ITALIAN IRONCLADS.

Hawke's Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 5557, 8 December 1879, Page 3

ITALIAN IRONCLADS.

! — — — — — _ I Some further 'detail's have lately been jpublished. (says the Pall Mall Gazette) of ;the ! 'cbst of the enormous irbncla'ds which ; are being constructed for the Italian navy. |The Duilio, of 10,570 tons displacement, j and 1 ' designed to carry ; "four 100-ton guns in" two turrets;— was launched at 7 Oasst6llamare' in 1877, and is now so far aclYanc^d'tliat s]i e wilt jj e ready to recoiyc lier J ai'iViaiVieflt.' befor6' the ; end of "the present '!" year, It. was originally estimated..that r.she. would' cost 17,000,000' lire- (£680,006);. ;but it is now found that the expense, of her con-, structiou will be. morethan 18,000,000 lire (£720,000). TheDandolo, a sister ship of the Duilio, -was launched last yeaivat -Spezzia, istiow KavingJie'r machineiy-placedin her,' a'n'd will'be ready, to; receive « her. guns towards the end of 1880 or the beginning' of ; 188Jf -and will cost 'very n early as much a'sHhe iDuilio, or a trifle;under £720,000.^ The other 'two ships, the Italia and the liepantd; which are even larger,, than the Cuilio, being eacli oi 13,700 tons tlisplacement, or . 2ooo .tons larger.' than, the Inflexible, . iire at', .present still . on ih'e stocks, but will 1 , it ;,.is ;hopedj/b.e ready for launching next year. The cost of each of' these' vessels "was originally estimated' at 17,000,000,000 lire (G80,000) ; bnfcwill,- it; -is -now calculated,- amount.to 19,720,000 %,.(£788;,800).- The four ii'onclads willji * thef ef 6rej"*'together cost ; 9po'iire (£372,240) more than was a*i first jrrittbipat^d ;';-b l i\t;.it m,uatibe/added that there is some slight though by no means well founded hope^eritertained that it may be found possible to armour the Ttaliaiand'Leparito with>plateß"£>f cljpappr : manufacture than those placed on the Dandolo and DujUoV whereby^a saving of i aboHit'-5.000.000 "lire (£Bo,ooo)<wbuia be ; effected in the total cost of each ship.