Show TO DOUBlE BATTlESHIPS BATTlESHIPS' PRESENT ANGlE OF FIRE Navy Department Decides to to Give Main Batteries Elevation Elevation Elevation Eleva Eleva- tion of Thirty Degrees I I J Washington Aug Main Maln Main batteries of ot American Battleships hereafter will willbe willbe be given Iven an elevation of 30 degrees practically doubling the tho present angle of fire tire according to a n. decision reached b by the na navy department experts It Is said after close clos study of ot all n available information on naval engagements of th the European war Wherever possible ships now no under construction and those already In commission It is understood will be similarly tl fitted Hed The effect of the change will be to Increase materially tho the range of ot the navys navy's Inch fourteen guns and also to tomake tomake make gunfire more accurate in rough weather The guns no now have sufficient range to reach anything within the limit of ot vision at sea and the added elevation ole will enable them to hurl I shells at objects far beyond the horizon size In or over O hills of at considerable bombarding land fortifications Navy 1 officers havo have heeded c closely r In In- In formation on all tho the battles In n the r North orth tea sea and off ott the Falkland Islands In reaching their determination It is said Both were fought ht at almost tho the extreme extreme extreme ex ex- en en- en range of ot the biggest gest guns A now new problem has been presented as asa asa asa a result of ot the tho high angle fire and of or navy experts are arc studying methods increasing deck armor against the plunging fire tire of ot shells hurled from a n great distance The They are aro faced however however how how- ever b by the necessity of either reducing reducing reducing redu redu- cing the weight of ot armor on the sides or Increasing the size of ot the ship to Battleships Battleships Battle Dattle- carr carry tho the additional weight ships of the California class will have havo havea a beam of ot nearly nc-arly feet teet the maximum that the Panama canal ennal can accommodate dato date and it Is thou thought ht probable that the two new ships authorized by t 1 y thelast tho the last Congress will be bo cont considerably over o feet reet In length to provide pro the additional addi tonnage necessary I r. r |