Show Will SWEEP T THE THESEAS IE fillIE SEAS IN I fill fUTURE it Bids Opened at Washington for Two Monster Battleships Battleship of Class EACH TO COST 1 DESCRIPTION OF THE VESSELS AND GUNS 1 f Washington June Juris Ju p 20 The Newport N f News Shipbuilding company with f fone one bid at 90 and the Fore Jore p ore 4 River Shipbuilding company comp y of pf 4 f 4 Quincy Mass 1 ss with a bid of f 4 0 were the successful srul bidders 4 4 4 today for the big battle 4 4 ships 4 4 4 t 44 4 H Washington June 20 Bids were opened at the navy department at noon noon today toda for forthe forthe forthe the construction ton of two American Dr or what are officially known as battleships Nos 28 and 29 2 each e ea i h to be of approximately 20 tons dis displacement d placement the te cost or each not to ex exceed exceed excecil cecil exclusive of armor and ind nd armament aram nt The T total cost of each wh n completed is intimated to be JIO Responsive Rc to the Invitations of the pa na board of construction there were wars sub submitted submItted ul various v designs and sketches for forthe forthe forthe the proposed vessels from s sand I and Ind nd naval constructors These were wen in m turn submitted to a naval committee e on j design the head of which was Assistant Secretary Newberry which board oard report reported rep rt ed that the design of the bureau bureil of construction with wih officers quarters quarter forward was the most suitable ThiE board gave an opinion that tha a vessel con COIl constructed constructed on this design would carry cary as ut heavy armor and amI as powerful armament as any alY known vessel of this class would have a speed believed to be cass the practicable for fur a vessel of this type and class and have hive the th highest practicable le readiness of action with wl a total coal coal bunker capacity of about phout 2300 3 tons bus a aspee speed spee on trill of knots kno s a length on the load bail water line lne of about 5 feet and an extreme e rem breadth bread of about a Qu 80 8 8 feet 2 2 inches Inc e Armament of the Vessels Y The armament Is to be composed as follows Main jI Mn ln in battery batter bi t Ten breech reech load loading loadIng ing lUg rifles Second battery Fourteen rapid fire guns ns four saluting guns four er guns two Ine field pieces pl ces es two machine guns caliber calber 30 3 3 two submerged torpedo tubes tube gns The lo hulls hulE of the vessel vesel are to be pro protected protected ro by b a water line flue lne belt of ot armor armor eight Ight feet f t In whose maximum thickness is 11 1 inches and whose cross section s is uniform throughout t au the length pf of the belt This belt bel armor gives effective pro protection protection to the boilers loIler machinery and mag magazine magazine azine spaces and most important of all 1 for vessels of ot this type whose centers of gravity are necessarily very ver high af affords affords a fords in ip connection with the armor r extensive compartmental subdivision subdivision vision a reasonable r me of Pt the tb maintenance l anc bi 14 We aSSUm of or the t th r s sel sd battle Tie The T side 4 above abo th tf the UHe belt bf b lt t J ll b J to o 0 b 1 tip seV f 1 feet hl l and Aria of ot i J m I thickness S of or ten inches This armor Is s I or of t ugh o tM p iq in l IS hf u m le les s tf than 1 tl q Water b belt lt ar an pf the UH ip lp n 1 armor o amidships am the side chIc Is covered by armor amman five inches in thickness which affords afford protection to the time smoke moie pipes pines tho he te major portion of the secondary battery of five porto Inch guns and anti the th hull hu structure o Suit Stilt Suitable Sui gns able and diagonal hulk bulk bulkheads heads are to be pe located locate at the extreme ends of the tle belts beIt bel and armor aror and protective deck of suitable sula le thickness is provided throughout the length of oC the vessels Ice Fire The arrangement of the tile main maui battery batery guns is to o be such sUl as to tp permit a broad broa broadside broadside side fire 25 2 2 per cent cen greater than that of the fre broadside fire tire of any battleship built buit The T e average elevation of the t e axis of these guns g ns is expected to be lie greater than that of any known battleship lp thus t IS affording a distinct advantage in 11 long range firing under all al conditions of weather er e erThe The arrangement of the he Interior will willbe wl willbe be such as to give the maximum degree of ot protection to t all ajl vital portions of the tle th ship by means mamis of unusually effective com coin cr subdivisions The actual total tota weight of hull and ano armor aror in 11 the e proposed designs for thin ships is approximately 30 tops greater greitl than lh n the largest anest battleships so far built The Th design contemplates con an an n arrangement for the e Installation of at o reciprocating or turbine machinery The Time bidding brought together time the larg largest arg argest argest est company of shipbuilders and others ethers std in iii nava naval that t at has been seen in iii the navy department for form m many ny months The he bidding was WiS necessarily ily liv Iy complex time the t e builders r availing vUng them themselves themselves selves of or the departments permission to submit all sorts of f combination and nd al ci alternative alt t plans These T efe included straight bids tilde upon the standard st gird type with wl reciprocating reciprocating engines original bidders designs and antI combinations of the departments hull hul plans with wih turbine engine some with and some without separate cruising turbine The Newport News New company alone sub submitted nO nd less than han seven plans and they the were generally g the lowest lowet at all an points point and amid with wih all an combinations Bids Bid also were opened for supplying the tha th armor needed for the two big battleships battes For the armor aror which is divided Into four fo l classes classe upon the basis of pf the time difficulty of the shapes required the tue Midvale Steel company appeared to be he the time lowest lowet bidder for the t e largest class cass namely tons of class A at lt 40 per p r ton For 92 2 tons tone of armor in class B the Carnegie and Beth Bethlehem Bethlehem lehem aror companies each bid bl S per var ton while the Midvale bid ld was as 1110 For 32 tons of class C the Carnegie and Beth Bethlehem Bethlehem Bethlehem lehem companies each Bach bid 14 and limo tha Midvale For 1706 tons of class D 1 armor Bethlehem bid hid 4 Midvale 0 arid and nd Carnegie Carne le submitted no bid fd |