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Launch Big Battleship at Camden U; S28. Washington Is Huge, Electrically Pro- pelled Man-of-War Carrying Eight 16-Inch Rifles WE U.. -S, Ss. WASHINGTON, launched Sept. 1, at the Camden, N, J., yard of the New York Shipbuilding Corp., is a sister ship of the CotorApo launched from an ad- jacent way at the yard last March. Although authorized in 1916 and _ con- tracted for in January, 1917, construc- tion of these two superdreadnaughts of the most powerful type afloat, was not begun until the spring of 1919 as the navy department purposely deferred iis capital ship program during the war so that all available shipbuilding capacity could be concentrated on the coustruction of troop and supply ships and torpedo boat destroyers to meet the immediate emergency. The main dimensions of the vessel are as follows: Length, on water line, feet, inches 600-0. Length overall, feet, inches 624-6. Breadth, extreme, feet, inches 97-534. Depth, to main deck, feet, inches 47-2. Draft, normal, feet, inches 30-6. Displacement, normal load. tons 32,600. Displacement, full load, tons 33,600. Like all recent United States capital ships, the WASHINGTON will be electrical- ly propelled. Her main engines will con- sist of two 15,000 horsepower Westing- house turbo-electric generators, which will generate electricty to operate four 8300 horsepower Westinghouse motors, one for each propeller. The steam will be generated by eight water-tube boilers fired by oil. Avoids Use of Long Shafts For propelling a warship, an important advantage of the electric drive is the fact that the main turbines are not connected mechanically with ‘the propellers and no long shafts run through the ship. In consequence, the main turbines can Le located in the most convenient position with reference to the ship’s military requirements, such as protected from un- derwater attack, ammunition storage and handling, turret construction, and so on. An electrically driven battleship can, therefore, be made more efficient as a fighting machine than can one driven by ~ any of the older methods, and the United States navy is far in advance of other nations in. the development of this tyne of propulsion. Electric drive also provides great man- euvering power, because the propellers can be almost instantly reversed with full power. In addition, the turbines operate under the best possible conditions for high economy, which means that the ship possesses a greater radius of action than one with a less economical forra of drive. In the recent trials of the U. S. SS. TENNESSEE, which is also equipped with the Westinghouse electric propulsion, and is a sister ship of the WASHINGTON, it was found that this great vessel could be brought to rest from full speed within three minutes, turned on a circle like a destroyer. and driven backward at 15 knots, all of which are believed to be records. The main battery of the WASHINGTON will consist of eight 16-inch, 45 caliber breech-loading rifles, mounted in four turrets two forward and two aft. Each of these monster rifles, of which there will be two in each turret, will be over 60 feet in length. Fourteen Guns In Secondary Battery The secondary battery will consist of fourteen 5-inch rapid fire guns placed in advantageous positions. For protection against hostile gun fire from enemy ships all vital parts of the vessel will be adequately protected by heavy armor. This will be arranged in accordance with the best American practice. All four turrets in which the main battery is mounted, as well as the bar- bettes, which contain the intricate mech- anism for turning the turrets and their guns in any desired direction, are entirely encased in heavy steel armor. Probably almost as important as the armor itself, from the standpoint of protection against gun fire and torpedo attack, is the watertight subdivision of the huge fighting craft. The portion of the vessel above the splinter deck, which is practically at the load water line, is well subdivided by watertight bulkheads, but below this deck the ves- sel is divided honeycomb-like into a ‘multitude of comparatively small water- tight compartments. This is accomplished by closely. spaced transverse bulkheads throughout the length of the ship and several watertight longitudinal bulkheads. Each of the eight water tube boilers is in a separate watertight compartment, as is also each of the two turbo-gener- ators which generate the electrical en- ergy for the operation of the main propelling motors. The four main pro- pelling motors are located in three watertight compartments. With this ‘sub- division, even if torpedo damage should penetrate into the portion of the vessel occupied by the propelling machinery, 462 floating fortress, the vessel would not be put out of commission, since the simultaneous flood- ing of one or more of the boiler com- partments, one turbo-generator compart- ment, and one or more propelling motor compartments would neither sink the vessel nor render it unnavigable. To operate this well nigh impregnable a complement of 45 commissioned officers, 12 warrant of- ficers and 1022 enlisted men, including 71 marines, will be carried. Accommoda- tions for commissioned and warrant of- ficers will be located aft on the second and third decks. The crew’s quarters will be forward and amidships on ¢hc main deck and second decks. In general appearence the WAsHING- TON will resemble the other capital ships recently added to the navy. Forward her shell will have a very pronounced flare outward from the water line to the upper deck. This flare, carried undi- minished forward, naturally results in the vessel’s clipper stem, intended to facilitate the stowing and handling of her anchors, of which there will he three. The clipper stem is practically the exact opposite of the ram type of bow in almost universal use on battle- ships a generation ago. The pronounced flare also makes possible a roomy deck inspite ,of the very fine water. line forward. The upper deck is the weather deck from the stem to abaft midships. Here the main deck, next below the upper deck, becomes the weather deck and extends as such to the stern. The stern is of the cruiser type, now com- mon to most large war vessels. Also Was Last Word The launching of the battleship Wasu- INGTON comes just 15 years after the de- livery by the New York Shipbuilding Corp. of the armored cruiser WaASH- INGTON, since renamed the SEATTLE, At the time of her delivery in 1906, the old WASHINGTON was the last word in naval construction and her size and armament form an interesting comparison present day developments. is: with The cruiser Length, on | vat i ¢ mea oad water line, feet, Length, overall, feet, inches 504-514 Breadth, feet, inches 72-1014, e Depth, feet, . inches 42-217 Draft, normal, feet, inches 25-0. Displacement, normal load, tons 14,590 Fuel, coal. als The battery of this vessel consists of four 10-inch 45 caliber breech-loadine rifles, sixteen 6-inch, 50-caliber, rapid- mehkes