The Cordova daily times., 1920-06-07
BIGGEST NAVAL
 SHIP AFLOAT 10 BE BUILT

QUINCY, Mass, June (by Asso- ciated Press).-The keel of the worlds biggest warship will be laid down here within six months. The battle-cruiser Lexington, combining in 8 degree unequalled by any ship of Ear now built or building the quail ties of powerful armament and high speed, has taken form in drawings and awaits the arrival of materials se be advanced from the hands of the architect to those of the builder. By fall, it is estimated, the prospective queen of the United States navy will become a ship under construction in~ stead of an ambitious plan
 The Lexington is the name-ship ot battle-crusers which will give Uncle Sam within four years fleet of six big-gun fighting ships unmatched by anything then afloGt. Her sister ships the Constellation, Saratoga, Ranger Constitution and United States, are also under contract. They bring names out of the old navy with traditional background for fresh ex- ploits.
 With others of it's class, the Lexing- ron will he a whale of a ship. It will displace 43,2OO tons and will have the mower of 18O,OOO horses, as measured in mechanical terms. It's length of STA feet is within 4 feet of the length Inf the steamship Leviathan, the mons ter passenger liner. The 1Ol.4 feet oI width of the Lexington will make that floating gun platform broader than any passenger ship.
 The Lexington, which is to be coIh- Dletely equipped with electric drlVe' will attain a speed of 35 knots. rms cruiser speed, higher than that or many destroyers, is the object oI mnch of the designing that entered into the creation of the Lexington class. Armor will be sacrificed to make possible the 95 knot speed the main belt being only i've lncheS thick at it's maximum as compareo with the 12 inch steel belt on most battleships, but armament will pc or tremendous power. The Lexington +hus will have not only the strateglc advantage of high speed but 1t Will he ahle to fire heavier charge over q greater distance than any other pat 41eship for which the plans are kno"n'
 The Lexington in action will speak with q voice of 16-inch guns, of which she will have eight. The navles ol Great Britain, France and Italy con- rain no gun greater than 15 inches and that of Japan includs 16-1nch guns only on the battleships of "A knot sneed which are now under construc- ton. Unlike the dreadnought class reliance on big guns exclusively, the Lexington will carry 16-inch guns as secondary armament.
 Taking a page from the naval ies- sons of the war, the designers of the Lexington have equipped the snip with four anti-aircraft guns, elgnt torpedo tubes, four of which are sun- merged and four on deck ana Wlth means of defense against aerial bonDs and aerial torpedoes. Defense agalnS- submarine torpedoes will te obtained through fore and aft torpedo bulk heads, which the stability of the yes sci will preserve no matter where sne 7s pierced. Under any condlfloLs put an explosion, it IS claimed, the Lex +nutcn class of warship shnulu prove unsuitable.
 An indication of the LeSingtons s greatness is afforded by comparison with the British warship Hood, which when it is floated will be the biggest shin in the British navy and atloat'
 LEXINGTON
 cnood ..-................35 knots D;er1acement .13 ,200 tons Length o|f Iollo Horsepower ----------A o0'000