Show I i I I i j SISTER I SHIP Monster War Vessel Vess l Delaware I Successfully Glides Down Ways MANY SPECTATORS THERE CEREMONIES FOLLOWED BY AN ELABORATE BANQUET Newport News Va Feb 6 The great battleship Delaware was success successfully successfullY successfully fully launched from the yards of her builders the Newport News ShipbuildIng ing Dry Dock company today The launching was witnessed by peo pee people pie Among those present were Assistant Secretary of the Navy Nan and Governor G vernor Penwell of Delaware and his staff The battleship was christened with champagne by Miss Anne Cahill of Del niece of the governor who had as her assistants Miss Florence Hazel of Dover Doer and Miss Ellen Elleh Coleman Dupont of Wilmington The launching was followed by an elaborate banquet Leads the World Compared with the battleships com corn completed completed or under construction of the navy of any foreign country the Dela Delaware Delaware Delaware ware surpasses all She Is one of four Sister ships authorized by congress which will form an indomitable squad squadron ron Ton The other vessels e els are the tha North Dakota being built at Quincy Mass the Florida which will be built at the New York navy yard ard and the Utah to tobe toi tobe be built at Camden N J 3 The Delaware Is to carry as heavy armor annor and an as powerful armament as any known vessel of its class will have a speed of knots which Is believed to be the highest practicable for a vessel essel of this type and class and will have hae the highest practicable practicable cable radius of action The arrange arrangement arrangement ment of her main battery guns Is such as to permit a of 25 per percent percent percent cent greater than that of the broadside fire of any an battleship now built or so far as is known under construction Her defensive qualities other than those dependent upon armor protection protection tion are such as aa to give the maximum degree of protection to all aU the vital portions by means of unusually effee i i I I I I tive ve compartmental com l subdivision S 0 so that t a t 19 conJunction with her er t tl i sel are believed to superior to those of any battleship hitherto de designed dei designed signed The Tha hull hun is protected by a awa wa ws waterline belt of armor annor eight feet In width whose maximum thickness Is eleven inches This armor belt gives i iI effective protection to the boilers ma machinery machinery chinery and magazine spaces The side above aboc the t e main armor belt is protected by b armor seven feet three Inches wide and of a maximum thickness of ten inches Above the main ar ax armor armor mor amidships the side is protected by armor of five fil inches In thickness which affords protection to smoke pipes the major portion of the secondary bat batteries batteries teries of guns and the hull structure Planned With Great Care The plans for the Delaware were pre prepared prepared prepared pared by the board of construction in competition with plans submitted by b various naval architects and ship shipbuilding shipbuilding shipbuilding building Companies and submitted to toa ton toa a n special l board boam under the presidency of former Assistant Secretary of the Navy T H Newberry and later approved By Sy congress The contract for the Dela Delaware warp ware was placed Aug 6 1907 1901 at a price of ot to be built in accordance with the departments design for both hull and reciprocating machinery Her keel kepI was laid Nov 11 II 1907 The Dela Delaware Delaware I ware is feet In length on load waterline feet two Inches in breadth and her mean draft to bot bet bottom bottom tom torn of keel at trial displacement about I feet Her coal bunker capacity Is 2500 tons which is sufficient sufficient dent to send her at a speed a distance of knots or twenty eight days steaming steam In Provision is also made for the stowage of a large amount of oil fuel without in any degree reducing reducIng reducing ing the capacity of the coal bunkers She will have reciprocating eating cating engines and will require over Ocr men to man her herlIer Her lIer armament will consist of ot a main battery batter of ot ten rifles and her secondary battery will willbe willbe be fourteen guns four saluting guns four er semiautomatic guns Uns two field and two machine guns of 30 caliber She has h s two submerged torpedo tubes The Delaware will m have bave a displace displacement displacement displacement ment on trial of ot ton tone or 2100 loo tons greater than the British Dreadnought and tons greater than Great Grett Brit ains latest vessel essel of that type the Vanguard |