THE NEW WARSHIPS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 9093, 18 April 1891, Page 6 (Supplement)

THE NEW WARSHIPS.

THE ROYAL SOVEREIGN. O£ the two warships launched recently by the Queen, the more important is the Royal Sovereign. She is one of eight first-class armoured battle ships proposed in the programme of 1889-90, and now under construction in public or private yards. Each of these ships is to have a displacement ot 14 150 tons, the greatest given to any in the world, and oE the eight, all but one, building at Chatham, will carry their principal armament en barbette. The dimensions of the

Royal Sovereign are 380 ft between perpen diculars, -with 75ft beam, and 27ft Gin draught. At the water line she is protected by a belt of armour B£ft broad, extending over two-thirds of her length, and having ft maximum thickness of 18in. This belt is terminated at either end by tranverse armoured bulkheads, with above it a 3in steel deck, while a strong under-water deck completes the protection before and abaft the belt. The broadside above the belt is protected to a height of 9Afb above water over two-tbirdß of the vessel's length by Sin armour, with screen bulkheads, similarly armoured, enclosing the central battery. The armour on the barbettes is 17in thick, while the protection of the guns and their crews in the auxiliary batteries, as well as the ammunition supply in all the stages of its passage from the magazines, has been specially arranged in view of the development of high explosives and quick firing guns. An arrangement of Bteel shields is intended to protect the men at the guns in the secondary (or quick firing gun) batteries. The principal aimoni ol the Ship throughout is backed with teak 18 to 20 inches thick, behind which is an inner metal skin 2in thick. The guns of the Royal Sovereign will consist of four 13£ in G7 ton suns (carried 23ft above the water), two m each barbette, 10 6in B-ton 100-pounder quick firers, 16 IG-pounder, and eight 3pounder quick firers, together with seven torpedo tubes, two submerged. Her engines will be o£ 13,000-borse power with forced draught, and of 9000 with natural dranght, producing speeds of 16 knots with open stokeholds, and 17$ knots with closed stokeholds. Owing in part to her greater length, the Eoyal Sovereign will be a knot quicker than the Trafalgar. Her bunkers will take 900 tons of coal, which will enable the ship to steam 5000 knots at a speed of 10 knots, and from 1800 to 2000 knots at her maximum speed. The cost of the Boyal Sovereign will not be far short of a million sterling. THE BOYAIt AKTHUB.

The Royal Arthur, or Centaur as she was originally to have been called, is not an armourclad at all, but belongs to the type of protected cruisers, and is officially classitted with the^Blake. She was originally, intended to carry the same armament as that vessel, but to be of leas size and speed, and with a smaller coal endurance. Nine ships of the type are to be bnilt, and one of them, the Edgar, was launched at Devonport about two months ago. Protection in. these vessels is given by an armoured deck, with a maximum thickness of five inches, extending from stem to stern, and sloping at the sides to a point some distance below the normal water-line. Below this deck are the magazines, &c, and very complete cellular subdivision is carried out, in which a longitudinal bulkhead, running through the greater portion of the ship, and meeting numerous transverse partitions, plays a very important part. The new cruiser will have a displacement of 7350 tons, thereby taking a place between the 4050-ton Mersey and 9000-ton Blake. Her length is 360 ft, beam GOft Bin, and mean draught 23£fe 7in • or she is 16ft shorter than the Blake and Gpft longer than the Mersey. The i engines will indicate 12,000-horse power with forced draught, and TSOO-horse power with natural draught, which, it is anticipated, will give her speeds of 20 and 18; knots respectively. The armamenV consists of one 9.2 m 2&-ton breechloader, carried, aft, 12 100----pounder, 16 expounder, ana three 3-pounder qaiokareri. It was intended that another 22-ton gun should be carried, but for this two lOO'pounders are now to be substituted, TDlaoed behind steel shields, on the foreoastle. The Boyal Arthur will be ready, with, one or more of her sisters, for the naval manoeuvres of 1892, and although several formidable cruisers have been projected by foreign Powers, there is, as yet, nothing more powerful afl,oa.t ija, tb,e shape of a protected cruiser. THE GREATEST BATTLESHIPS IN THE WORLD.

The Boyal Sovereign will, as stated, have, when all her weights are on board, a displasement of 14,180 tons, surpassing any, ship in any navy afloat, as a glance at the following table comparing the heaviest ships of our own and the naval servioes of France and Italy will show :—

SRITISH. Tonß. Trafalgar ... 11,9401 FUgehips to the Victoria ... 10,470/ Mediterranean Fleet Icftsxible ... 11.880 FaBNOK. Tons. Formidsble ... ... ••• "•<" Amiral Baudin "«fgg . AmiralDuperre ... - Hoohe 105 81 The Lazare Carnot, now building, will b--11,989 tons. ITALUK. _ Tons. Italia }i*,BSl Lapanto ",550 Hardegna »•»« BeUmberto ... ... ••• io,*l"A new ship, of the Sardegna type, ( 14,000 tons is about to be laid down.