LAUNCH OF THE LARGEST IRONCLAD IN THE WORLD.

Press, Volume XXXIV, Issue 4787, 6 December 1880, Page 2

LAUNCH OF THE LARGEST IRONCLAD IN THE WORLD.

The anaonred ship Italia, 14,009 tons, lias been successfully launched in presence of King Humbert and aa immense crowd of people. The Italia is the moat powerful ironclad ever eonfitracted, Her dimensions are as follows :— Lesgth 120--meters, beam 22 meters, mean dranght of water 8£ meters, height of the tipper deck above the keel 15 meters, displacement 13,000 toss, weight of hall before armoured SOSOtons. The doable bottom of the ship is 80 meters Jong , , 20 meters-wide, and 1 meter d?sp. It 13 divided into an immense number ef small cells as a protection against torpedoes. Two longitudinal bulkheads ran the whole length of the ship, which is divided by means ef these and tranß. verso bulkheads into S3 water-tight compartments, 40 of them being above the doable bottom of the vessel, 3 in the rear, and 10 before it. These compartments agaia, are divided horizootalljr by femr water-tight lacks. Of these the lowest, which is armoured with 8 cesiunetefs of iron, is about 2i meters fcelow the ■water-line; the second l£ metera above the liae c "" .tation; the battery deck 4Jf meters, and the upper deck 6£ meters above the w&ter4i»&. Oa the. apper deck stands an ' armoured re-dais ef aa oral form, ita longer axis h&az at an angle of 20 degrees to toe ksel, mttsia which guns are io be fficrantefl en barbetta. The armour is mainly disposed in the form of a girdia aroo&d the ship, extendisg from £he desk below to the fist deck abore the iVB-ter-line. Proa this latter deck to the upper Seek fcfaa sides of the vessel am unprotected, fiat the funnels and the tubas op which the powder •mil be passed from the magaaise to the rednit, ere armour©!, The Itelia is to be driven by twin screws, 6- meters in diameter, worked fey engines of 18.000 horse-power. The speed of the vessel is calculated to be sixteen koota an