Salt Lake Herald | 1907-07-14 | Page 1 | Defects in the Big Warships

k DEFECTS IN THE DIG Frank Statement of Rear Ad Admiral Admiral miral Brownson Regard Regarding c ing Known Facts Washington July a aI I series of special articles in n a service F publication which have been to some extent reproduced in the day press S criticising the battleships of the navy Rear Admiral Brownson to today toI I day said In substance 1 That there are defects in the Ore Oregon Oregon gon the tho Kentucky and the Kearsarge is well known In fact the defects were discovered before the completion ot of those shIps but the wonder is that there were so 80 few defects considering that they were the tue first heavy battle battleships i I ships bunt built In this country countr Compared j to the battleships ot of other nations de deI I signed and built at the same mme time the I Oregon class was conspicuously super superior r for In fact that class was referred to toby tor r by the leading British technical papers at the time as the s battle battleship ship and the Interior arrangement and other points were of special excellence L Armor Badly Placed It Is true that their armor was bad badly badly ly placed but that arose from the ad addition to the ships ot of a great amount ot of material stores and machinery not in included n eluded in the original design It is also true that they lacked balanced turrets but when they were buIlt there thero thereL L was no such turrets in any navy Their ammunition tubes r niso were not protected As Asto Asto to the criticism directed at the larger size ot of the ports in the turrets this has been corrected In later designs by bringing the of at t tie e guns a nearer to the front of the turrets so that the battleships of at later design are 1 tree free from this defect As to the gun I platforms the Oregon class has no su superIor 1 and even at this late date they Would give a good account ot of them themselves L selves in action In fact taking every thIn into consideration it is only sur surI surprising that we built as good ships at atI I I that time