Democratic Sentinel, Volume 18, Number 18, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 May 1894 — NEW TORPEDO BOAT. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

NEW TORPEDO BOAT.

ERICSSON IS LAUNCHED AT DUBUQUE, lOWA. a Pint War Vessel Ever Constructed on Inland Waters—The Ceremony Wltneeeed by an Immense Crowd of People—Shaped Like a Cigar. Glides Off the Ways. The greatest crowd ever seen at Dubuque, lowa, assembled Saturday afternoon along the sloping embankments of the ice harbor to witness the launching of the first regular torpedo boat ever built by the United States Government. It is designated torpedo boat No. 2, but is really No. 1, as the Cushing is simply a yacht altered over and fitted with a torpedo tube. At 3 o’clock in the aftsrnoon a parade formed in front of the government building, in which the employes of the works, the men who built the beautiful craft, took a leading part Capt. Usher, who will command the vessel, and Mrs. Usher, with leading citizens, including the venerable ex-Senator George W. Jcnes, rode in carriages. The exercises began with a speech by M. M. Walker of the Board of Trade. The

First Regiment Band then played “The Star Spangled Banner,’’and an address was made by J. C. Longueville. “Marching Through Georgia” was then rendered by tho band. Judge O’Donnell spoke, and then everything was in readiness for the little boat. Miss Kiene broke the bottle over the stem of the boat and said: “In the name of the city of Dubuoue and in honor of the United States and of our glorious emblem, the Stars and Stripes, and as a remembrance of one who won imperishable renown in our war for the preservation of this great and grand Union, I christen thee Ericsson." As the moment approached when the last stroke was to be given that would set the vessel free there was stillness among the vast crowd; then as it gracefully glided into the water a mighty roar went up and the guns thundered a salute. There was not the least hitch in the work of launching and the boat settled in the water, scarcely disturbing it. The boat is a beauty and will delight the eye of a seaman. It is pronounced by the officers present a model of its kind. The bids for the construction of this vessel were opene.l the 2fith of August, 1891. Bids for a boat differing from this one had been called for before the plans were changed; second bids were asked for and the contract was awarded to the lowa Iron Works of Dubuque, the work to be done for $113,500.

When the announcement was made that a firm in the interior of the country, a thousand miles from the seaboard, had the boldness to bid on a work of this magnitude, grave doubts were expressed by the seashore bidders. They sai'd the work could not be done there. Officials were, therefore, sent to Dubuque to obtain a thorough understanding of the matter. They reported that every facility for building vessels of this description existed in Dubuque and the contractors were authorized to proceed with the work. Shaped Bike a Cigar* The Ericsson is built of steel plates three-sixteenths of an inch in thickness. Its length is 150 feet: beam, 15j feet; depth. 10 feet 6 inches: and a displacement of 120 tons. In shape it is like a aigar. Its engines are of enormous power, limited at 2,000 horsepower. The boilers are constructed to give the greatest possible amount of heating surface. There are two sets of four-cylinder quadruple-expansion engines of the vertical inverted directacting type, operating twin screws with a capacity of 420 revolutions a minute. The cylinder diameters are 114. 16, 211 and 30 inches. The stroke of all pistons is 16 inches. These engines make 420 revolutions a minute, while

those of an ordinary raft-boat make only 26. The equipment will be of the latest and most effective fashion. It will be provided with a dynamo of power sufficient to burn twenty-eight Incandescent lights, including a searchlight, signals, etc. The pilot-house is a small cone-shaped affair, a short distance from the stern. It will be armored, and is arranged to deflect any missile which may strike it. A dingv and a gig will be utilized for the small boats, and will hang from iron davits. There will be amidships four onepounder rapid-firing guns to repel hoarding, its two smokestacks, and a single short spar, more for ornament The chief armament, of course; will be its torpedo guns, one on each side, and the other at the bow. They will be operated with compressed air. The Ericsson will not be ready to leave Dubuque before next month. The launching of this boat marks a new era in the building of warships, as

It demonstrates they can be const meted on inland waters safe from all assaults by a foreign power, just as the arsenal at Reek Island can put 20,000 men to work making arms with every port in the country blockaded.

TORPEDO BOAT ERICSSON.

ONE OF THE ERICSSON'S BOILERS.

PORT ENGINE OF THE ERICSSON.