The Holly chieftain., 1923-10-25


hundred and fifty Colorado boys among the
crew and more are going. Reproductions of Col
oraGo scenery adorn her. The silver service pre-
sented by the state to the old Colorado (now the
Pueb0) Is on board.
For other reasons the Colorado is of particular
interest to the nation-and to the world. "a vast
experimental laboratory OF nnrine engineering
she has been called, and 1t is said OF her. Though
she Is primarily fighting machine. she need never
fire shot at the enemy to earn her cost of $27,-
100000 many times over for her country" 1t ap
pears that the most advanced designs of ship
equipment have been Installed. In the Colorado
and the results of their test will be placed at the
disposal Of American shpbuilders for their guild
ance In building the national merchant marine and
the future navy.
Electric motor-driven propellers. 1S,0OO-horse
power turbine generators, and 0il-burnng boilers
part OF the advanced construction that Ia said
10 make this 80, ,60O-ton superdreadnaught signif-
cant to marine engineers Further unusual fea
lures include these: From a forward speed Of
twenty-One knots tile Colorado can be brought Up
staading In three minutes. Her eighteen-nch ar
sporpiate Is supposed to be proof against sub
marines and air bombs, ms well as direct fire. With
veritable honeycomb Of water-tiglt compartments
she must be literally shot to pieces before she can
he sunk. Eight 16-inch guns in two forward and
two after turrets (the largest permitted by the
Washington cOnference) can drop eight tons of
steel and high explosives on the deck of an enemy
twenty miles awayA enough to put out Of commits
sion anything afioat. A captive observation hal
loon and several scout alrpanes are also carried
Xix men In the control-room far down between the
two 1900 horsepower turbo-electrIc generators
and the four S.0OOhorsepower electric propeller
motors. control every movement of these two g
gantic mecinnisms and every other important ma
chine. orders from the bridge.
Another thing that adds to the interest In the
Colorado is the fact that she, with her sister Ship
the West Virginia, Is the last superdreatnaught
uvh rI thn Cfatn xufI1
teen years. under the Fve-Power Naval treaty.
That means, that she may be the last of her kind
either because of universal peace or because BY
that time the capital ship may be wholly futile
for the purposes of war.
The third Colorado wns designated as Battle.
ship No. As Counting from the first In the new
navy, authorized In the building program Of Aug
%, 1916, to be of $1,000 tons trial displacement
eight sixteen-inch guns in four center line turrets
twelve five-inch guns for torpedo defense. eight
antiaircfuft guns and two torpedo tubes. Her
main machinery Is designated to attain twenty
one knots with about 2s.0OO horsepower. two main
turbine generators of Westinghouse type driving
motors on four Shafts one screw each. She is
armOreG on the waterllne, turrets, coming tower
and sinuke uptakes. She uses only fuel oil and her
eteering engine anchor windasa and most other
auxiliary machinery are electric driven She will
mount cutnpult for launching nirplanes and gen
orally have all improvements of the best naval
practice.
At the Washington conference on the reduction
of 4rmuments, the Colorado and the West Virginia
on the list offered Of uncompleted ships to
he scrapped. but the Japanese bent on re-
tanning their newest battleship Mutsu. at the time
all but completed. that n new scrappng program
made, by which the Colorado and West Vir-
ginin we're to be completed and the two Oldest
dreadnaughts Delaware and North Dakota, much
smaller vessels. would then be scrapped, the re.
sulting tonnage offsetting the Japanese Increase