet greater than
the length between perpendiculars of
the famous Iusitania, and il We re
member rightly il Is exactly equal TO
the length between perpendiculars OF
the Hamburg American liner Impera
tor
ia view of these figures il is surpris-
ing and very significant to learn that
the displacement Of the battle cruisers
will be only "a 500 tons This is sew.
eral thousand tons less than the full
iead displacement of the Lusitania and
about 20.0o0 tons less than the fun load
/ displacement Of The Imperator The
apparent discrepancy Is explained by
/ the relatively moderate beam ninety
one feet Of the battle cruisers and the
/ remarkable ineneSs of their model
/ The Impefator has seven feet more
+ beam, and she carries this throughout
i several hundred feet Of her midlength
The battle cruisers. Oh the other hand.
| fire away rapidly toward the bow and
/ stern. the entrance and the run of the
+ vessels being as fine as If not finer
/ than that of destroyer
Travel Forty Miles an Hour.
/ The new ships because of their great
/ size will naturally carry large com
plement, greater indeed than that OF
any ship anoat The total number, in
/ Guiding officers and men, will be 1,274
So far as appearances 60 Ii must be
admitted that these stupendons ships
VIII be exceedingly handsome. Al
| though their freeboard IL ample for all
conditions except perhaps that OF chas
ing the enemy at fun speed In a head
sea. they do not tower above the water
TO anything like the height OF modern
transatlantic liners like the Aquitania
and Imperator and hence they will
look even longer than their great length
Their appearance will seem TO justify
the enormous speed for ships of this size
Of 81 knots Thirty-tiYe knots Is more
than forty land miles an hour.
The possession Of a division OF six OF
these ships. assisted by the two divi
sions of 1000 ton thirty five knot scouts
to he built, should render our fee
supreme in the field of scouting for In
formation The combination of great
speed and heavy batteries will make
them the terror Of destroyer iotillas
and their speed and quick maneuverini
power should render them practically
safe against the torpedo.