, of 13,900 tons, and the Lepanto, of 13,550 tons, belonging to
the Italian navy.

The Empress of India is built throughout of mild steel, the stem and
stern post, together with the shaft brackets, being of cast steel.
Steel faced armor, having a maximum thickness of 18 in., extends along
the sides for 250 ft. amidships, the lower edge of the belt being 5
ft. 6 in. below the normal water line. The belt is terminated at the
fore and after ends by transverse armored bulkheads, over which is
built a 3 in. protective steel deck extending to the ends of the
vessel and terminating forward at the point of the ram. Above the belt
the broadside is protected by 5 in. armor, the central battery being
inclosed by screen bulkheads of the same thickness. The barbettes,
which are formed of armor 17 in. thick, rise from the protective deck
at the fore and after ends of the main belt. The principal armor
throughout is backed by teak, varying in thickness from 18 in. to 20
in., behind which is an inner skin of steel 2 in. thick. The engines
are being constructed by Messrs. Humphreys, Tennant & Co, London, and
are of the vertical triple expansion type, capable of developing a
maximum horse power of 13,000 with forced draught and 9,000 horse
power under natural draught, the estimated speeds being 16 and 171/2
knots respectively at the normal displacement. The regular coal supply
is 900 tons, which will enable the ship to cover a distance of 5,000
knots at a reduced speed of ten knots and about 1,600 knots at her
maximum speed. The main armament of the Empress will consist of four
67 ton breechloading guns mounted in pairs _en barbette_. The
secondary armament includes ten 6 in. 100 pounder quick firing guns,
four being mounted on the main deck and six in the sponsons on the
upper deck, sixteen 6 pounder and nine 3 pounder quick-firing guns, in
addition to a large number of machine guns.

The largest guns at present mounted in any British warship are the 110
ton guns mounted in the Benbow class, and the difference between these
weapons and those to be carried by the Empress of India is very
marked.

The projectile fired from either of the Benbow's heavy gun weighs
1,800 lb., and is capable of penetrating 35 in. of unbacked wrought
iron at a distance of 1,000 yards. The projectile fired from the 67
ton guns of the Empress of India will have much less penetrating
power, being only equal to 27 in. of wrought iron with a full charge
of 520