"GIG LAMPS " EVIDENTLY NO BAR IN U.S. NAVY.

Auckland Star, Volume LVI, Issue 188, 11 August 1925, Page 12

"GIG LAMPS " EVIDENTLY NO BAR IN U.S. NAVY.

■ The riefw fleet steams nearly three knots faster, would easily oijt-manoeiivre the Sperry fleet, and can fire at a range Of froni two to eight sea miles greater than was possible with the old. In. fact, the fifth division of the battle fleet, with the"aid of aircraft spotting, could sink • the : entire fleet of. Conneeticuts, while the tops of their masts' were hardly visible over the horizon..' The total displace-* ment of the 1 1G battleships of the 1908 .fleet was 228,680' tons. That of the. • battleships visiting Auckland alone totals 208,400 tons, " ', ' , , Two notable changes were made,in the American, navy'..;soon after the Sperry 'visit.' The Sperr y ships [ all: carried ■. the ' tall, 'tliin, "military mfist,"..as. f it is tailed. ' ; This gaVe;way t / to the "cage ma.sti" which stamps the United-States ■ battleship in any .port in ithe jtgvs&:. .&£, the'same time, the colour of the : .outside ■ painting was changed to : the.. slate, or. war colour. •,-••*• '•;■■- ■-, ■ •It is. interesting "to know that the three Marylands, as-they are <known-in-naval circles—the Maryland, the West Virginia and • the Colorado—constitute, so It is claimed, the most powerful •division, of battleships afloat. to-day". •Furthermore, they represent America s - la;tes ; fand newest battleships for some.. years to come,, as no new ones, will be > kid .down prior to 1!)32, this being one '■- of the provisions of the Treaty for Liini- : tafcion , -of-Armaments..' ' : ■■•'■•'. -: . : The West f Virginia, fully equipped with all her stores, guns and ammiinir tion, ' represents an outlay of about £9,000,000. - •■-:■••/.'■ The Clipper Bow.■' ■' - ' ':'-' A striking feature of the fleet is the . sharp, elippcr-style prow of the-'modern Unitc'd States battleship, which • was _ - .cvplvrd. (luring the war. The Xew .Mexico, Idaho and Mississippi,; which .were laid ,do\yn in. 1017,..Syere tHe first vessels to embody this striking design, and on these ships there,is a' difference, in length overall and. length on water.----lino" of 24ft. One of .the advantages of ' ! thc-presL'nt , bow .is- found in t-he : event. ■ of a collision, for a United States battleship ',would ii'tilict daiuage of . a- serious character to. another vessel before-, any ", ( ~f'its. own plates at or below : water- . liiie were affected. ■ Another . notrftle feature in the ap- . . pcarance.of the ships is the small'dia- ■ nfter- of l the funu'els. -.compared .. with

\Vest Virginia and Colorado, completed in 1023. and the Maryland (1921);; carry eight I6in"guns,' mounted in foiir turrets qf two giins each. The secondary armament of each of the battleships, in port consists of twelve. sin gnns, and the anti-aircraft g" ns comprise eight 3iri guns on the three, newer ships, and eight 14-pounders on tlie five older Shiga. Of the visiting ships, the .Idaho, New Mexico and Mississippi carry one funnel, and the others two. The--lengtb-oL all eight battleships is the same —024 ft over.all.and.GOOft on the waterjine. Very little difference exists in displacement tonnage, which, varies' from 32,G00 tons For the three latest ships toH^OOO v ibr the Idaho, Xe,\v Mexico and Mississippi. The corresponding, details of the British ships Hood and- Kepulse arc, respectively:— Dispiaceniiit, 44,600 and 26,500 iorisj extreme length, S6Q- and 750 feet; speed, 'SIS and 8175 knots. The anna-, .wient'of H.M.s.llood,is eight loin guns* byelve 5.5 in, four 4ift antiaircraft guns and sulisidiafy giiils.; ; • ...