Show fiVE NEW SA rrlLESiUPSoJ J Navy Department Now Engaged on Plans ThemThcir Armament Arma-ment Equipment Spccd and Defensive and Offensive Power I J i Correspondence Tribune Washington D CM Oct lThe Xavy department la I just now engaged upon plans for the five new battleships which wore authorized by 1 tim acts of Congress of March 8 1800 and supplemented sup-plemented by lhat of Iho 7th of June lost The names of these vessels arc to be Georgia New Jersey Pennsylvania Penn-sylvania Rhode Island and Vlr elnitu It lias been definitely determined deter-mined that three of the fie shall carry the superposed turret on the principle of those on the Kearsurge and Ken tuck and If the plans of the department de-partment arc well laid these five vessels ves-sels will be the most formidable ol their class afloat on the sea They I are to be 133 feet long on the load linen line-n oul 75 feet In breadth of beam and each will displace 11600 tons when loaded load-ed and ready for sea But perhaps after af-ter all the most Important feature oCt oC-t IIA addition to the navy which has been built up in the last llftecn years Is I tho fact that each will be capable of steaming nineteen knots an hour while they will be of such comparatively compara-tively light draft as to enable them to enter and defend some of the shallower harbors of the South which would not be nosslblc for such bulky vessels with the normal draft Mr II G Skerret than whom there Is no man bettor qualified to describe a manofwar in a recent article says relative to the destructive blows which It will be possible pos-sible for these new vessels to deliver 1 that there Is first what may be properly prop-erly termed the main battery force of four twelveInch and eight elght inch breechloading rifles of the newest I new-est make All of these guns are I mounted In pairs In turrets while the other four eightInch guns are placed nmldshlp on the main deck Head or I tern on the ship can bring to bear ujon an enemy two twelveInch and six eightinch guns while in broadside they can better that force by two inure I twelveInch guns No ship yet designated desig-nated by a foreign power can do us much especially when that force can be supplemented by no fewer than six rapidlire sixInch guns such ns arc arranged in broadside on each side on tho gun deck These rapidlire six inch guns constitute what Is generally termed the secondary c battery of a battleship or armored cruiser I u a 0 t The eight and twelveInch guns because I be-cause of the large angle of their turrets tur-rets slanting faces will be able to elevate some 20 degrees thus affecting affect-ing a bombarding range much in excess ex-cess of that possible to any other oC our battleships feature much to be desiredwhen attacking towns and cities cit-ies strongly defended by batteries having hav-ing all the advantage of their stabler platforms I one can realize the meanIng mean-Ing of such figures let him glory toi tho 1 filet that each of the twelveInch guns can h llred at Intervals of a minute and a half that each shell weighs S50 pounds an l that It leaves that gun at avelocity of 2SOO feet a second and 1COO yards away can bore each way undeformed through seventeen inches of armor hardened by the modern Krupp process With a soft cap on its pount the same shall can nose its way through a similar material 20 percent per-cent thicker and yet Mesh and blood is expected to face unflinchingly the coming of such a blow The eight inch guns of Die latest localibers length sends its 250pound shot on Its mission of destruction at tho same velocity I I ve-locity and is I able uncapped to get through uninjured eight Inches of Krupp 2000 yards distant with of course the same percentage of greater penetration to its credit when capped as Is common to the twelveInch projectile pro-jectile The eightinch guns are each to be able to lire at Intervals of fifty seconds The sixlne rapidfire guns with their five shots C minute fire 500 pound missiles at elocll of 2900 missies a velocity feet a Hccondsnearly three times as fast as sound travels and 1000 yards away Is able to goclean through 619 inches of Krupplzed steel The power of the combined battery of twelve eight and sixinch guns may be very comforting lo complements of these ships but i Is not a welcome prospect of an enemy There Is an auxiliary battery of light rapidfire guns the purpose of which is i to repel torpedo craft to riddle an enemys tops smokestacks expose positions and to pour a perfect hail of small explosive shell into open ports leading to unguarded guns This force consists principally of twelve fourteen pounders a dozen threepounders four automatic and four singleshot one pounders and eight small automatic and machine guns With a rate of lire ranging anywhere from 10 to 200 aimed shots a minute the possible storm from such a force is something appalling und It was the wickedly searching duality of these small guns that did S much dreadful execution at I I Santiago dc Cuba 4 For torpedo SO vice each of these shlpRwllI befitted wixhtvo submerged tubs well guarded from an enemys gun fire which will discharge lhe big Oiglucenlneh Whltehead torpedoes I These tocpcdo tubs are on the broadsides I I broad-sides just forward of the beam and their firing stations placed above the discharges are protected against the attack ot rapidfire guns up to the six pounders AJ1 turrets will be under electrical elec-trical l control as will also be the ammunition am-munition hoists for all but the very Mmallcbt of the guns and especial care will b taken to so ventilate the turrets I tur-rets us lo carry off promptly escaping powder gases and to make these places as habitable as possible in the heat of battle especially In warm weather All of the armor of these ships will be of the strictly uptodate Krupp kind which means the casehardening process proc-ess 0 the older Harvey method carried farther Into the plate yielding a resultant re-sultant defonslvenesn about 50 per cent greater than that by the old method deemed so amply sulllclent but a very few years ick Without going into detail the wind an water region will be guarded by a continuous eightfoot belt of armor which through a distance of 192 feet amldehlp will have a maximum thickness thick-ness of eleven inchps thence to the bow and to the stern It will gradually 11 wi gradual I taper to a uniform thickness of four inches To penetrate that belt armor I at Its greatest thickness a shot would have1 Ito strike with a destructive I energy o 11000 tons to the squares Inch a force seldom left the I fOc ter largest armor I plercing shot at probable fighting range r Above this water belt for a distance I of 211 feet aipldship through the region occupied by the six broadside six inch guns the side will be reinforced by sixInch armor A protective dell I reaching from bow fo stern will be of nickelsteel ranging In thickness from an inch and a half to three Inches This jwlll coyer over the engines boilers and magazines while bolclH aId whie a broad belt of cellulose Just above the heavy waterIne armor will guanl the stab ility of the slilprt by automatically I plugging all shot holes admitting water The turrets for the twelve I Inch J gunsWill begenerally ton Inches thick wlth port or face plates two Inches heavier Between each pair of sixInch guns housed behind walls of sixInch steel there will be a tout I splinter bulkhead of two and a half Inch nickel steel The object of these divisions Is to localize the effect oC an enemys bursting shell each guns rcw really will light In steelbo nd stalls Timay butclWry l there must be j t they arc to be moved down only In squads of half a dozen at a time tme The fourteenpounders are to have shields but the rest of the small pieces will be mounted without protection j Stowed away In her shell rooms and magazines each ship will carry nearly GOO tons of ammunition enough to put up a long and unpleasantly warm light I The ships will be dViven each by two tripleexpansion engines actuating I twin screws and capable of developing 19000 Indicated horsepower that Ls lOCO horsepower for every knot of speed I each ship ere driven by gigantic clockwork that power would be represented by 3 great metallic weight of 023000000 pounds falling through space at the rate of one foot I a minute That weight if wrought Iron would be 10S feet square Steam for these powerful engines will be supplied by twentyfour boilers of the modern watertube type and at c working pressure or 200 pounds to the square Inch A shot In any one of these great cauldrons would detail a frightful loss of life and for that reason rea-son and the safety of the vessels motIve power as well they are placed well below the Mater line and beneath and behind stout walla of tough steel The boilers will be grouped In batteries bat-teries of four in six i separate watertight water-tight compartments while the engines wH be in two smaller watertight com pnrimcnts Iowertuii fans win uo I their best to make these placeiTtolcr able when running Under pressure but i doesnt take a very vivid Imagination Imagina-tion to picture a similarity between these places at their best and the traditional abode of the wicked In the world to come Life down there Is I a pretty sore trial In time even of pence but during the stress of conflict It ls worse than that of those exposed to shot and shell above for they can know but little of the tide of battle while pradtlcally certain of an awful death boxed In below In case the ship should founder I lakes a very courageous nmn to face these odds and give that unremlttent service to those hungeilng blistering furnaces needful to maintain the steam demanded by the greedy engines In their feverish run lhe only monument to the faithful I I work of these men Is tho fleeting pillar of smoke that rises from the I tops of the tall funnels to bear testimony testi-mony to that weary wearing toll in I the > depths a hundred feet below As is common In all our most modern ships wood will be used but sparingly and all of that not directly exposed to the weather will be fireproofed Galvanized iron tastefully Hooded tastefuly or I ornamentally pressed will do service I for the erstwhile carving and a coatIng coat-ing of pulverized cork and white paint will supplant the glass and polish we I were once familiar with Thousands of electric lights however will add to their comforting glow and do much to add to the SparlanIlkc simplicity Slmitanlkc slmplclt that has become a necessity relatively I on the modern fighting ships of the heavier sort I Each one of these > > vessels will be the II I home of 700 persons and 700 pretty exacting persons at that Even Jacky la I pretty particular about the comforts today and he has even taken to discussing dis-cussing high jeens as he Is pleased I I to term the theory of health Uncle I I Sam has not made his jackles gentlemen gentle-men nor has he presented each with a seal ring but lie has done a lot to make all happy and healthful within the possibilities of n fighting machine Great distilling plants supply them with a bountv of the purest water large ovens will bake them the son bread so dear to the sailors heart after the weary years of the jaw breaking hardtack and a big refrigerating refriger-ating outfit will yield them the cooling equivalent of two tons of Ice f day That they may be cleanly there will be a number ot wellventilated wa hand h-and bathrooms fitted with shower baths and provided with both fresh and salt water hot and cold That they may always look natty there will bo the additional Innovation of < steam I laundry capable of handling the logs I of seventyfive men a day There will be a large sick bay in addition ad-dition to the usual goodsized drugstore drug-store or dispensary carried on ships like these and it is proposed to fit up an I operating room with all the appliances I common to Q modern surgery in the shape of Xray apparatus glazed table and like operating tho lkc There wl be the usually heavy armor conning tocr and the later amol toWCl protected pro-tected single tower while the chart I r house to avoid magnetic disturbances 1 of the compasses and the splintering of woodwork when under fire Is to be I made of bronze There will be the usual electric signal codes for each of 1 the masts and six big search lights for peering Into the gloom of the darkest dark-est night Auxiliary engines of many sorts will save the muscular lax on I I tho crew The uniform height of L twenty feet of the ships above the I water from bow to stern besides adding add-ing considerably to their seaworthiness and the more i effective firing Of all the guns of the main battery yields so much better accommodations for the officers and the crew the former especially who heretofore have been generally closed out from daylight behind be-hind the unplerced walls of the side armor Each ship will carry 1900 tons o coal when her bunkers are full which a a tenknot Jog will be enough to carry them to the Orient replenishing re-plenishing The limit of cost is 3000 COO and the time of completion will be in the neighborhood of thirty months Any State may well be Ito I-to sponsor any o these ships even I though the superposed turrets are still I deemed yet not thoroughly proved jjometliing that may be said against any innovation not really proved by actual conflict C A HAMILTON |