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6-inch guns, thus minimizing the effect of exploding shells, even eer they should enter the armored redoubt. The other 6-inch gun poe ieeted on the gun deck forward and on the upper deck amidships, are a sear by armor 6 inches in thickness, that on the upper deck being turne S = the ends so as to afford protection against raking fire. The See ae is protected by armor 10 inches in thickness, being connected wit a cel 7 tral station below the protective deck by a tube, the walls of whic oe inches thick. In addition to the conning tower forward, these vessels are provided with an armored signal tower at the after end of the superstruc- ture deck, the walls of this tower being 6 inches in thickness. In the character and arrangement of the battery of the Alabama Pup. decided changes have been made from the designs of former ships of this type. The 8-inch battery has been entirely abandoned, and the calibers of the heavier guns reduced to two, namely, 13-inch and 6-inch. The main battery will consist of four 13-inch guns, mounted in pairs in turrets for- ward and aft on the midship line, and protected by armor 15 inches in thickness, with port plates 17 inches thick. The ammunition hoists and revolving gear of turrets are protected by barbettes 15 inches thick, except over the arc within the diagonal armor, where the barbette is reduced to a thickness of 10 inches to save weight. The turrets are oval in shape, with the front plates slightly inclined and the rear plates vertical, in order to give ample room for the handling of the guns and their loading appliances. The center of gravity of the revolving parts is in the axis of rotation, so that the turret is balanced and can thus be turned by its engine without serious retardation, even when the ship has a heavy list. The forward turret is at the level of the forecastle deck, the axis of the guns being 26 feet 6 inches above the normal load water-line; the after turret is on the REVIEW. --=!_ SHIPS OF THE ARMORED CRUISER TYPE. UNITED STATES MAY AGAIN LOOK WITH FAVOR UPON A CLASS oF NAVAL VESSELS WHICH SHE ORIGINATED.--THE FAVORITES, BROOKLYN AND NEW YORK. Naval officers almost without exception, and that portion of the public generally who are able to take an intelligent interest in the naval affairs of the country because reasonably-well informed regarding them, will hail with delight the announcement coming from a semt-official but seemingly authentic source that Secretary Long is preparing a naval program to be submitted at the next session of congress providing for the construction of three battleships and three armored cruisers. It is the latter provision of course, which is especially welcome. The naval officer--the American naval officer at least--is almost invariably the staunch friend of the arm. ored cruiser. It is only a few weeks since Commodore McNair declared to the Review his belief that the armored cruiser is the "best all-around fighting ship in the world," and this opinion is shared almost invariably by his confreres of all grades. It has always been in a great degree inex- plainable, too, why the United States should have abandoned the ae struction of a type of vessel which she originated, and Tegarding Whose qualities she might naturally be expected to be reasonably well informed while other nations took up the idea and elaborated it, apparently! with marvelous success. : iD However, whatever question, if any, there has been as to the fighting qualities, speed benefit and general efficiency of the armored er United States Revenue Cutter Manning, Now of the Navy--Formerly Stationed at Boston, Mass, The Revenue cutter Manning, former! was to convey arms and ammunition to the American flag on the island, : main deck, the axis of the guns being 19 feet above the normal load water- line. Each pair of guns sweeps an arc of 135 degrees from the midship line. Three sighting hoods are provided for each turret, the one in the middle being for the turret turner, whose sole duty is to keep the guns pointed at the target, as far as their lateral direction is concerned. The hoods on each side are for the gun pointers. Between these 13-inch gun emplacements and within the armored casemate previously described, are eight 6-inch rapid-fire guns in broadside. 'These guns are capable of a total arc of train of 90 degrees, and are protected by 38-inch shields sup- ported on the carriage, and the 5%4-inch armor of the casemate. Each gun is separated from its neighbor by 1%-inch steel splinter bulkheads. Four more 6-inch rapid-fire guns--two on each side--are mounted on the upper deck, above this casemate; they are protected iby 6 inches of armor, and are capable of firing fore and aft. On the gun deck forward is another pair of 6-inch guns protected 'by an armor plate 6 inches thick. The auxiliary battery consists of seventeen 6-pounders and six 1-pounder guns, mounted where practicable to obtain good command and yet be clear of the blast from, and interference with, the rest of the battery. Four broadside torpedo tubes, protected by 514 inches of armor, complete the armament. The weight of fire of one discharge (neglecting the aux- iliary battery) from all the guns available on vessels of the Alabama class will be 2,400 pounds ahead and astern and 5,100 pounds bow to quarter. Engineer officers of the German nav ing with Chinese coal, and are said to b sults, y have recently been experiment- e eminently satisfied with the re- y in service on the Atlantic coast, had the honor of accompanying the Gussie on the first expedition ot the war to Cuba. The object insurgents, but the men landed from the Manning were driven back by Spaniards in force, but not before they had raised the first has been effectually answered by the naval engagement at Santiago, where the Brooklyn, the most modern and most powerful of our two armore cruisers, bore the brunt of the battle, fired more shells in return than a the other American vessels combined, and finally developed speed that enabled her to with ease overhaul the Cristobal Colon, commonly sup posed to be one of the swiftest protected cruisers in the world. Officers of the Spanish fleet, who gave themselves up after the battle, have since stated that the orders of the Spanish commanders contemplated a concen tration of the fire of all the vessels of Cervera's fleet on the Brooklyn, om the theory that her disablement would facilitate their escape before tHe return of the New York, the other armored cruiser of our fleet, which was some miles distant at the time the Spanish vessels attempted to escape. That the orders regarding the Brooklyn were in so far as possible carried out was apparent to the officers on the other American vessels, as well as to the men on the Brooklyn. The magnificent fight which that vessel made against these odds will ever remain the best testimonial of this type of ship. An inspection of the hulls of the Spanish vessels by an examining board gives the following aggregate result as to number of hits: Four- inch shells, (fired only by the Iowa), Infanta Maria Teresa, one; Almirante Oquendo, five; Vizcaya, two, total, eight. Five-inch shells (fired only by the Brooklyn), Infanta Maria Teresa, five; Vizcaya, six; Almirante Oquendo, five, one of which exploded a torpedo; Cristobal Colon, fout; total, twenty. Eight-inch shells (fired 'by the Brooklyn, Towa, Ore gon and Indiana), Teresa, three: Oquendo, three; Vizcaya, four; total, ten. Inasmuch as the Indiana did not take part in the pursuit, it is unquestion- 'ably safe 'to exclude her from credit for any of the four shells which uiser type,