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Show WILL CAST MONSTER INGOT Immense Lump of Steel Is to Bo Turned Into New Type of Sixteen-Inch Sixteen-Inch Naval Gun. There has just been cast at the Bethlehem Beth-lehem s.teel works a monster Ingot for the first of the 16-inch rifles that are to arm the great now battle cruisers of the United States navy, under construction con-struction at Camden. So fur us known, writes a Bethlehem (Pa.) correspondent correspond-ent of the Philadelphia Record, tho foremost ship of this class now afloat Is the British cruiser Lion, with engines en-gines of 110,000 horse power. Her speed is a bit better than 40 miles an hour and she carries 14-lnch guus. Tba American battle cruisers will have engines en-gines of 200,000 horse power and each will be armed with four 10-Inch rifles, which will shoot 20 miles. From present pres-ent Indications there will be six of them and Bethlehem has the order for all the guns, which will be the largest larg-est on any ships of this kind In any navy. The Ingot required the contents of three open-hearth furnaces, being 15 feet 7 inches long, 100 Inches In diameter diame-ter and weighing 310,000 pounds. It will take several weeks to cool such an enormous muss of metal, after which it will be cut, bored and hollow forged on the great armor plate press into a tube W) feet long. It is proposed pro-posed to finish 11ie.se 10-Inch guns In record time in the new gun shop, which s wide enough to turn the tube around, with room to spare. Special lathes mil oilier machinery had to be constructed con-structed to bundle these guns, whose liurts, such us Jackets, rings and yokes, re already being forged. |