MONSTER WARSHIP.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 878, 26 July 1910, Page 7

MONSTER WARSHIP.

ft BRAZIL'S NEW DREADNOUCHT. EXTRAORDINARY ARMAMENT. By Telegraph—Press' Association—Copyright. London, July 24. Brazil's Dreadnought will carry twelve 14-inch guns. Sha will cost £2,900,000. ' THREE FORMIDABLE SHIPS. Brazil some timo ago contracted for tho construction of. three powerful battleships. They aro tho Minas Geraes, now in South America, the Sao Paulo, Hearing completion, and tho Rio de Janeiro just (aid down. Tlio gun trials of tho Minas Geraes excited considerable interest, because on limited dimensions greater gun-power was provided than iu the Dreadnoughts without any diminution in.speed. Brietly stated, the dimensions are:—Length over all, 5.13 ft. j and between perpendiculars, 500 ft.; beam, 83ft.; and depth moulded, 42ft. Sin. TUo' displacement at 25ft. draught is 19,230 tons, with 800 tons of fuel on board. Bunker capacity, however, is provided for 2360 tons. There are carried in six twin gun barbettes twelve 12in. 45-calibre guns, and within effectively armoured positions 22 4.7 in. guns; a large number of three-pounder and smaller weapons are also fitted. Tho feature of the ordnance, and tho cause of the keen interest in the trials, ■ was the speciaKdisposition of the 12in. guns to enable ten of' them to be fired on either broadside. There ore two on each broadside amidships, while forward, and aft there are in tho centre line of the ship two barbettes, their centres being 36ft. apart. There are two guns mounted in each. The pair furthest from the bow and stern respectively are at a level of 12ft. higher than the pair of guns in front. Some little apprehension existed in tho minds of gunnery officers as to tho effect the blast of the guns in the rear might have on the crow of the forward (and lower) turret, and representatives from several foreign attended tho firing tests. The observation* made when tho rear pair of guns were fired showed ■ that the gun crew might have remained in the forward gunhouse without suffering inconvenience,, although tho muzzles of the guns fired were only 4ft. or sft. above the roof of the turret. The heavy plating of the roof proved amply strong. An impressivo test was ths simultaneous firing of tho ten 12in. guns on tho starboard _ beam. The projectile used in each was of Ssolb. weight, tho charge in each gun being 2851b. of cordite. This was an unprecedented performance, and Ihe ship stood tho N stress admirably. All the other gun tests were equally .satisfactory. The British Dreadnoughts are armed with twelve-inch gnus. ■ The earlier vessels of this type had eight of thees big guns, but in the Colossus and the six vessels of her type ordered for tho Navy during the' past twelve months there arc to be ten big guns. A new British 13.5 gun- has been designed, weighing from 80 to 85 tons, and firing a shell of 12501b. It is, roughly speaking, more than twice as .powerful as tho latest British 12in. guns, and should be able to perforate 15in. of Krupp steel armour with ease at. seven miles. • .