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TAE Marine Review © oe 31 LAUNCHING THE DREADNOUGHT. The launch of the battleship Dreadnought, the largest and*most powerful man-of-war ever constructed, on Feb. 10 directs attention to a great achievement. When ready for sea this vessel will displace 18,500 tons, but her size is the least remarkable feature. The details of the Dread- nought's construction still remain a secret. The Dread- nought is' an' embodiment of the lessons of the late war in the far east.. The Japanese permitted no other power to witness the great sea engagements except Great Bri- tain. That country had attaches watching and noting all that took place, and their conclusions were submitted to a special committee, on which sat not only the most ex- perienced naval officers, but the Director of Naval Con- struction, Lord Kelvin, and a number of leading private ship builders. The Dreadnought is the outcome of 'their deliberations. Some particulars of the armament of this battleship can be indicated. In the past British vessels have carried four 12-in. guns (850-lb. shell); the Dreadnought will have ten of these weapons of a new type. with a muzzle energy of 49,568, as compared with the 33,622 of the guns carried in as recent battleships as the Majestics, an increase of power in each weapon of 50 per cent. Ina great sea fight the magnificent ship which the King is about to christen will be able to discharge every minute ten projectiles, weighing 8,500 lbs., with sufficient velocity to send them : about 25 miles, or to penetrate about 16 ins. of the hardest armor at a range of two miles. Unlike all British and foreign battleships built in the past thirty years, the new- est addition to the fleet will carry no weapon smaller than the great I2-in. piece, except eighteen 3-in. quickfirers for repelling attacks by torpedo craft. She will mount neither 9.2-in., 7.5-in., nor 6-in.; she will be the biggest ship afloat, and she will have only the biggest and most powerful guns. The war in the far east revealed the comparative uselessness of the gun of medium size at modern battle ranges. Colonel Cuniberti, the chief constructor of the Italian navy, anticipated this verdict of the war in an article which he contributed in.1903 to Jane's "All the World's Fighting Ships." He then advocated the construction of a vessel with twelve (instead of ten) 12-in. guns,and thick armor, and he justified his advice in these words:-- "Such a ship could fight without throwing away a single shot, without wasting ammunition; secure in her exuber- ant protection, with her twelve guns ready, she would swiftly descend on her adversary and pour in a terrible converging fire at the belt. "Having disposed of her first antagonist she would at once 'proceed to attack another, and almost untouched, to despatch yet another, not throwing away a single round of her ammunition, but utilizing all for sure and deadly shots. A large and abundant supply of ammuni- tion can be provided. We must come to the conclusion that the type of vessel will not be absolutely supreme and worthy of such a nation (Great Britain) unless we furnish it with such a speed that it can overtake any of the enemy's battleships and oblige them to fight. TRIUMPH OF THE TURBINE. The Dreadnought will cost 10 per cent per ton less than recent battleships British built, although she will repres- ent the last word in all details of her construction, and warships are built in England far cheaper than abroad. -In.another respect the Dreadnought will be unique. She will be the first battleship in the world to be driven by turbines, and since the success of the Hon. Charles A. Parsons' invention was demonstrated so conspicuously by the Cunarder Carmania, the courage evinced by the Ad- miralty in making this bold departure will occasion no feelings of anxiety. This mode of propulsion has been sufficiently tested to confirm all which has been claimed for it. In comparison with reciprocating engines it is economical both in respect to the staff to tend it, the coal consumed, the expenditure of oil and the space occupied in a ship, while the absence of great bearing parts should lead to economies in repairs. It is, moreover, much simpler in construction than the present type of machin- ery, and tends to reduce the vibration, thus giving the gunners a more stable platform from which to fire. It is not yet known what pattern boilers the Dreadnought will have, but they will be water-tube. In the space avail- able probably no others. could produce sufficient steam to drive this huge, massive sea sentinel through the water at 19 knots an hour. Messrs. Vickers, Sons & Maxim ave manufacturing the turbines. ae AROUND THE GREAT LAKES. Capt. C. H. Wilson, of Erie, who sailed the steamer Panay last season, will bring out the steamer FE. D. Car- ter this year. The. steamer Loftus Cuddy, building for Capt. John Mitchell, at the Lorain yard of the American Ship Build- ing Co., will be launched at noon Saturday. A revised chart in colors of the Straits of Mackinac has just been issued by the United States lake survey office, and is for sale by the Marine Review. Strathern Henry and Philip McMillan, both of De- troit, have been elected directors of the Detroit & Buffalo Steamboat Co., in place of Frank Masten and T, F. New- man, both of Cleyeland. The four 600-footers building by the American Ship Building Co., for the Pittsburg Steamship Co., will be named J. Pierpont Morgan, Henry H. Rogers, Norman B. Ream and Peter A. B. Widener. -- . The Cleveland Cliffs Iron Co., which has beet tegaied in the Mercantile Bank Building for a great many years, has secured quarters on the eleventh floor of. the Rocke- feller building, and will move March 1. The schooner Frank D. Ewen, of which James O'Con- nor, of Tonawanda, is managing owner, has been sold by Capt. O'Connér to William Hackett & Sons, of Quebec. The schooner Ewen was one of the largest Tonawanda lumber carriers. The Pittsburg Steamship Co. has not yet decided whether. 'it will convert the barge Manila into a steamer. The proposed plan is to take the machinery and boilers out of the wrecked steamer Lafayette, and install them in the Manila. Both the Lafayette and Manila went ashore in the big storm which swept Lake Superior during the latter part of November, the Lafayette becoming a total wreck in so far as her hull is concerned. Wrecking operations are now proceeding on the Manila. The Portland & Rockland Steamboat Line, Rockland, Me., owning the fast steamers Mineola and Monhegan, has been sold to the Eastern Steamship Co. Capt. Isaac E. Archibald, thé sole owner of the Portland & Rockland Steamoat Line, will continue in command of the Monhe- gan. Capt. Archibald built up the Portland & Rockland Steamboat Line unaided. He is regarded as one of the most enterprising steamboat men on the coast. During his fifteen years of sailing he has never lost a life. The Standard Motor Construction Co., Jersey City, N. J., is building a 500 H. P. Standard gasoline engine for a high-speed fishing boat that runs between New York and the fishing banks.