FIG. 20.
A paper read at a meeting of the Franklin Institute. From the journal of the Institute.
THE NEW BRITISH BATTLE SHIP EMPRESS OF INDIA.
The launching of this first-class battle ship was successfully carried out at Pembroke Dockyard on May 7. She is the second of a class of eight battle ships built and building under the Naval Defense Act of 1889, which were specially designed to take part in general fleet actions in European waters. The leading dimensions are: Length, between perpendiculars, 380 ft.; breadth, extreme, 75 ft.; mean draught of water, 27 ft. 6 in.; and displacement at this draught, 14,150 tons, which surpasses that of any other ship in the navies of the world. Previous to the launching of the Royal Sovereign—a sister vessel—which took place at Portsmouth in February last, the largest war ships in the British navy were the Nile and Trafalgar, each of 12,500 tons, and these were largely exceeded in displacement by the Italia, of 13,900 tons, and the Lepanto, of 13,550 tons, belonging to the Italian navy.
The Empress of India is built throughout of mild steel, the stem and stern post, together with the shaft brackets, being of cast steel. Steel faced armor, having a maximum thickness of 18 in., extends along the sides for 250 ft. amidships, the lower edge of the belt being 5 ft. 6 in. below the normal water line. The belt is terminated at the fore and after ends by transverse armored bulkheads, over which is built a 3 in. protective steel deck extending to the ends of the vessel and terminating forward at the point of the ram. Above the belt the broadside is protected by 5 in. armor, the central battery being inclosed by screen bulkheads of the same thickness. The barbettes, which are formed of armor 17 in. thick, rise from the protective deck at the fore and after ends of the main belt. The principal armor throughout is backed by teak, varying in thickness from 18 in. to 20 in., behind which is an inner skin of steel 2 in. thick. The engines are being constructed by Messrs. Humphreys, Tennant & Co, London, and are of the vertical triple expansion type, capable of developing a maximum horse power of 13,000 with forced draught and 9,000 horse power under natural draught, the estimated speeds being 16 and 17½ knots respectively at the normal displacement. The regular coal supply is 900 tons, which will enable the ship to cover a distance of 5,000 knots at a reduced speed of ten knots and about 1,600 knots at her maximum speed. The main armament of the Empress will consist of four 67 ton breechloading guns mounted in pairs en barbette. The secondary armament includes ten 6 in. 100 pounder quick firing guns, four being mounted on the main deck and six in the sponsons on the upper deck, sixteen 6 pounder and nine 3 pounder quick-firing guns, in addition to a large number of machine guns.
The largest guns at present mounted in any British warship are the 110 ton guns mounted in the Benbow class, and the difference between these weapons and those to be carried by the Empress of India is very marked.
The projectile fired from either of the Benbow's heavy gun weighs 1,800 lb., and is capable of penetrating 35 in. of unbacked wrought iron at a distance of 1,000 yards. The projectile fired from the 67 ton guns of the Empress of India will have much less penetrating power, being only equal to 27 in. of wrought iron with a full charge of 520 lb. of prismatic brown powder, the missile weighing 1,250 lb. or about one-half less than the weight of the shot used with the 110 ton gun. It will thus be seen that the ordnance of the Benbow can penetrate armor that would defy the attack of the guns of the Empress. It should be said, however, that the heavy artillery of the latter vessel is capable of penetrating any armor at present afloat, and is carried at a much greater height above the designed load water line than in any existing battle ship, either in the British or foreign navies. The armor being of less weight, too, enables the new ship, and others of her class, to carry an auxiliary armament of unprecedented weight and power.