Another addition was made to the Austrian navy by the launching on May
18 of the ram cruiser Franz Josef I. from the yards of S. Rocco in the
Stabilimento Tecnico Triestino. Her dimensions are: Length (over all),
103.7 meters; length (between perpendiculars), 97.9 meters; greatest
breadth (outside), 14.8 meters; draught (bow), 5.28 meters; draught
(stern), 6.05 meters; displacement on the construction water line,
4,000 tons. The armament consists of two 24-centimeter and six
15-centimeter Krupp breech loaders of 35 caliber length, two
7-centimeter Uchatius guns as an armament for the boats and for
landing purposes, eleven Hotchkiss quick-firing guns, and several
torpedo-launching ports; indicated horse power with natural draught
6,400, speed 17.5 knots; with forced draught 9,800, speed 19 knots.
The ship is built of steel, and constructed according to the "double
bottom" system along the engine, boiler, and ammunition rooms. The
vaulted armor deck, extending 1.25 meters below the water line and
protecting the most vital parts of the ship, is 0.057 meter thick.
There are more than 100 water tight compartments below and above the
deck. A protecting belt of "cellulose" is provided for the engines and
boilers, extending from the armor deck downward.
The two main guns, placed on Krupp's hydraulic carriages, occupy
positions in front and rear, and are protected by stands 0.09 meter
thick and 1.60 meters high. They fire _en barbette_ with a lateral
range each of 260 degrees at bow and stern--i.e., 130 degrees on
either of the broadsides. The weight of the barrel of the gun is 25
tons, that of the steel shell 215 kilogrammes (about 430 lb.), that of
the brown powder charge 100 kilogrammes; initial velocity of
projectile, 610 meters; penetration, 0.524 meter iron; longest range,
17 kilometers (about 10½ English miles); range at 15 deg. elevation,
10 kilometers. The six 15-centimeter guns are placed in a kind of
machicouli arrangement in two tiers on each of the broadsides, so that
always four guns can fire in the direction of the keel to the front
and rear. The weight of the barrel of the gun is each six tons, that
of the steel shells 51 kilogrammes, that of the charge 22 kilogrammes;
initial velocity, 610 meters.
The 11 quick-firing guns are partly placed along the broadsides,
partly in the masts, of which there are two. The triple expansion
engines, having each a bronze screw of 4.42 meters diameter, with
three blades and a rise of 6.3 meters, make with natural draught 105
revolutions, and with forced draught 120. The pumping apparatus are
able to lift in one hour 400 tons of water. The front boiler room
contains a special cylindrical boiler for the working of the
electrical apparatus, for hydraulic pumps of the artillery service,
for anchor windlasses, ventilators, fire engines, etc. The whole
engines weigh 890 tons. The bunkers have a capacity for 660 tons of
coal, which allows for a run of 4,500 sea miles.
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