Though the details of the construction of the 'Dreadnought' have
been wisely kept secret, it is understood that she will carry ten 12 in. guns and eighteen quick-firing weapons of a new pattern. No previous battleship has carried more than four 12 in. guns. Each of these ten guns can send a projectile weighing 850 lb. through four feet of iron, and can, at close on four miles, pierce ten inches of Krupp armour. The displacement of the new ship is 18,800 tons, or 2,200 tons more than battleships of the 'King Edward' class. The hull of the 'Dreadnought' at the water-line will be protected by Krupp armour twelve inches thick. The provision of such armour and so tremendous an armament of guns was made possible by the fact that she is fitted with turbine engines, and thus space and weight are saved. The 'Dreadnought' is expected to attain a speed of over twenty- one knots an hour, which will make her very much the fastest battleship afloat.
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