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14 MARINE steel 'belt 5 inches thick, extending up to the level of the main deck and running in a fore-and-aft direction from the center of the forward to the center of the after barbette. On top of the main side armor belt will rest a flat steel deck, 234 inches in thickness; and forward and abaft the ma- chinery and boiler spaces the deck will be inclined at the sides and the thickness on the slopes increased to 3 and 5 inches. To further protect the vessel against raking fire, athwartship bulkheads of armor 10 and 12 inches thick will be worked at the points where the deck is worked with inclined sides. In addition to the armor belts, cofferdams filled with com- pressed, fire-proofed, American corn-pith cellulose will be worked the entire length of the vessel in the region of the water line. The conning tower will have armor 10 inches in thickness with a tube 7 inches in thick- ness leading down to the armor deck for the protection of the voice pipes, telegraphs, steering rods, etc. Sie Throughout the vessels the use of wood is reduced to a minimum. The stateroom bulkheads will be made of steel covered with cork sheath- ing, and every attention will be given to lighting, heating, draining and ventilating the vessels in the most approved and efficient manner. All wood materials of every description will be treated by the electric fire- proofing process. ~~ MAIN ENGINES AND BOILERS. Power for the propulsion of these battleships will be furnished in each case by triple expansion engines actuating twin screws, each screw being propelled by single engine having cylinders of 33%, 51 and 78 inches diam- eter, with a common stroke of 48 inches, indicating, together with the en- gines for the air and circulating pumps, a collective horse power of 10,000 when making about 120 revolutions per minute. The high pressure cylin- der of each engine will be forward and the low pressure cylinder aft. Pis- ton valves will be used, one on the high pressure, two on the intermediate pressure and four on the low pressure cylinder. The valve gear, Stephen- son link motion, will be interchangeable. The propellers will be right and left, of manganese ibronze. Five cylindrical steel boilers, three double- ended and two single-ended, in four water-tight compartments, will gen- erate the necessary steam at a pressure of 180 pounds to the square inch. The total grate surface will be about 685 square feet; and the total heating surface about 21,500 square feet, measured on the outside of the tubes. Each of the double-ended boilers will have eight, and each single-ended boiler four corrugated furnace flues, 39 inches internal diameter. The mean outside diameter of all boilers will be about 15 feet 6% inches. The two forward double-ended boilers will be about 19 feet, the after double- ended boiler about 21 feet, and the single-ended boilers about 9 feet 11% 'inches long. There will be two smoke pipes. The forced draft system will consist of one 'blower for each fire room, the blowers discharging into air-tight fire rooms. Air tight bulkheads will be fitted to reduce the space under pressure. These blowers, as well as the equipment for ventilating purposes, will be furnished by the B. F. Sturtevant Co., Boston. SPEED REQUIREMENTS, COAL SUPPLY, ETC. The average speed to be maintained on trial for four consecutive hours will be not less than 16 knots. Tf the speed falls below 16 knots and ex- ceeds 15 knots the vessel will be accepted, but a reduction in the contract price will be made at the rate of $100,000 per knot. Should the average speed fall below 15 knots, the secretary of the navy may in his discretion reject or accept the vessel at a reduced price to be mutually agreed upon. There is not the slightest doubt. however, that the speed will be over rather than under 16 knots. The speed mentioned will, of course, be less on paper than that of most foreign battleships, but it should 'be noted that this speed will be obtained with a very moderate forced draft and with- out unduly pushing the engines, so that it may be expected that at any time this speed can be duplicated by our vessels, while it is notorious that foreign battleships never again approach their trial speeds.. The United States has never fallen into this error as regards its battleships, and in every case has required that the maximum contract speeds should be ob- tained under conditions which could be reproduced again at any time upon a well-drilled ship. As illustrative of this fact it may be noted that the Indiana upon her trial trip, even after she had been in the water for over a year and probably lost a half-knot of speed through the roughness of her bottom, due to the accumulation of marine growth, still made over 15%4 knots upon trial, the contract requirement being 15 only. The Indiana and class are then really 16-knot ships, and the Kearsarge and the Ken- tucky, having at least the same speed, will be able to manceuver in com- pany with the Indiana class very satisfactorily. These vessels will be able to carry their full supply of coal--1,210 tons--with the greatest ease, their bunker space \being so ample that this quantity may be carried without trimming or packing. This amount will be ample for the ordinary contin- gencies of cruising and for service in time of war along our coast as, at cruising speed of 10 knots, it will be sufficient to enable the vessels to steam over 6,000 miles, and at 13 knots nearly 4,000 miles. In case the services of these battleships were needed at a distance, however, 'temporary pro- vision could be made by which 400 or 500 tons extra coal could be carried with corresponding increase in the radius of action. 'The order from the government for these vessels calls for their com- pletion within three years from the date of the signing of the contract, but by a display of industry and energy, unequaled in the history of the coun- try, the Newport News company was enabled to launch both vessels on March 24 last, not quite twenty months from the time the keels were laid so that their completion within the next twelve months js confid th a pected. The vessels might have been launched two months ar ; bat were purposely kept on the stocks until a new crane of great ee which is illustrated elsewhere in this edition, could be - sf eapacley, mae armor and paachinety. In passing. a word should poate' eeeendle € price at which these vessels are being const d q better harbinger of the ultimate SHchegiA08 there is. nO The bill. which was passed by coneress Marcy 9 naga" ship building. construction, placed a limit of $4,000.000 he ca s authorizing. their fone 900, as the cost of each vessel exclt- armament, and yet when on January 2, 1896. the bi - _ the contract was awarded to the Newport Nex spe SPENDS, Wetec opened, abl reasonable price of $2.250,000 per tase nate es eimemariks : ; \ . too, inducement of an offer of bonus for excess of speed. The Cea he , REVIEW. Kentucky will undoubtedly be flagships, in which case their comple will be 520 men--officers, seamen and marines. Needless to say, too ries .. will be flagships of which any nation on earth might be proud fae ey certain that a careful comparison of these new vessels with any facets battleships either building or in commission will prove their stipetion They carry heavier guns and more of them, and heavier armor oats widely distributed and protecting more thoroughly the vitals of the i and the gun crews. Finally they will surprise the 'wiseacres who h: 'p looked askance at the double-turret feature. ave RUDDER FRAMES, ARMOR, AUXILIARY MACHINERY, It is certainly fitting in a description of naval vessels so important ¢ the United States as the Kearsarge and Kentucky to recognize the ane to concerns throughout the country that furnish auxiliary machiner veral other parts of 'the ships, such as armor, rudder frames, ete. ris frames for both vessels were furnished by the 'Cleveland City For : Iron Co. of 'Cleveland. They were sent by lake and canal to New ve and thence by steamer to Newport News. The rudder frames wei pork the neighborhood of 16 tons, and are of the following dimensions: he treme height, 20 feet 634 inches; extreme width, 19 feet 4 inches: an o thickness of frame, 38 inches; diameter of rudder stock, 18 inches ini | matter of dimensions these frames are. almost exact duplicates of th : made for the battleships Alabama, Illinois and Wisconsin. The cet land company has also at one time or another furnished rudder frames ie the New York, Columbia, Minneapolis, Indiana, Massachusetts, Iowa nd | Brooklyn. The entire side armor for the Kentucky was made it Bethlehem Iron Co. of South Bethlehem, Pa., and the same company al ; made for both the Kearsarge and Kentucky the armor for turrets a the 13-inch guns, with turret tops and sighting hoods; 'superstructure side a ' diagonal armor; conning tower, tube shield and top; also splinter bulk heads. ; - REFRIGERATING MACHINERY. The necessity of having the crew of a man-of-war in such conditio that they can, under the most enervating influences of the hot zones laep the alertness and endurance of a northern climate, has been proven io recent events. The adoption of ice machines in our navy, tentatively ag far 'back as fifteen years ago, and as one of the necessities within the past seven or eight years, was the result of the conviction of the designers of our men-of-war that this is a prime requisite, as much so as first-class armament and armor, and that the mode of living produces the forces of man to avery great extent. The duty of the ice machine is to keep fresh meat in first-class condition for weeks or months; to furnish cool drinkin water for all, and to furnish as much ice as is required. Ammonia ae chines were tried at first, but the usual troubles of small ammonia ma- chines doubled and trebled on shipboard. Then the Allen dense air ice machine was tried when the Boston was built. The result was that this Seottar throiegh Crees / in 4p Mate -- ae : ) ARRANGEMENT OF REFRIGERATING APPARATUS, KEARSAGE AND KENTUOKY-- ; PLAN OF SCUTTLEBUTT NOT INCLUDED. machine alone has been used since that time. It has been demanded in the specifications of all larger men-of-war, and at this time fully twenty five are in service in the United States navy and several others are bpild: ing for ships of the United States, as well as for foreign men-of-war. /t1s the machine that will be used on the Kearsarge and Kentucky. ' In this machine only common air is employed as a medium for pro- ducing cold, which is done by compressing the same in an air compresso!, cooling it with water while under pressure, and then expanding it in am engine. The expansion of air produces as much cold in air as compres sion heats it. The principle of the Allen dense air ice machine is that al of usually 60 pounds pressure, maintained in pipes, is compressed, coole and expanded back to 60 pounds, and is thts brought to 40 to 60 degrees below zero while confined in pipes. It is then led to the refrigerate Places, which take the cold from it, and is then returned to the machine and. is refrigerated over again while continually confined. This makes the ice machine as handy as an auxiliary steam engine. The cold ait ® led in small pipes to considerable distances, and through hot places! wherever it is handy to place the ice making box, the meat rooms and scuttle butt. The accompanying plan shows the arrangement of reffige ating apparatus on these two battleships. The plan of scuttle butt is not included.