SHIPS OF WAR, BUDGETS, AND PERSONNEL.
AUSTRIA. VESSELS BUILDING.
Name. Displacement. Where Building. Remarks.
Battleships.
Erzherzog Ferdinand-Max. 10,600 Trieste. Building.
Ersatz Tegetthof 14,500 ___ Projected.
Ersatz Kr.-Rudolf 14,500 ___ “
Ersatz Kr.-Stephanie 14,500 ___ “
Scott.
Ersatz Zara 3,500 ___ Projected.
The Pester Lloyd announces that the Superior Marine Commission has decided on an 18-000-ton battleship type, to be immediately begun in place of the three 1.4.500-ton ships first adopted.
BRAZIL.
Le Yacht states that Brazil has decided to order three to.000-ton battle- ships in England; one will be built by Vickers' Sons & Maxim, and one, or perhaps two, by Armstrong, Whitworth & Co. They are to carry ten 12-inch guns and a secondary battery of 4.7-inch guns.
FRANCE.
VESSELS BUILDING.
Name. Displacement. Where Building. Remarks.
Battleships.
Demoocratie 14,865 Brest. Under trial.
Justice 14,865 La Seyne. “ “
Verne 14,865 Bordeaux. Launched May 28, 1907
Liberte 18,350 St. Nazaire. Launched April 19, 1905.
Danton 18,350 Brest. Ordered
Mirabeau 18,350 Lorient. “
Voltaire 18,350 Bordeaux. “
Diderot 18,350 St. Nazaire. “
Condoreet 18,350 “ “
Vergniaud 18,350 La. Seyne “
Armored Cruisers.
Ernest Renan 13,644 St. Nazaire. Launched April 9, 1906
Jules Michelet. 13,644 Lorient. “ Aug. 31, 1906
Edgard Quinet 13,644 Brest. Building.
Waldeck-Rousseau 13,644 Lorient. “
NEW BATTLESHIPS. —Le Yacht gives the following as the characteristics of the six battleships of the Danton class: Length, 145m.... beam, 25.65 m.; draft, 8.44m.; displacement, 18,350 tons. Turbine machinery, with four screws on separate shafts; 22,500 effective horsepower; estimated speed, 19 knots; radius of action at to knots, 8130 miles. A complete armor belt, 270 mm. thick, tapering to 200 mm. at the ends; 12-inch turret armor, 300 mm.; 9.5-inch turret armor, 220 mm.; conning-tower armor, 300mm.; battery, four 12-inch guns in pairs in middle line turrets; twelve 9.5-inch guns in pairs in broadside turrets; sixteen 3-inch guns; eight 47-mm. guns; two broadside, under-water torpedo tubes. Estimated cost, 50,000,000 francs; estimated date of completion, 1910-1911.
NEW SUBMARINES AND SUBMERSIBLES AND DESTROYERS.—The Minister of Marine has ordered the commencement of 16 submarines, namely, 3 at Cherbourg,7 atRochefort,and6 at Toulon. All are of the submersible type, similar to the i8 commenced in 1905. Their displacement is 398 tons; length, 51m. 12 (167 feet); beam, 4 m. 97 (16 feet); draft of water, 3m.12 (to feet). The maximum power of the motor is 700 H.P.; giving a surface speed of 12 knots: they will be fitted with 7 launching apparati for torpedoes, and are to have a complement of 2 officers and 22 men.
The Minister of Marine has also issued orders for the commencement of four submersibles of much greater dimensions than those hitherto built; they are to be constructed in the Government dockyards: two at Cherbourg, one at Toulon, and one at Rochefort. The designs are not actually settled, but it is said they are not to be identical, and that the displacement will be about 800 tons, and length 70 meters; the surface speed is to be 15 knots, being 2 knots faster than all previous craft of this type, and the submerged speed will be to knots instead of 6 knots. Above all, the radius of action is to be far greater than hitherto attempted, namely, 2500 miles. The two to be built at Cherbourg are from the designs of MM. Hutter and Radiguer, the one at Toulon after M. Maurice's plans, and the one at Rochefort after M. Bourdelle's.
The contract has been signed for the construction of six destroyers by private firms, to be named Hussard, Voltigeur, Tirollleur, Chasseur, Spahi, and Carabinier. They are larger than those hitherto constructed for the French Navy, having a displacement of 400 tons, against a previous 330 tons, and will cost 2,000,000 francs (180,000) each. —United Service
Institution.
Trials of the Victor Hugo resulted as follows:
6 hours' consumption trial at 8,948 H. P.= 145 lb.
24 hours' consumption trial at 16400 H.P.= 147 lb.
Full power consumption trial at 27,500 H.P.= 1.72lb.
In the full-power trial she developed 28427 indicated horsepower, and a speed of close on 23 knots.—Engineer.
At the beginning of May the French active squadron in the Mediterranean will be modified by the commissioning of the Patrie, while the Carnot, which has completed the squadron since the catastrophe to the Iena, is to pass into the Reserve division; and the Hoche, which seemed an anachronism in the first line forces, will cease to be attached to them. Hence- forth, therefore, the Mediterranean squadron will consist of four divisions. Each of three battleships, the oldest being the Brennus. The first division will comprise the Suffrex, Paine, and Republique (18 knots); the second division the Saint Louis, Gaulois, and Charlemagne (18 knots); the third division the Massena, Jaureguiberry, and Bouvet (17 knots); and the fourth division the Brennus, Charles Martel, and Carrot (17 knots). The first two divisions will be in full commission throughout the year, and the others for a part of the time with reduced complements. In December there will be a further change, owing to the expected commissioning of the Justice, Liberti, and Democratie, which win form the first division. It is therefore hoped that nest spring there will be five divisions of first-class battleships, the speed being 17 knots as a minimum, with 19, knots as a maximum for some of the divisions. When the Verste? is ready for com- mission there will also be one modern ship ready to take the place of any ship in the squadron requiring repairs. In addition to this powerful squadron there will be strong divisions of cruisers. —. Army and Navy Gazette.
THE DESTRUCTIONOFTHE IENA. - A terrible explosion occurred about 1.30 p. m. on March 12 at Toulon on board the first-class battleship Iena, which resulted in great loss of life and the partial, if not complete, destruction of this fine ship. The cause of the disaster has yet to be discovered, but it seems highly probable that it was due to the spontaneous explosion in the after magazine of what is known as B powder, a circumstance known to have been responsible for more than one disaster, including the explosions on board the battleship Admiral Duperre and the Forbin.
The ship at the time was lying in one of the docks, and was nearly ready to be floated out. It was some time before any one could approach the ill-fated vessel to render assistance, and a considerable time elapsed before it was found possible to flood the dock, when the fire was at last extinguished, after it had gutted nearly two-thirds of the ship.
The loss of life was very great, as it is stated that at least 118 officers and men have been killed, while a considerable number have been hurt, and others are still missing. Among the officers killed were Flag-Captain Adigard, Capitaine de Fregate Vertier, Chief of the Staff to Rear-Admiral Manceron, Lieutenant Thomas, and the chief engineer. Rear-Admiral Manceron is slightly wounded.
According to the testimony of the survivors, there was. a first explosion followed by flames bursting from the after part of the ship, then a second, much more violent explosion, which ruptured the after part of the hull, scattered projectiles about, burst bulkheads, and created general destruction. One of the after magazines for the to-cm. guns seems to have been the place of origin of the conflagration. Subsequent investigation shows that iii charges for the u -inch guns were burned up and that Imo kilo- grams of black powder exploded.
Several commissions have already reported upon the disaster, but the most important one, composed of experts, has yet to be heard from. There IS almost universal agreement that the fire originated in decomposing smokeless powder of the ether-alcohol gun-cotton type. The destructive results were largely due to the explosion of the black powder, and all the investigating committees agree in recommending that hereafter as little black powder as practicable be kept on board ship and that it be not stored With smokeless powders.
The following is an abstract of the official statement of the Minister of Marine, relative to the Una disaster (translated from the Moniteur de la Flotte):
Evidently the powder "B" is apt to disintegrate under the action of heat; and the change increases with the temperature.
It has been determined that powder heated to 110° C. (230° F.), during a certain number of hours, if it be still stable, may be heated to 40° C. (104 F.) during a number of months equal to the number of hours the test lasted. This duration greatly increases when the heating temperature is lowered to 35° C. (95° F.) and still more so, if the heating is intermittent.
According to the bureau of powders and saltpeters, the resistance of powder "B" is thus determined. Worked-over powders of six, seven, eight, ten, and even twelve years, if satisfactorily tested at 1100 C. are held to be good, and can produce no accident.
All that I have stated applies both to new powders and to powders worked over, either French or foreign.
It follows that if a distinction is made between the new and the worked over powders, and between the ammunition with a green band and ammunition with an ordinary band, that distinction is more administrative than technical: and above all, is intended to indicate the origin of the lots. When the resistance test at 100 degrees has proved satisfactory, doubt is no longer possible.
This at least is the opinion of the bureau of powders.
Supervision of Powders. —Supervision or inspection consists in making an annual test of resistance to heat.
If we take the lots of powders which were on board the Iena, which had been tested a few months previously, we find that none of those powders were in a condition making it advisable to remove them from the Iena. Thosehavingtheleaststabilityshouldhavelastedatleast22 months, according to the rules of the bureau of powders and saltpeters.
The powders are withdrawn from the supplies when their resistance fallsbelow12 hours for a.m. powders—i.e., the powders with amylic alcohol, which are the best—and below 20 hours for powders not a.m. They are issued for immediate use when their resistance is included be- tween6and12 hoursforthepowdersa.m.,andwhenbetween12and20 hours for powders not a. m.
Let us now speak of the installation of the magazines of the Iena. It is recognized that the decomposition of "B" powder is hastened by heat. Now, the temperature was not excessive in the magazines.
The various reports are explicit: The magazines of the Iena are in a good condition.
At sea various observations are made. In the forward magazines, temperature is pretty high, not excessive, however, and lower than in the magazines of other vessels in the squadron. Aft, on the contrary, the magazines are cool, with two exceptions which are kept under observation. By the way, those two magazines did not explode.
As a rule, with the exception of two magazines aft which bore watching, the magazines of the Iena were relatively cool. This was so true, that the various captains of the Iena—Captain Adigard himself—were minded of having those apparatus, so-called refrigerating, taken out of the vessel owing to their cumbersomeness and useless weight.
In 1905, July 10. Captain Bouxin, who commanded the Iena, finding the magazines relatively cool and the refrigerating apparatus out of order re- quested that they be taken out.
When those propositions reached the department, I decided to have the refrigerators taken out. But immediately a study of electric ventilators was commenced. I wanted both operations to be simultaneous.
In 1906. Captain Adigard called attention to the taking out of the pressure regulators and the fixing of the fans, but he stated that the magazines were relatively cool.
He made no special proposition touching the shell rooms, which appeared to him to be in about a normal condition. Admiral Touchard when transmitting the reports of the general inspection, stated that the Suffros and Iena were in excellent condition and only required some insignificant improvements.
The record of the temperatures of the magazines of the Jena goes back to August, 1905. An examination of this record shows that temperatures exceeding 30° C. only existed in the magazines while the boilers were fired; it shows besides that since August 1, Kos, a temperature of was reached but once. July 26, 1906, during the maneuvers, in magazine 8 of the 164.7 mm., which did not explode; the temperature of 36° was reached three times, on July 26 and 27, 1906, in magazine 7 of the 164-7, which did not explode, and June 27, 1906, in magazine 8 of the 164-7 mm., which did not explode.
The temperature of 35.5 was reached once, July 24, 1906, in magazine No. 8 of the 164.7 mm. (unexploded), and in magazine No. 6 of the 100 mm., which exploded; the temperature of 35° was reached 17 times, but this happened before the last inspection of the ammunition. Besides I have just reminded you of the formal rule: when the temperature of 300 is reached and lasts a certain time, the attention of the ordnance service is at once called to the fact, and it immediately proceeds to examine if the powders have undergone any change. If but once the temperature reaches 35° that service is to be notified; no such notification has been sent by the Iena since the last annual inspection of the ammunition.
March 12, on the day of the explosion the highest temperature in the forward magazine of the 305 mm., which did not explode, was 210; that in the magazine of the 47 mm. which was the highest reached, 23° (that magazine did not explode).
The mean temperature in the magazines of the 100 mm. which exploded varied during the latter days between 18° and 10°.
The temperature in the magazines of the 164.7 mm., none of which exploded, was 18.5°; the temperature in the after magazines of the 305 mm., which exploded, reached a maximum of 17°.
As a matter of fact, when a vessel is docked, with no pressure in the boilers, and the dynamos idle, temperature is lower than at sea; as a rule, between the outside temperature and that of the magazines, the difference is only two or three degrees for the hottest magazines.
The figures I have given show that temperature never rose to a point when it was imperative to notify the bureau of powders.
Report of Captain Adigard. —M. Michel mentioned a report of Captain Adigard which called attention to the danger of those powders. It is a fact, but this report did not reach the central administration, although there was no irregularity in this.
Captain Adigard, in his report, which was forwarded to the general staff of the squadron, stated that the Iena contained powders older than six years, and he added that the moment powders become more than six years old, according to regulations, the central administration should be informed of the fact, and the powders replaced.
That report did not reach Paris because it was detained by the general staff of the squadron.
Here is the report and a note in pencil which intercepted it. It runs thus:
"Nothing to be done. From the fact that ammunition is six years old, it does not follow that it should be replaced if found satisfactory after being tested. I saw it again today. The responsibility of Captain A. is not concerned. To be put on file, No.—."i.e., to be pigeon-holed.
That report was intercepted because contrary to Captain Adigard's supposition, if by the terms of the instructions of December 31, 1901, the Powders over six years old should be reported, there is nothing in the prescriptions making it incumbent upon the bureaus to replace those powders on board vessels. Decision concerning those powders is based upon the results given at the time of the tests of the last inspection.
Powders six, eight, and ten years old should not be taken out of the vessels, if said powders proved satisfactory at the heat test.
This is the clear and absolute practice not only with us, but in foreign navies.
Accidents at Target Practice—Measures Taken—Sighting Telescopes.— I come now to the accidents at target practice. They assumed one of the three following forms: premature explosions, misfire, and hang fire; deformation of the cartridge case and difficulty of extraction.
Premature burstings had already taken place in the previous years on the Suffren, Dupleix, Kleber and Desaix, but always with cast shells charged with black powder; premature explosion presents no danger either to the piece or the gunner; it is only a wasted shot.
In order, however, to correct those regrettable incidents, I issued an order in 1905 that the cast shells should be tested before acceptance, with the shells set apart for tests, subjected to a pressure greater by 10 per cent than the service pressure. The 450 tested shells did not call for any remark. We are therefore led to suppose that the accidents were due to an excessive sensitiveness of the priming mechanism, whose design prior to 1898—perhaps does not suit the actual velocities. Experiments are being conducted along that line.
As to the misfires, they are the results of the defects either of the plunger or the primer. We have given to the vessels the means of replacing the defective plungers, and ordered, since January 7, 1906, a periodical inspection of the primers, which had been overlooked up to that time.
I will mention in passing the proportion of accidents to the number of shots fired: 2 per cent for heavy and intermediate guns. 5 per cent for light ordnance. Besides, all those accidents were caused by old projectiles; and I wish on that point to indicate one of our most important reforms.
Before 1905, target practices, with one annual exception, were carried out with projectiles with reduced service charges. Since 1903, we have increased the exercises with full charges, in order to give our sailors more frequent training at battle ranges.
Now. by thus utilizing in target practice our real service projectiles, we prevent the accumulation of old projectiles, thereby avoiding risks of accidents.
Referring then to telescope sights: Two years ago no telescope was placed on any of our vessels. In 1905, my first act was to decide that the installation of the model in hand should be immediately begun, but to replace it later on by a better one, which soon made its appearance; this is the telescope of Commander Petit. At the present time, 74 of those instruments are installed in our Mediterranean fleet; 14 on board the school ships,22 in our northern squadron.
All our new vessels will be provided with them. Besides, experiments with glasses of variable power and with range finders are being carried out.
What is Intended to be Done about Powders. --I would like to state briefly what we intend to do concerning powders. One first measure has been taken. The proximity of black powders and powders "B" constitutes, if not an actual, at least a probable danger; therefore, I decided to separate them.
In the battleships of the Patrie class, no magazine is in direct contact with any source of heat whatever.
In the Ernest Renan, Edgard Quinet, Waldeck-Rousseau the magazines are ventilated by zro-refrigerating apparatus, in which the water is cooled by complete refrigerating apparatus.
In the Jules Miehelet, all the bulkheads of the central magazines are fitted with a system of cold water circulation, and, in addition, zero-refrigerators are provided for cooling the air of the magazines.
Finally, in all those vessels have been installed ordinary non-conducting (of heat) casings.
In regard to vessels actually in service, we can and will endeavor to remedy as far as possible the material defects through a number of precautions in details by enforcing our preventive regulations. Thus the isolation of the sources of heat will be improved, refrigeration and ventilation will be practiced on the most extensive scale, under the special and permanent supervision of the commander.
Concerning the preservation of powders, the instructions of M.de Lanes- san, bearing the date of December 30, 1901, are soon to be presented for a complete revision to the mixed committee on powder regulations. For the improvement of the powder in service, these are the measures which have been taken and are at present in force.
With time, powders "B" under go slow changes, which are hastened through rise in temperature. More and more resisting types have been successfully studied and adopted. Since January 1, 1906, the type presenting the greatest safety (a. m. 8) is exclusively ordered from the bureau of powders.
From January 1, 1907, and in order to secure the complete homogeneousness of the lots of powders, the operation of remanufacturing has been replaced by rekneading. i. e., the reconversion of the powder into mill cake, an absolutely safe operation.
I point out to you this important fact which was operative long before the disaster occurred. Finally, new conditions of manufacture and acceptance of service powders are being studied since October, 1905, by the Gavres committee as well as in the central laboratory.
The mixed committee on powder manufacture engaged in studying the new rules, will also seek to find out if it would not be possible for the bureau of powders and saltpeters to use a solvent better adapted to the conditions of service at sea, in the ammunition we order from it.
Along these lines, the bureau of naval ordnance continues to study as in the past, new types of powders, French as well as foreign, and tests have been made for several years and are still going on, of powders with added ingredients to increase stability and put on board vessels cruising in warm climates.
Towards the end of 1906,orders were given for nitrocellulose and nitroglycerine powders in order to compare them with ours, in regard to their lasting qualities as well as their ballistic power.
The navy has thus kept in close touch with the manufacture of powder abroad, and up to the present it has not been confronted by a single improvement not already realized by French manufacture.
As I have just stated, our intention is to appoint a purely technical board composed of many members, which will examine the question of powder in the army and navy and also if the system, perhaps even the monopoly (I leave all questions to be decided) should be maintained, and if reforms Should not be introduced in the present organization.
GERMANY
VESSELS BUILDING.
Name. Displacement. Where Building. Remarks.
Battleships.
Pommern 13,200 Stettin. Launched Dec. 2, 1905
Hannover 13,200 Danzig. “ Sept. 26, 1905
(Schichau Works).
Schlesqig-Holstein 13,200 Kiel. “ Dec. 17, 1906
Ersatz Bayern 19,000 Wilhelmshaven. Building
“ Sachsen 19,000 Bremen. “
“ Baden 19,000 Stettin. “
(Vulcan Works.)
“ Wurtemberg 19,000 Kiel. “
(Germania Works.)
Armored Cruisers.
Gneisenau 11,600 Bremen. Launched June 14, 1906
Scharnhorst 11,600 Hamburg. Under trial.
E 15,000 Kiel. Building.
G 15,000 Bremen. “
Protected Cruisers.
Danzig 3,200 Danzig. Under trial.
Kunigberg 3,200 Kiel. “ “
Stuttgart 3,420 Danzig. Launched Sept. 22, 1906
Stettin 3,420 Stettin. “ March 7, 1906
Nurnberg 3,420 Kiel. “ Aug. 28, 1906
Ersatz Pfell 3,500 Danzig. Building
“ Komet 3,500 Hamburg. “
“ Greif 3,500 ___ Authorized.
“ Jagd 3,500 ___ “
Le Yacht states that all the ships of the 1907-1908 budget will have tur- bine machinery. The armored cruiser F will have the Parsons type; the Ersatz Greif and Jagd either the Rathenau or the Zaelli type.
In a recent article upon the German navy in 1906, Ueberall had a good deal to say about the political aspects of the naval question. It did not tell us much about the causes for the delay in beginning the new battleships Ersatz Bayern and Ersatz Sachsen and the armored cruiser E, but the remark was made that the program had proceeded regularly and punctually until the time came for laying down these vessels. The present situation was that Hannover, Pommern, Schlesien, and Schleswig-Holstein had been launched, and were being pushed forward as rapidly as possible. But no battleship had been laid down, and the Ersatz Bayern and Ersatz Sachsen were upon paper. Of the armored cruisers, the Gneisenau and Scharnhorst were completed afloat, while upon the stocks or ordered to be laid down was the armored cruiser E. Of smaller cruisers, the Danz.ig, Kanigsberg. Stuttgart, and Nurnberg had been launched, while three cruisers, Wacht, Kornet, and Pfeil, were under construction. No ships of the program of the present year had made any progress. As to the two torpedo divisions of 1906, they have been built by the firm at Schichau, and are destroyers of 540 tons and 30 knots. The Germania Yard is building G137, which is to be provided with Parsons turbines, and it is expected that she will displace 570 tons.—. Army and Navy Gazette.
The small German cruiser Danzig on her trials made 22.96 knots with 12,114 indicated horsepower. She thus fell a trifle short of her designed speed. It is interesting to note that with most of these German cruisers those built by contract beat those constructed in the Imperial Dockyards. The trial speeds obtained by this particular Bremen class—a series of vessels, by the way, to which we have no "reply"—were as follows:
Speed, knots. Builder.
Bremen 23.2 Weser, Bremen
Hamburg 23.1 Vulcan, Stettin
Berlin 23.2 Danzig Dockyard
Lubeck (turbines) 23.5 Vulcan, Stettin
Munchen 23.4 Weser, Bremen
Leipzig 23.0 Weser, Bremen
Danzig 22.96 Danzig Dockyard
We have four Gems and eight Scouts, in a sense, as "replies," put the Scouts carry only 12-pounders, against the German 4-inch guns. Also, we are building no more such vessels, while Germany has nine 2.4 or 2.45-knot vessels of the same general type in hand.
The contract for the third German Dreadnought, the Ersatz Baden, has been secured by the Krupp Germania Yard at Kiel. The displacement of these ships is now stated to be 19,000 tons. The armament is sixteen 11-inch guns of 50 calibers each. Speed about to knots. —Engineer.
Le Yacht states that the armored cruiser F will be of 19.200 tons dis- placement and 25 knots speed. She will have Parsons turbines of 50,000 H.P., and her battery will consists of twelve 11-inch guns.
The building of lamer battleships for the German Navy makes essential the widening of the Kiel Canal, the total cost of which will be more than EtL000,c(x), the work extending over seven or eight years. The charge will be borne by the Home Department, and will not affect the Navy estimates, though it is essentially for a naval purpose. In the current year a first instalment of £750,000 has been set down for the work, and some additional defences and fortifications are to be made at a cost of £100,000. The locks at the ends of the canal are to be reconstructed, and the water- way itself will be deepened from 9 meters to it meters (36 feet), while the bread that the sill will be doubled, from 22 meters to 44 meters (144 feet 4 inches). It is also contemplated, in connection with the canal, to lay out a commercial harbor at Kiel. —Army and Navy Gazette.
GREAT BRITAIN.
VESSELS BUILDING.
Name. Displacement. Where Building. Remarks.
Battleships.
Bellerophon 18,550 Portsmouth. Building.
Temeraire 18,550 Devonport. “
Superb 18,550 Newcastle. “
Lord Nelson 16,500 Jarrow (Palmer). Launched Sept. 4, 1906
Agamemnon 16,500 Glasgow (Beardmore.) Under trial.
Armored Cruisers
Minotaur 14,600 Devonport. Launched June 6, 1906
Shannon 14,600 Chatham. “ Sept. 20, 1906
Defence 14,600 Pembroke. “ Apr. 27, 1906
Invincible 17,250 Newcastle. “ Apr. 13, 1906
Inflexible 17,250 Clydebank. “ Mch. 30, 1906
Indomitable 17,250 Glasgow. “ Mar. 16, 1906
NAVY ESTIMATES. 1907-1908.—Precis of Statement of First Lord of the Admiralty.—The estimates presented to Parliament show a reduction of woo men, from 129.000 in 1906-1907 to 128,000 in 1907-1908, and a reduction of £1,427,091, from £31,869.500 to £30,442,409.
Personnel—The changes in the establishment of the War Course College which have been in progress during the past year were completed in November, Kick, by the commissioning of H. M. S. Terpsichore at Portsmouth, as the headquarters of the War Course College, in command of Captain E. J. W. Slade, M.V.0. R.N., under whose superintendence the courses had previously been conducted: The War Course College as now constituted will be in the same position as the gunnery and torpedo establishments, and will rank among the fleet services and no longer among the purely educational services with which it was at first associated. In placing the headquarters of the War Course College at Portsmouth, care has been taken to provide for the continuance of modified courses at Devonport and Chatham, where lectures have been given on strategy, tactics, naval history, and international law and modern improvements in marine engineering, besides other naval and military subjects. One full course was held last year at Portsmouth, which was at- tended by 38 naval, marine, and military officers. The course which commenced in October has been attended by 40 officers. The full war course at headquarters has been extended to four months, and lectures were given during the course on the following subjects: Marine engineering, naval history, international law, tactics, trade, wireless telegraphy, organization of signal stations, armor plates and explosives, telegraph cables, mining, gun mountings, control of fire and effects of fire, combined operations and coast defence, battle practice.
Representations having been made that existing, engineer officers under the orders promulgated since 1902 have not been given certain advantages which they had been led to expect at the time the new scheme of entry and training was promulgated, and it being. also desirable to ascertain whether further instructions are necessary, with a view to the qualification of officers for duties with the Royal Marines under the new scheme. a committee consisting of executive, engineer, and marine officers has been appointed to consider the matter. Their inquiry has only just been completed, and their report has not yet been laid before the board. It is not, therefore, possible to indicate the nature of their recommendations.
The education of naval cadets under the system introduced in 1903 is making satisfactory progress. The first batch of cadets will complete their educational course on shore, and leave Dartmouth for training in a sea-going cruiser after next summer term. The most recent reports from the officers and masters at Dartmouth confirm in a remarkable way the anticipations formed of the present method of selection of candidates, which has settled down from being a tentative experiment into a permanent system. The cost of the thorough education given at the two naval colleges obliges the Admiralty to call upon the parents for a substantial contribution towards it; but in the case of officers of the navy and army who can show that the fees paid are a serious burden, a large reduction is made in the charges. The question of finding means to extend this privilege of reduction of fees to such other parents as may need it deserves careful consideration. One exhibition for this purpose has already been provided through the generosity of a private donor. Possible county or other public authorities may be led to follow this example and that of the Argyll Fund, founded for the benefit of Scottish boys, and provide for naval cadets who belong to their several districts.
I have already stated that the number of men has been reduced by moo. The present number of seamen borne is in excess of requirements, while the number of stokers is still less than is needed for manning the fleet The entries of boys have therefore been continued at the same reduced total as last year, viz., 1500, and this has permitted of the entry of a large portion of the stokers required to make good the deficit. As the seamen drop to the required strength, the stokers will be increased. This process, however, takes time, as notwithstanding the popularity of the Royal Fleet Reserve, only a limited proportion of men can be allowed to take their transfer to the Reserve before the completion of their ordinary engagements.
The question of rating, advancement, and conditions of service of sea- men and petty officers has been carefully reviewed during the year, and certain proposals, having for their principal object the improvement in the position and responsibility of the petty officer, are now under consideration with a view to their adoption in the course of the coming financial year. At the same time, it is proposed to establish a new rating of telegraphists for working the wireless telegraph instruments independently of the signal branch, which has hitherto conducted those duties.
From April 1 last a new system of training for the Royal Naval Reserve was introduced, its main features being the substitution of modern ships at the home ports for shore batteries as the place for carrying out drill and training. By the end of 1936 some 1300 men and t86 officers accepted service under the new system. Recruiting for the Royal Naval Reserve was reopened in November, and in the coming year it is proposed to enter moo seamen and stokers.6o engine-room artificers, and 80 officers. The introductionofthegratuityoff5oafter20 years' service in lieu of pension at the age of 60 has been apparently much appreciated, as practically all the men who completed the necessary service since the first of April have elected to take the gratuity. The commanding officers of His Majesty's ships in which the Royal Naval Reserve men have been embarked for training report satisfactorily on the men; 530 seamen and 230 stokers have been embarked for training since April 1, 1606, in addition to the 587 stokers who served during the maneuvers, some of whom elected to count this service in lieu of their biennial training.
In the spring of 1906 some 120 of the 590 men forming the Newfoundland Reserve visited England during an extended cruise on board three of His Majesty's ships. The most favorable impression was created by their general appearance, and the commodore in command of the squadron re- ported in high terms as to their conduct and efficiency. Good reports are received from the colonies of the other branches of the Naval Reserve there established; and the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve at home continues to justify the high expectations which were formed of this body when first raised three years ago.
As indicated in last year's statement, the training of boy artificers and mechanicians has been reorganized on the new lines—the former has been concentrated at Portsmouth and Chatham, and the latter at Devonport. The placing of these training establishments under the control of an inspecting captain has been attended by good results, and there is every reason to believe that the scheme of training, now well established, will fulfil the expectations entertained by those who initiated the policy. Candidates of good qualifications are presenting themselves for training as mechanicians, and though a small proportion have had to be eliminated in the early stages of their training, the remainder have shown themselves fully competent to meet the demands of the instructors. It has not been possible yet to test the mechanicians who have been trained with a view to their undertaking duties in the engine-room, as the men who were put through the new course of training have only just been drafted to sea- going ships. The same may be said of the boy artificers. Those first entered have only just completed their four years' course, and arrangements are now being made for them to join ships for their first work as engine-room artificers of the fifth class. With one or two exceptions they have passed out of the training establishments with credit.
I am glad to be able to report a very striking increase in the improvement already begun under former administrations in the gunnery of the fleet. In battle practice, by which the gunnery organization of the ship as a whole is tested, and which is therefore the best criterion of efficiency, the average number of hits per ship in 1906 was practically double that of the previous year. although the conditions in the last year were considerably more difficult than before, the mean range being 1000 yards greater, and the time available for firing one minute less. In the test of gun layers with heavy guns, which is a necessary preliminary to battle practice, but during which the efficiency of the gun layers and guns' crews alone is tried, the average number of points obtained per man was 68.26 in 1905, as compared with 80.065 in 1906, or, comparing the percentage of hits to rounds fired, it was 56.58 against 71.12. In the test of gun layers with light Q.F. guns the percentage of hits to rounds fired rose from 21.63 in 1905 to 34,53 in 1906. In the battle practice of the torpedo-boat destroyers there was a corresponding increase in efficiency, the percentage of hits to rounds fired being 20.02 in 1905 and 34.60 in 1906. It is particularly satisfactory that the improvement is general throughout the fleet, and not by any means confined to a picked selection of crack ships. The greatest credit is due to all the officers and men who have worked together to produce this result.
Shipbuilding and Repairs. —The new construction for the year will cost £8,100,000, as against £9,235,000 for 1906-7. It will include two or, unless an understanding between the naval powers be arrived at by the Hague Conference, three large armored vessels of the Dreadnought type. They will be of slightly larger displacement than the Dreadnought, and full ad- vantage will be taken of experience of the Dreadnought in carrying out the details of their construction, motive power, and armament. One fast unarmored cruiser, five ocean-going destroyers, twelve first-class torpedo- boats, and twelve submarine-boats are also provided for.
£7,340,618 will be spent on the continuation of ships already begun; £759,382 in beginning new ships; of this, £107,100 will be devoted to the fast unarmored cruiser to be laid down at Pembroke; £307,482 on torpedo vessels and submarines; £344,800 on new large armored vessels.
Between April 1, 1906, and March 31, 1907, the following ships will have been completed and become available for service:
4 battleships (Africa, Britannia, Hibernia, Dreadnought).
3 armored cruisers (Achilles, Cochrane, Natal).
7 first-class torpedo-boats.
11 submarines.
Floating dock for submarines.
On April 1, 1907, there will be under construction:
5 battleships.
7 armored cruisers.
8 ocean-going torpedo-boat destroyers.
17 first-class torpedo-boats.
12 submarines.
1 royal yacht (Alexandria, expected to be ready in September next).
The strike on the Clyde will probably cause some delay in the completion of ships building in yards in that district.
H.M.S. Dreadnought was commissioned on December it, 1906. 14 months after being first laid down. This remarkable achievement in shipbuilding reflects the greatest credit on all who were connected with the work, both at the Admiralty and at Portsmouth Dockyard. A certain amount of overtime had to be worked in order to produce this record, but there is no occasion to repeat it, and I do not intend to permit overtime to be worked in the yards in future, except in cases of pressing necessity. and then sanction on each occasion must be specially obtained.
The trials of the Dreadnought have given the highest satisfaction; she has completed more than 7000 miles at sea, and her passage from Gibraltar to Trinidad—a distance of 3400 miles—was accomplished at an average rate exceeding 17 knots an hour.
Distribution of the Fleet. —A further development of the redistribution of the fleet, in continuance of the policy instituted under Lord Selborne, and explained by him in his Memorandum of December 6, 1934, has recently been resolved upon by the Board of Admiralty. The redistribution of icio4 permitted of a sufficient concentration of personnel to man all fighting ships in home waters with nucleus crews, amounting to two-fifths of their full complement, and also to provide on shore at each home port a balance of men always ready to man two armored ships. The further distribution of naval strength now resolved upon will provide a consider- able increase in all nucleus crews of ships in the first fighting line, and the complete manning of squadrons of six battleships and six armored cruisers which will not leave home waters. These twelve ships, together with forty-eight destroyers with full crews, some small cruisers, and the requisite auxiliaries, will be concentrated at the Core, and will do their practices and sea service in the North Sea, and will be constantly ready for any emergency. The nucleus crew system will thus be maintained and strengthened an the constitution of the home fleet. The crews of the vessels at the other ports must fluctuate, according to the demands made for the provision of foreign reliefs and for other causes, but will not, except in the small cruisers, fall below three-fifths; more often there will be an excess over this number.
The term " in reserve" will no longer be applicable; all sea-going fighting vessels in the home ports, not belonging to other fleets or squadrons or appropriated for training purposes or local defence, belong to the home fleet, and will be able to complete to full crew at a few hours' notice. Certain vessels of older date have hit her to been described as in special reserve"; in future such vessels will be kept fit for service and provided with crews sufficient to keep their machinery in good order and the ships ready for the duties required of them. I should explain that the home fleet is still in process of development, and that it will be sonic time before it can reach its full strength.
As the fleets at home will continue to be combined for war under the orders of the commander-in-chief of the Channel fleet, the Channel. Atlantic, and home fleets will carry out periodic peace exercises together under his command at such times and places as the Admiralty may direct. As indicated in the Admiralty Minute of October 23, 1926, the Fifth Cruiser squadron (the Nore division) of armored cruisers will be detached for exercises with the Channel and other fleets as desirable.
Considerable administrative improvement is expected to result from the organization of the home fleet. It has been necessary heretofore to deal separately with the distribution and arrangement of each of the existing reserve divisions. The position of the rear-admiral in command of torpedo craft and submarines has been somewhat anomalous, inasmuch as he has been under the orders of more, than one senior officer. The administrative command of all these divisions and vessels being now centralized in the Commander-in-Chief of the home fleet, a far better organization should be achieved than has been possible with a divided responsibility. His headquarters are at Sheerness, and he will occupy the house vacated by the transfer of the residence of the Commander-in-Chief at the Nore from Sheerness to Chatham.
The status of the Commander-in-Chief of the home fleet and that of the flag officers and vessels under his orders will be similar to that of the flag officers and vessels of the Channel and Atlantic fleets when they visit the home ports; that is to say, for the time being they come under the command of the senior officer present, but that senior officer will not interfere with the administration and orders of the officers in command. The home fleet in no way interferes with the role of the Channel and Atlantic fleets except in the event of a totally unforeseen outbreak of war during their absence from home waters; they will still occupy the principal fighting position.
The fleet at sea will begin the new year without its most distinguished and capable figure through the termination of the appointment as Commander-in-Chief of the Channel fleet of Admiral Sir Arthur Wilson, V. C. G. C. B., one of the ablest and most trusted commanders the navy has had in recent years. Sir Arthur Wilson has a fine record of service as a most efficient officer at sea, in the battlefield on shore, as an administrator at the Admiralty, where he was Controller of the Navy, and finally as the Commander-in-Chief for six years of the most important of His Majesty's fleets. In spite of the sound and wise demand for young flag officers, there are still occasions when the whole navy regrets the inevitable Operation of the age rule, and it is a notable one indeed when Sir Arthur Wilson brings to a close his last command afloat.—United Service Institution.
NAVAL QUESTIONS INTHE HOUSE OFCOMMONS. —The following are official answers to questions asked in Parliament:
The date of the completion of the Minotaur and the Shannon is March 31,1908. That of the Defence is December, 1908.
The decision to make the tonnage of the three battleships now building 65o tons greater than that of the Dreadnought had no relation to any experience gained in the trials of that vessel. It was intended to permit the embodiment of certain improvements.
On March 25, the approximate number of men in the naval service was 127.277. Of these 58.918 were in fully-manned ships, 18,979 in vessels with nucleus crews, 23.403 in barracks. 7526 in other shore establishments, and 18,451 in gunnery and torpedo school ships, training ships, and so on.
The expenditure on prizes for good shooting in the navy to petty officers, seamen, boys, and marines during the three financial years immediately preceding 1906-07 (for which the figures are not yet available), was as follows: 1903-04, £5879; 1904-05, £6144; 1905-06, £5765.
THE BOADICEA. —The preparation of a building slip to receive the keel of the new fast unarmored cruiser Boadicea, has been commenced at Pembroke dock yard. The principal dimensions of the vessel will be: Length, 385 feet; extreme breadth. 41 feet; draft of water, 13 feet 6 inches; displacement, 3300 tons. She has been specially designed for accompanying destroyers, and acting as a parent ship, in addition to carrying out the Peace duties of a light cruiser, and will have a considerably wider radius of action than the existing scouts, which now discharge those duties. The Ship, which is provided for in the Admiralty's program for the current year, is to be completed within 21 months from the 1st inst.—United Service Gazette.
Le Yacht gives the following details of the Minotaur class: The conning-towers are small, of circular form, and entered by a trap door, in- stead of oval, relatively large, and entered by a masked door. The principal water-tight bulkheads are without any openings through them, seven elevators giving access to the main compartments. They are to be fitted with torpedo defence nets. All wood work has been replaced by an Italian composition called "corticine."
Two MORE DREADNOUGHTS. —Orders have been received at the Ports- mouth and Devonport dockyards to lay the keel of a battleship of the Dreadnought type in each yard as soon as the battleships Temeraire and Bellerophon, now in course of building, have been launched. They will be launched in August next.
The understanding was that in case the proposal for disarmament should take definite shape in the Hague Peace Conference only one new Dreadnought would be laid down. The order for two Dreadnoughts is Great Britain's acknowledgment of Germany's refusal to entertain the question of disarmament—New York Sun.
The Bellerophon, Temeraire, and Superb are to have 4-inch guns for defence against torpedo-boats.
TORPEDO-BOAT DESTROYER AFRIDL—The torpedo-boat destroyer Afridi, and her sister ship Ghurka, will constitute the fastest class of vessel in the British Navy. The Afridi, which is an ocean-going torpedo-boat destroyer, was launched on May 8, from the Elswick ship yard of Sir W.G. Armstrong. Whitworth & Co.. Limited. Her length between perpendiculars is 250 feet, and her breadth, moulded, 25 feet. Her depth, moulded, is 15 feet 6 inches, and her mean draft, 7 feet 1 inch. The ship will carry three 12-pounder quick-firing guns, two of which will be mounted on the fore castle deck, and one on the upper deck aft. She will also be fitted with two 18-inch torpedo tubes, which will be mounted on the upper deck.
The machinery will be supplied by the Parsons Marine Steam Turbine Company, Limited, of Wallsend-on-Tyne. It will consist of a set of compound turbines, which will drive three propeller shafts, each fitted with one propeller. The boilers will be of the Yarrow type, and will develop approximately 14.5oo horsepower. It is interesting to note that the Admiralty have decided to use oil instead of coal in these ships. Both the Afridi and the Ghurka have been designed for a speed of 33 knots. -Engineer
THE INVINCIBLE CLASS. —The Indomitable is to be floated from the Fair- field Works at Glasgow on March 16; the Inflexible from the Clydebank yard of Messrs. John Brown & Co., Limited, on March 30; and the Invincible from the Elswick Works of Sir W.G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co.. Limited on April 13. These vessels are the most remarkable cruisers yet built, alike for their gun-power and speed, and may be accepted as suggestive of the Admiralty's conception of the cruiser of the future. Their design has aroused considerable interest and criticism, not alone because of their great cost, which averages £1,729,000 each—equal to the price of a modern battleship—but because of a sharp difference of opinion as to naval tactics applicable to cruisers.
Hitherto the longest of the British modern cruisers have been the Powerful and Terrible, and the four armored ships of the Drake class, all of which had a length of 500 feet and a beam of 71 feet. Following the Drake class, completed six years ago, there was a tendency to decrease the length of the vessels, but later there has been steady advance. Thus the County class are 440 feet, the Devonshire class 450 feet, the Duke of Edinburgh: 480 feet, and the Minotours 490 feet. The beam has, in the same period, been increased from 66 feet to 74 ½ feet. The three Invincible cruisers are 530 feet long and 78 feet 6 inches beam, the draft continuing, as in most of the recent armored cruisers, at 26 feet. This increase in length of 30 feet, as compared with the longest preceding cruiser, and of 40 feet as compared with the immediate predecessor, is necessary partly to enable high speed to be realized with the minimum of power, as the form for a given displacement may be finer, but it is a con- sequence also of the need for satisfactory disposition of the guns. It was laid down as an essential condition, first, that all the guns of the primary battery should be of 12-inch caliber—a condition never before exacted in any ship except the Dreadnought—and, second, that all the guns should have an arc of training to enable them to fire on either broadside and through very large arcs forward and aft. Eight guns are mounted in pairs in barbettes, one forward and one aft, and one on each broadside, but not, as in previous ships, on the same transverse line, the port barbette being some distance forward of the starboard barbette. This constitutes, as we have already indicated, a broadside armament equal to that of any ship afloat, equal even to the Dreadnought, and it will be interesting to show in tabular form the progress in the gun-power of successive armored cruisers.
Broadside Fire of Successive Armored Cruisers.
Class and Year of Launch. | Designed Speed. | Displacement | Number and Caliber of Guns firing on each Broadside. | Collective muzzle energy from one Round, |
| Knots | Tons. |
| Foot-tons. |
County (1900) | 23 | 9,800 | Nine 6-in. | 30,200 |
Drake (1901) | 23 | 14,100 | Two 9.2-in. Eight 6-in. | 68,600 |
Devonshire (1904) | 22.25 | 10,850 | Three 7.5-in. Three 6-in. | 40,400 |
Duke of Edinburgh (1904) | 22.75 | 13,550 | Four 9.2-in. Five 6-in. | 99,500 |
Minotaur (1906) | 23 | 14,600 | Four 9.2-in. Five 7.5 in. | 137,000 |
Invincible (1907) | 25 | 17,250 | Eight 12-in. | 381,576 |
It will be seen that in seven years the displacement tonnage has been doubled, and that the collective muzzle energy from one round has in- creased more than twelvefold. What is of more importance, however, is that the County class are only capable of fighting at three miles' range, and even then against inferior ships. It is true that the Drake class of six years ago can effectively bring to bear two guns at four miles' range; the Duke of Edinburgh class and the Minotaur class, four guns of the same range; whereas the Invincibles will be able to utilize all of their eight guns at five miles' range, and then to do effective work against any foreign battleship. In this way they will be able to combat an equal number Of battleships of the enemy's force while doing reconnaissance work, having at the same time a speed which will enable them, after gleaning all information as to the force of the enemy, to return to the Admiral with full knowledge of the strength of his opposing force. Although their armor protection may not be as effective as the latest of our battleships, they will still be able to take their place in the line of battle; and on the principle that the most effective defence is an active and preponderating offence, they will do effective duty.
The value of the superior gun-power is further considerably augmented, not only by the unification of the caliber of the gun, but because of the exceptionally high freeboard of the ships. In the preceding cruisers— notably the Duke of Edinburgh class and the Minotaur—the forward guns were placed on the forecastle, which was cut away on each side to enable the Wing guns on the upper deck level to fire ahead. These wing guns, like all the other primary weapons in the ship, are in these earlier cruisers on the upper deck level. In the new ships the broadside guns are on the same level as the forecastle, and therefore at a great hight above the water-line. The aft pair of guns alone are on the upper deck level; but the deck erection to the rear of these stern guns is cut away at an acute angle on each side to enable the aft weapons to train as far as possible forward of the beam. The disposition of the guns and machinery has involved difficult problems in order to secure a wide arc of training.—
Engineering.
LAUNCH OF H. M. S. INDOMITABLE—On Saturday, March 16, his Majesty's ship Indomitable was successfully launched into the Clyde by the Fairfield Shipbuilding and Engineering Company. Limited, Govan. The customary bottle of wine was smashed against the ram—a feature which is much less pronounced than in older types of warships—and a moment later the vessel began to move down the ways. From the first movement until the hull became completely waterborne the time occupied was i min- ute20seconds. With due reservation, what follows regarding the Fairfield cruiser and her two sister ships—the Inflexible, on the stocks at Clydebank, to be launched on March 30, and the Invincible, being built at Elswick, to be launched on April 13—may be taken as in the main correct.
The dimensions, power, and speed, etc., of the three ships, which are
Identical in design, are: Length, 530 feet; breadth, 78 feet 6 inches; draft, 26 feet; weight of hull, 9660 tons; displacement, 17,250 tons; indicated horsepower, 41,000; speed, 25 knots; coal capacity at load draft, 1000 tons. The vessels have a complete broadside armor from bow to stern, the maximum thickness being 7inches,tapering to 4 inches at each end. The armor extends from under the water-line to near the upper deck. In respect of protection, therefore, the Indomitable and her consorts are, perhaps, superior to previous vessels, just as they are certainly superior to their predecessors in gun power. Indeed, this new class of cruiser might, almost under any condition, tackle heavy battleships. Their length is 30 feet greater than that of any preceding British cruiser, and the displacement tonnage is 2650 tons more than that of any hitherto built. The Fairfield-built cruiser Cochrane, for instance, which has recently been put through all her trials with conspicuous success, is 480 feet long as against the Indomitable 530 feet, has 13,550 tons displacement as compared with the 17,250 tons, and 23,500 indicated horsepower as compared with 41,000 indicated horsepower. The designed speed of the Cochrane was 23 knots as compared with the 25 knots of the Indomitable. The machinery of the three vessels is of the Parsons steam turbine type, steam being supplied from water-tube boilers, some of the vessels having the Yarrow boiler, and others the Babcock and Wilcox. As in the case of the battleship Dreadnought, the new cruisers have four lines of shafting, each carrying a three-bladed propeller of bronze. In the disposition of propellers, and in the design of the after run of the vessel, it was seen, from distant observation of the vessel before her send-off, that considerable departure from conventional practice has been made. The general impression conveyed was of effort and ingenuity having been exercised in diminishing needless excrescence and surface in the form of "deadwood," and leaving everything conducive to solid and undisturbed water in the region of the propellers; the rudder apparently being hung or supported on a very light structural arrangement. On each of the two inner shafts there will be a cruising turbine, a low-pressure ahead and a low-pressure astern turbine, while on each of the outer shafts there will be a high-pressure astern turbine, as well, of course, as the forward turbine. For low powers the steam thus passes through three turbines before entering the condenser, and the range of expansion is suggested by the fact that the blades of the turbines vary in length from something less than 1 inch up to 16 inches. There is a longitudinal bulkhead dividing the port and starboard engine-rooms, in each of which there are thus five turbines and a condenser.
Even more than speed, the dominant feature of the Indomitable and her consorts is armament. The advance in this respect over previous vessels of the kind is enormous. Compared, for example, with the first-class cruiser Cochrane, recently handed over by Fairfield, the Indomitable has over double the hitting energy. The Cochrane has six 9.2-inch and four 7.5-inch guns, equal to a force of 161470 foot-tons for one full broadside round. In the Indomitable there are eight 12-inch guns, equal to the enormous destructive power of 381,576 foot-tons for one broadside round. This forms a striking example of the advance made within a period of two years in the aggressive or defensive powers of a type of vessel in which at first high speed was the distinctive quality aimed at. In the new vessels there is a corresponding gain in bow and stern fire, as they can operate six 12-inch guns ahead and six astern.
The progress made with these ships has been very satisfactory. The keel of the Fairfield vessel was laid on March 1 last year, and by the end of this month she will have had spent upon her the sum of £1,470,375. The keel of the Barrow ship, the Inflexible, was laid on February 5 last year, and has had voted for progress with her construction up till the end of thismonththesumoffr421479. The keel of the Invincible at Elswick was laid on April 2, and on her there will have been spent up to the end of this month £1,417,732. There is every prospect of all the vessels being completed for service 14 or 15 months hence, well within the contract time of two years and three months. —Engineer.
LAUNCH OF H. M. S. INVINCIBLE.—The new cruiser Invincible was launched from the Elswick yard on April 13.
She has a length of 530 feet, a beam of 78 feet 6 inches, and when displacing 17,250 tons draws 26 feet of water. At this draft she has a capacity for carrying moo tons of coal, and a large quantity of oil-fuel. While protected as effectively as the majority of battleships, excepting perhaps only the King Edward VII and Dreadnought classes, she is excelled in her gun-power only by the Dreadnought. The main armament includes four pairs of 12-inch guns, mounted in four barbettes—one forward, one aft, and two amidships, the latter en echelon between the second and third funnels, which are, therefore, at a greater distance apart than the two forward funnels. The magazines for these guns are located between the second and third boiler rooms. This arrangement of guns will enable the amid ship guns to fire on either broadside, although their arc of training forward and abaft of the beam on the off broadside may be more limited than in the case of the Dreadnought. In the broadside action, however, the ship will have the same fire as the Dreadnought, while forward as well as aft she will use six 12-inch guns. The secondary armament for repel- ling torpedo attack consists of a large number of 4-inch quick-firing guns. The turbine machinery, which is being constructed by Messrs. Humphrys. Tennant& Co., of London, is to develop 41,000 indicated horsepower, and the legend speed is 25 knots. There are four screws and two rudders. All of the screws have four blades, and the outer propellers are about 30 feet ahead of the inner propellers, the latter being close up against the rudders, which are entirely suspended from the counter of the ship within which the steering gear is fitted.
The vessel is in an advanced state, the launching weight being 8400 tons. The drags consisted of nine piles of chains, resting on the ground on each side of the ship, the total weight being 450 tons. The cradle, which in the case of fine-ended ships is always a subject of interest, was made up somewhat differently from the practice in most naval construction works. The rows of poppets at the forward end were not continuous. There were three spaces left. The tops of the poppets were housed in the steel structure, from which there were plates extending under the ship, from the port to the starboard poppets; but instead of this metal structure, with its lashings, being secured to the hull, as in some instances, it was independent, and the ship was snugly cradled inside the plating with timber wedges. In this way some play was possible within the cradle, a matter of some importance when the stern of the ship is floated in the process of launching. It has been found in recent launching practice that, in cases where the framing, has been bossed out for twin-screw propeller- shafts, the stern becomes water-borne at an earlier period than was formerly the case, and, as a result, the consequent thrust on the forward cradle is earlier and the tendency to movement of the ship of greater duration. There is, however, the further fact that the speed down the ways does not attain the same high velocity. In the case of the Invincible the time occupied from the first perceptible movement until the vessel was completely afloat was just under so seconds.
The release of a vessel of such weight is also of interest, and the method adopted at the Elswick Works was notably successful. The last dagger dropped was hydraulically operated. This dagger was of steel, pivoted to the bottom of the standing-way, and projecting through it into a bearing constructed of forged steel in the bottom of the sliding-way. To the upper part there was secured a counterbalance weight, while the bottom abutted against a ram working in a cylinder in which the hydraulic pressure was 100 pounds. Lady Allendale, who released and named the ship, working a small capstan, opened the valve, and the receding of the arm within the cylinder caused the dagger to incline to the horizontal position, and thus gradually released the sliding-ways and the ship. The ship was held rigidly until the moment of release, and at the same time there was certainty of release. —Engineering.
In the matter of injuries to ships, fate seems to be working as hard as the government in the direction of reduction. The following is a not necessarily complete list of ships that have been ashore or badly damaged in collision during the last year or FO: Donegal, Good Hope, Dominion, Commonwealth, Montagu, Mars, Duncan, Albemarle, Prince George.
Of these the Good Hope ripped up a good deal of her bottom; but as she was doing nearly 24 knots recently, her injuries must have been of a very temporary nature. The Donegal got off less lightly, and will probably always be something of a lame duck. The Dominion certainly will be, and the Commonwealth is likely to be non-effective for many months. The Montagu, of course, has gone for good. The Mars scraped her bottom at the Needles entrance to the Solent; no information is forthcoming as to her present condition. The Duncan grounded at the time of the Montagu salving, and probably did herself no good. The Albemarle has been re- ported very seriously injured by the recent collision; but from all accounts, her name was used in error for the ship that she hit. Her real injuries are believed to be small. The Prince George is, or ought to be, used to accidents by now, and seems to have been unhurt by her recent hitting of a sand bank. —Engineer.
THE DREADSOUGHT. —To minimize the possibility of collision and wreck of warships it is self-evident that handiness is of the utmost importance. Quick obedience to helm, smallness of turning circle, and, above all, celerity in actually moving astern from full speed ahead as well as in steering when moving astern, are indispensable. We publish some of the results of trials in the Dreadnought, which may give food for thought, more especially as there is an impression extant that this warship lacks some of these desirable qualities. Especially that at speeds of about 18 knots it is said that the astern turbines are inclined to "refuse duty," and act only when the way is off the vessel.
It will be observed that even with the engines going astern, from 12 knots ahead, the vessel does not lose her way until she has forged ahead 725 yards; at 20 knots speed ahead she would come to rest after traversing 1027 yards. So that two Dreadnoughts meeting end on at 20 knots, each reversing its engines when a nautical mile apart would eventually meet and touch before losing their way.
It will be noted that the approximate diameter of the turning circles are 865 and 825 yards at 19 and 12 knots speed respectively, with both sets of engines going ahead. But with the starboard engines going astern, and the port engines ahead, only 22 points of the circle were completed, the ship then being "in irons," due probably to the wind.
The stopping and starting trials are of interest, and to those desiring celerity of response to the telegraph at all times they give matter for conjecture and comparison with the reciprocating engine driving larger propellers.
STOPPING AND STARTING TRIALS.
Heads of information. Starboard. Secs. Port. Secs.
Stopped from full speed ahead 14 20
Being stopped, started ahead 3.5 3
From full speed ahead to full speed astern, 10 11
Engines stopped
Do. do., engines started astern 26 31
Do. do., engines going full speed astern 33 75*?
Stopped from full speed astern 9 10
Being stopped, started astern 7.5 4
From full speed astern to full speed ahead, 13.5 14
Engines stopped.
Do. do., engines started ahead 23.5 26
Do. do., engines going full speed ahead 33 110*v
Remarks.-- *The port engines might have been worked up to full speed more quickly; the regulating valve was opened very gradually.
?Revolutions per minute, starboard 200, port 224.
vRevolutions per minute, starboard 200, port 222.
Trial to test time taken to stop ship when steaming ahead at 12 knots (mean revolutions starboard 186, port 184), by putting engines full speed astern.
The following table shows rate of revolutions per minute astern at intervals of 15 seconds after receiving the order "Full speed astern."
{CHART}
OIL FUEL STORAGE. —The Admiralty have decided to provide storage accommodation at the various government dockyards for 20.000 tons of oil fuel, for supply to war vessels at each port. Steel tanks, each to hold s000 tons, are to be constructed, and surrounded by earth works, while gangways will be made from berts to the tanks, and oil mains will be laid under the gangways to allow oil steamers to discharge into the tanks, and for war ships to draw their supply. The oil fuel berts are to be accessible for the largest battleships and cruisers at any stage of tide. —United Service Gazette.
At the public sale of obsolete warships and other vessels, held at Chat- ham dockyard last week, the prices realized were as follows: First-class battleship Sans Parch!, f.26,000; third-class battleship Conqueror, ii6.800; first-class armored cruiser Undaunted, £14,400; torpedo gunboat Alarm, £3650;steamyachtWave,£925;torpedo-boatdestroyerSkate,1305. It was stipulated that the warships should be broken up in the United Kingdom within two years.—United Service Gazette.
A system of automatic danger signals, devised by Mr. W. D. Kilroy, and intended to give warning to the man in charge of a gun whenever his gun is so trained that by firing it he might injure another gun, has been installed in the Dreadnought and is being installed in the new Dreadnoughts and the Invincible class. A danger signal is displayed and at the same time a trumpet sounds on that side of the man's head on which damage will be done if he fires.
ITALY
VESSELS BUILDING.
Name. Displacement. Where Building. Remarks.
Battleships.
Roma 12,625 Gov’t Yard, Spezia. Launched Apr. 21, 1907
Napoli 12,625 “ “ Naples. “ Sept. 10, 1906
Vittorio Emanuele 12,625 “ “ Castellamare. “ October 1, 1904
Regina Elena 12,625 “ “ Spezia. Under trial.
Armored Cruisers
San Giorgio 9,800 Gov’t Yard, Castellamare. Building
San Marco 9,800 “ “ “ “
Pisa 9,800 Orlando. “
Amalfi 9,800 Odero. “
The Roma, launched at Spezia on April 21, 1907, is of 132.6 m. length, 22.4 in. beam, 8.3 m. draft, and 12,630 tons displacement. She carries two 12-inch, twelve 8-inch, twelve 3-inch, and twelve 47-mm. guns, with four under-water torpedo tubes. Her main belt is 10 inches thick, tapering to 4 inches at the ends; above this is 8-inch armor extending from the rear end of the central redoubt to the bow; the armored deck is 4 inches thick; the 12-inch turret armor is to inches, and that of the 8-inch turrets 6 inches thick. Her speed is to be 22 knots, and she is to carry 670 men.
The new Italian submersible boat Glauco, constructed at the Royal Italian Dockyard, Venice, is fitted with Fiat-Muggiano explosion motors. She is the first of a series of five submersible torpedo boats which the Italian Navy will have completed in the course of a few months. Their displacement when fully emerged is 175 tons, and 220 tons when completely sub- merged. They are designed for a speed afloat of 15 knots, using the explosion motors only, and for a cruising speed of 10 knots. The fuel earned is sufficient for a run of 175 miles at the higher speed, and for 600 miles at the to-knot speed. The time required for diving when fully emerged is five minutes. Each boat carries two torpedo-tubes for 18-inch torpedoes. Their length and breadth at water-line afloat are respectively 137 feet 9 inches and 14 feet It inches. The reserve of buoyancy when fully emerged is said to be 120 tons. —Page's Weekly.
The long-delayed Vittor Emanuele class is approaching completion, and the first ship, the Regina Elena, has done her trials with remarkable success, the designed 22 knots being greatly exceeded.—Engineer.
The Regina Elena made 20 knots on her preliminary trial. She will soon begin her acceptance trials.
The San Giorgio is to be launched in August, her sister ship, the San Marco, is barely begun.—Le Yacht.
JAPAN.
VESSELS BUILDING.
Name. Displacement. Where Building. Remarks.
Satsuma 19,000 Yokosuka. Launched Nov. 15, 1906
Aki 19,000 Kure. “ Apr. 15, 1907
Armored Cruisers
Ikoma 13,750 Kure. Launched April 9, 1906
Ibuki 13,750 Yokosuka. Building.
Kurama 13,750 “ “
Protected Cruiser.
Tone 4,100 Sassebo. Building
Scouts.
Yodo 1,350 Kobe. Building.
Magami 1,350 “ “
The Aki, sister ship to the Satsuma, was launched on April 15, 1907. She is to have turbine machinery (Curtis type), and her main battery is said to consist of four 12-inch and twelve 10-inch guns. Le Yacht gives her battery as four 12-inch, either twelve or ten to-inch and twelve 47- inch guns.
THE BIGGEST BATTLESHIP. —In the Aki Japan gains the distinction of having the biggest battleship. She has a displacement of 19,800 tons, a length of 492 feet and a beam of 83 ½. Her engines, which are turbines, will be of 25,000 horsepower, and it is estimated that she will have a speed of 21 ½ knots. She has three funnels, against the Satsuma's two. Her armor belt is 9 ½ inches. She will carry four 12-inch guns, twelve 12-inch and eight 6-inch.
The Aki was designed and constructed exclusively by Japanese, the principal constructors being Rear-Admiral Kitakoga, Capt. Obata and Capt. Mizutani. Her keel was laid on March 15, 1906. —New York Sun.
The Japanese cruiser Kidroma will be launched at Yokosuka in September next. The Tone will be launched about the same time at Sassebo.
The Yoefo's launch is fixed for October at Kawasaki, and the Mogami's in August.
Of the ex-Russians, some will be ready for service at the end of the year, the dates being as follows: Sagami (Peresviet) in November; Iwami (Orel) in June; Tango (Poltava) in November; Minoshima (Seniavin) about May or June; Tsugaru (Pallada) in November next.
The Iki (Nikolai) Okinoshimia (Apraksios), and Soya (Variag) have al- ready been repaired. The Suwo (Pobieda) and Mum (Raritan) appear to hang fire, and are probably beyond repair when the cost is considered.
Of the Aso (Bayan) contradictory tales exist. According to some stories, she will soon be ready for sea; while others assert that she was more damaged than any. It is known that at least six 11-inch shells hither. She was also badly damaged by a mine, and finally the Russians exploded heavy charges at six different places under water in her. The amount of original Bayan left must therefore be extremely small. —Engineer.
Japan is initiating a scrapheap policy for old ships, and the following are all to go between now and December, 1908: Battleships: Chin Yen, Fuso. Cruisers: Metsushima, Hoshidate, Itsukushima, Akitsushima Naniwa, Takachiho, Chiyoda, Idzumi. Gunboats: Takao, Yaeyama, Tatsuta. —Engineer.
The Tsukuba, whose keel was laid in January, 1905, was launched in December of the same year; and her equipment having been completed on February 14, she was delivered by the Kure navy yard authorities to her present commander, Capt. Takenouchi, on February 14 last in order that she might take her place as a unit of the Second Squadron. This armored cruiser is 4.4o feet in length, 75 feet in beam, of 13.750 tons displacement, and about 20,000 horsepower. Her armor belt of Krupp steel ranges from 4 to 7 inches and her intended speed was 20 knots, but she made about 21 knots in her speed trial. As her construction was commenced after about a year's experience of modern naval warfare, it is known that she embodies a number of valuable lessons derived therefrom. In appearance the big cruiser marks a striking departure. Not only has the ram, with which we have so long been familiar, been omitted, as is the case with the Satsuma, but she has a " schooner bow." Thus the cruiser has been especially strengthened forward and the overhang of the bow to the cut-water is expected to keep the fore part of the ship comparatively dry in a heavy sea. The 14 ventilators of the ship being very low are invisible from out- side and little exposed to the enemy's fire. They are also different in construction and shape from those of most other warships. Among other departures, ammunition passages have been dispensed with and a new arrangement has been made instead. Special ammunition hoists being pro- vided for the 12-inch guns. The forward conning-tower has.no side en- trance at the back of its wall, but is entered from the upper bridge through a trap door on the roof of the tower. There are smaller conning-towers also over the a-inch guns on the upper and main decks to control the gun fire. Her great width, which is 75 feet, was probably a record in cruiser construction at the time she was designed. The Tsukuba is the first cruiser eyer equipped with 12-inch guns, of which she has four—two in the forward and two in the after barbettes on the upper deck. Besides, the ship carries twelve 6-inch quick-firing guns, an equal number of 4.7-inch quick- firers, two 12-pounders, and four Maxims. She can bring four 12-inch guns, six 6-inch guns, and six 4.7-inch guns to bear in broad side fire. As to the fore fire, the cruiser can most effectively train two 12-inch guns, four 6-inch guns, and four 4.7-inch guns.
Although no official statement of her steam and gun trials has been given to the public, this much is absolutely certain, that not only was everything satisfactory, but in some important respects the results of the trials exceeded expectations. Her maneuvering power is said to have Proved exceptionally good, the ease with which she was steered and handled to have been very remarkable, and even the rough weather which she experienced at the time failed to make her roll to any perceptible degree. In all her gun trials the results were, according to accounts, all that could have been desired.
Vice-Admiral Ijuin, commander-in-chief of the Celebration Squadron, sprang from the warlike clan of Satsuma, which produced Saigo, Okubo, logo, and many other heroes. He was born in 1852 and took part in the War of the Restoration when he was quite young. In 1871 the vice-admiral attended the Naval College, Tokio, and six years later he was sent to England to prosecute his naval studies. While there he served on board the British warship Triumph and was also admitted to the Greenwich College. In the time of the Japan-China war, the vice-admiral was a captain and held the post of naval staff officer at the imperial headquarters. In March, 1902, he was appointed commander of the Standing Squadron and was sent to England in command of the Asama and the Takasago to participate in the ceremonies in connection with the coronation of King Edward. In September, 1903 he was promoted to the rank he now holds and appointed vice-chief of the Naval Staff Office under Admiral Viscount Ito. During the Russo-Japanese war, he was put on the naval staff of the imperial headquarters and took part in its councils, doing distinguished services to the State. In November last the vice-admiral was transferred to his present post of commander-in-chief of the Second Squadron. He is the inventor of a special fuse, which made possible the use of the Shimose explosive. During the late war, Capt. Takenouchi, commander of the Tsukuba, commanded the Nisshin, and Capt. Yamaya commander of the Chitose, commanded first the Akitsushima and then the Kasagi, both rendering meritorious services which were duly recognized. The crews of the two cruisers are most of them men who took part in the war.
According to the itinerary already published, the squadron is expected to arrive at Jamestown on May 8 and to stay there for about twenty days, after which it will visit New York. London. Wilhelmshafen, and Cherbourg. The warships will return to Yokohama in November. —Scientific American.
RUSSIA.
VESSELS BUILDING.
Name. Displacement. Where Building. Remarks.
Battleships.
Emperor Paul I 16,900 St. Petersburg Building.
(Baltic Yard.)
Andrei Pervozvannui 16,900 St. Petersburg Launched Oct. 20, 1905
(Galerney Island).
Evatafi 12,500 Nicolaiev. “ Oct. 1906
Ivan Ziatoust 12,500 Sevastopol. “ May 13, 1906
Armored Cruisers.
Admiral Makaroff 7,800 La Seyne. Launched May 8, 1906
Bayan 7,800 St. Petersburg Building
Pallada 7,800 “ Launched Nov. 10, 1906
Rurik 15,000 Vickers. “ Nov. 17, 1906
Protected Cruiser.
Outchakoff 6,750 Sevastopol. Building.
THE RUKIK. —The Russian first-class armored cruiser, Rurik, which was launched on November 17, 1906, by Messrs. Vickers, Sons & Maxim, of special interest, since she may fairly be assumed to embody the results of experience hardly won in actual fighting during the Russo-Japanese war. The old Rurik was thought a remarkable vessel when she was launched 16 years ago, but as a fighting machine she is far outclassed by her successor. She was 426 feet long, 67 feet in beam, 29 ¼ feet in draft, and of 10,940 tons displacement, while her engines developed 13,500 I. H. P., and gave her a speed of 18.7 knots. The new Rurik is 490 feet long, has a beam (moulded) of 75 feet, is 26 feet in mean draft, and displaces 13,000 tons. Her two sets of four-cylinder, triple-expansion balanced engines are to develop together 19.7oo 1.H.P., transmitted to two three-bladed propellers by hollow propeller shafts 19 inches in diameter, and designed to give her a speed of 21 knots on trial with 1200 tons of coal on board, which is the amount she is calculated to carry at normal draft. Her 28 Belleville boilers supply steam at a pressure of 250 pounds to the square inch, and it is stipulated that the trial speed of 21 knots must be attained with one-quarter of the number out of use; they have a total heating surface of over 55,000 square feet and are fitted with arrangements for burning oil fuel, of which the ship carries 200 tons, in addition to her coal. In regard to armament, the old Rurik had four 8-inch breech-loading guns, one 6- inch and six 4.7-inch quick-firing guns, and six torpedo tubes. The new Rurik will have four to-inch breech-loading guns, eight 8-inch and twenty 4.7-inch quick-firing guns, twelve smaller quick-firing guns, and two sub- merged torpedo-tubes. The to-inch guns are contained in two barbettes on the center line, one forward and one aft, while the 8-inch ones are twin-mounted in four barbettes. The armor of the barbettes is Krupp cemented, 7 ¼ inches thick, and the guns, which are 50 calibers in length, are electrically worked. Of the twenty 4.7-inch guns, sixteen are placed on the upper deck in a battery some 200 feet long protected by 3-inch armor, and four stand aft on the main deck in a battery with armor of the same thickness. An armored belt, 6 inches thick amidships and 3 inches and 4 inches thick at the ends, encircles the ship at the water-line, joining the armor of the batteries. In addition to these protective measures, every precaution has been taken to secure, so far as possible, that any damage sustained shall not put the ship out of action._ The conning-tower forward, the observing-tower aft, and the four range-hnding towers are all heavily armored; but, even if they were all rendered useless, the ship could still be worked from an armored station under water.. The water- tight bulkheads have been made unusually strong so.as to withstand high pressures without yielding, and each of the more important water-tight compartments is provided with a powerful electrical pump of its own, to clear it if flooded, the motors being arranged above the water-line. Electricity is very extensively employed throughout the ship, and the dynamos, wiring, etc., are so arranged that in the event of one system being disabled another will be available. The rudder is provided with both electrical and steam steering gears, and has a device by means of which it can be dis- connected from both at will, to preclude the possibility of its becoming fixed, by damage or accident, in such a way as to impede the navigation of the ship. The funnel casings are armored, experience having shown that when they are pierced by shot it becomes very difficult to work and fight the ship owing to the flame and smoke poured out through the holes. Fin- ally, it may be mentioned that in the Rurik torpedo-nets and booms have been dispensed with, and reliance is placed on structural arrangements to guard against the loss of the ship by torpedo attack.
The new second-class armored cruiser Admiral Makaroff, which was launched last spring from the La Seyne Yard, near Toulon, has the following dimensions: Length, 443 feet; beam, 57 feet 6 inches; displacement, 7900 tons, with a draft of 21 feet 4 inches. The engines are to develop 16,500 I. H. P. to give a speed of 21 knots, steam being furnished by Belleville boilers with economisers; the normal coal capacity is 750 to 1020 tons. Protection is afforded by a water-line belt of Krupp hard steel 7 inches thick, tapering to 4 inches at the extremities, with an upper belt 3.5 inches thick, tapering to 2.7 inches at the extremities. The barbettes are protected by 5.8-inch armor and the casemates by 3-inch armor. The protective deck is 2 inches thick, and the conning-tower 5.4 inches, with a 3-inch communication tube. The armament will consist of two 8-inch guns in barbettes fore and aft, eight 6-inch quick-tiring guns in casemates, with twenty is-pounder quick-firing guns, four 6-pounders, and two sub- merged torpedo-tubes.
There have also been completed during the last year by the same firm four destroyers, the lskussmy, Ispoinitelay, Krepky, Legki, while four others of the same type are completing a Havre. The dimensions of these vessels are: Length 185.3 feet; beam, 21 feet; draft, 13.4 feet, with a displacement of 335 tons; the engines are to develop 6000 I.H. P., giving a speed of 26 knots, while the armament will consist of one 13-pounder, five 3.5-pounders, and two i8-inch torpedo-tubes. Four other destroyers are also being built at Havre of the French Frantic type, with a length of 187 feet, a displacement of 330 tons; engines to develop 6000 I.H.P., giving a speed of 26 knots, and the same armament as given above.—Times, Le Yacht, and Marine Rundschau.
Preparations for building a Dreadnought have commenced in Russia at Galernii Island Dockyard. This ship will carry ten 12-inch, but be of over 22,000 tons displacement. It is estimated that she will cost well over two million pounds.—Engineer.
UNITED STATES.
VESSELS BUILDING.
No. Name. Speed. Where Building. % of Completion June 1, 1907.
23 Battleships. Knots.
24 Mississippi 17 Wm. Cramp & Sons 87.5
25 Idaho 17 Wm. Cramp & Sons 79.9
26 South Carolina 18 New York Shipbl’g Co. 72.5
27 Michigan 18.5 Wm. Cramp & Sons 14.6
Armored Cruisers.
6 California 22 Union Iron Works. 99.6
9 South Dakota 22 Union Iron Works. 97.4
12 North Dakota 22 Newport News. 80.7
13 Montana 22 Newport News. 74.9
Scout Cruisers.
Chester Bath Iron Works 78.6
Birmingham Fore River Shipb’g Co. 75.3
Salem Fore River Shipb’g Co 77.0
The Navy Department is showing a pronounced desire to place afloat within the shortest possible time all vessels now on the ways, of which there are a considerable number in an almost completed state. In some cases vessels have reached an advanced state of construction and hive apparently come to a halt. So noticeable is the disposition to end unnecessary delay that the effect will be, it is believed, to make an unusually large addition to the navy with in a year. If the department plans are fulfilled, the addition to the naval establishment within the period from now until next spring will comprise five new battleships, four armored cruisers, three scout cruisers, four submarine torpedo boats and one or more destroyers.
This will leave the Bureau of Construction clear of all contracts except those for the battleships South Carolina and Michigan, two colliers, a number of destroyers and the two 20,000-ton battleships authorized by the last Congress. Though the bids for these latter ships will be advertised for on April 20, it is not thought that they can be completed in less than three years, and there will be apparently a period of less pronounced activity during that interval than has been the case in the last few years, when under the naval program a large number of new ships have been on the ways.
Delivery to the government recently of the Kansas now leaves only the battleships Nebraska, Mississippi, Idaho, New Hampshire, South Carolina, and Michigan to be completed. Of these the Nebraska, according to a statement on progress of construction, is 99.20 per cent completed at Ole Moran Brothers' yard. Her construction work has progressed slowly recently, but the direction by the department to expedite matters, it is believed, will result in her delivery within three months.
The Mississippi and Idaho, both under construction by the Cramp Co., are practically up to the requirements, and have progressed greatly within the last month, so that they should be ready easily by next fall. The New Hampshire is 64.7 per cent completed and is due to be delivered by next Spring.
Work on the South Carolina and the Michigan is well started. Of the armored cruisers, the California and the South Dakota, contracted for by the Union Iron Works, are 99.6 and 97.1 per cent completed respectively. They are expected to be ready within three months. The North Carolina and the Montana, at the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry dock Co.'s yards, are well advanced and are to be ready early next year. The scout cruisers Chester, Birmingham, and Salem are all in about the same state of construction, and will be added to the navy within less than a year. All that is delaying the completion of the new submarine boats authorized some time ago is the official trial of various types to be made at New- port the end of April. The Navy Department has two colliers, the Vestal and Prometheus, underway. Contracts for five destroyers are to be let shortly. Two of these were authorized a year ago and three in the previous year.
At the present rate of building, the number of battleships in the United States Navy a year front now should be twenty-five and of armored cruisers thirteen. The manning of this great additional force will require the limit of the enlisted personnel authorized and will give commands to many officers. —Nautical Gazette.
ORDNANCE AND GUNNERY, TORPEDOES.
QUICK-FIRING Gun PRACTICE IN THE BRITISH FLEET.—Following closely upon the issue of the results of the gun-layers' test with heavy guns for 1906,the Admiralty have now published the result of the test of gun-layers with light quick-firing guns and the result of battle practice from torpedo- boat destroyers. In circulating these results for information, their lordships note in both cases their great satisfaction at the very marked improvement in the results as compared with those obtained in 1905. These tests, like those of guns of larger caliber, are carried out annually, and are similar in nature, the target used being 6 feet by 8 feet and the range varying from 700yards to moo yards according to the caliber Of the gun. In the case of the destroyer battle practice, officers may render assistance to the men, but the gun layer is the only person permitted to fire. With each return an abstract of the firing for 1905 and 1906 is given, the following tabular statement being that which is prefixed to the result of the test of the gun-layers with light quick-firing guns in His Majesty's fleet, 1906:
1905. 1906.
Number of ships that fired 86 89
Number of guns 1,118 1,421
Number of hits 2,228 4,666
Number of misses 8,291 8,845
Percentage of hits to rounds fired 21.63 34.53
Hits per gun per minute
12-pounders 2.12 3.417
6- and 3-pounders (except Vickers) 1.97 3.358
3-pounders (Vickers) ____ 8.144
It will be seen from the above table that the percentage of hits to rounds fired is more than half as much again what it was in 1905, and that the rate, of hitting has also improved considerably.
With the 3-pounder guns of Vickers type, mounted in three ships, an average of over eight hits per gun per minute was made, which is Indeed wonderful shooting, even when it is remembered that these guns are fitted with the latest pattern telescopic sights. In the order of merit with 12-pounder guns, the Atlantic fleet stands first, with the Hindustan as best ship; and this ship, it is to be noted, was fifth in order of merit in the gun layers' test with heavy guns. Out of 160 rounds fired with this nature of gun, 98 hits were made, with a rate of 7.64 hits per minute. Four other squadrons were above the average in the 12-pounder firing, these being the Second Cruiser Squadron, with the Berwick as best ship; the Third Cruiser Squadron headed by the Leviathan; and the China Squadron, with the Kent. The Kent and Exmouth, of the Channel fleet, tied for fifth place in order of merit: but the best ship in that fleet was the Glory, with 64 hits out of 103 rounds fired. The East Indies Squadron, represented by the Hermes, the flagship, and the only ship carrying 12-pounders in the squadron, stands last in order of merit with 19 hits out of 66 rounds fired. Fourteen ships out of 55 which fired with this nature of gun come below the Hermes, and a very much larger number have scored under the average. With 6- and 3-pounder guns, omitting the 3-pounder of Vickers type, the Atlantic fleet again stood first in order of merit, the Majestic being the best ship in the fleet with 79 hits out of 150 rounds fired. The Hindustan again shows up well, being the second ship in order of merit, with 98 hits out of 190 rounds fired. Of the squadrons, four, in addition to the Atlantic fleet, are above the average. These are the Third Cruiser Squadron with the Lancaster as best ship, 17 hits out of 28 rounds fired; the Cape of Good Hope Squadron, with the Forte as best ship, 40 hits out of 110 rounds fired; the Mediterranean fleet, in which the Diana and Minerva tied; and the First Cruiser Squadron, with the Hampshire as best ship. The Australian Squadron is at the bottom, and the best ship in this squadron tied with the Hermes and King Alfred, these three vessels standing 43 in order of merit out of 84 ships. With these classes of guns, only 31 ships, or a little more than a third, were above the average, and some ships appear to have done very badly indeed. The Patrol only made one hit out of 70 rounds fired, the Alacrity four out of 64 rounds fired, the Skipjack, four out of 30, the Proserpine eight out of 77, the Kent three out of 18, the Flora four out of 36, and the Drake three out of 25. This is a great pity in the case of the Drake, which has otherwise made excellent firing.
The tabular statement supplied with the result of battle practice from the torpedo-boat destroyers of His Majesty's fleet, 1906, is as follows:
1905. 1906.
Number of ships that fired 57 52
Number of guns 342 312
Number of hits 653 1,004
Number of misses 2,608 1,898
Percentage of hits to rounds fired 20.02 34.60
Hits per gun per minute
12-pounders 1.54 2.43
6- and 3-pounders 1.98 3.73
The guns used in this practice are 12-pounders and 6-pounders, and al- though rather fewer destroyers were engaged and the number of guns fired were less, the number of hits nearly doubled, and the percentage of hits to rounds fired increased by rather more than one-half. The 52 vessels firing are divided between three stations, 12 being in the Mediterranean 6 in China, and the remainder in the Channel. Those in the Mediterranean came first in the order of merit; the best individual score with the 12-pounder in that squadron was seven hits out of nine rounds in 55 seconds. The China Squadron came next; the best individual score with the 12-pounder was nine hits in nine rounds in 55 seconds. In the Channel there was no firing with the 12-pounder as good as that already mentioned. With the 6-pounder, the best scores were made in the Mediterranean where two men made thirteen hits, another twelve, and two others eleven hits, each in 55 seconds. The best score with this gun in China was ten hits, and in the Channel eight hits, and some of the tiring was very bad indeed. Out of the 52 vessels firing, only 20, or a little more than a third, were above the average of 37 points. In 14 vessels, no hits, at all were made with the 12-pounder. Better tiring was made with the 6-pounder. but in several cases not more than one hit per gun was made.—United
The splendid shooting of the battleship Albenzarle, flagship of Rear- Admiral G. Le C. Egerton, Second-in-Command of the Atlantic fleet, in her recent gun layers' test, under the new and difficult conditions, is the subject of much remark. With 17 rounds from her 12-inch guns the vessel scored12 hits, nine being bulls-eyes, while with her 6-inch guns she fired 97 rounds, no fewer than 88 hitting the target, the total including 56 bulls- eyes. The battleship Duncan. of the same fleet, under similar conditions, fired 12 rounds from her 12-inch guns, making four hits, which included three bulls-eyes and 85 rounds from her 6-inch guns, scoring 66 hits, 32 of which were bulls-eves.—United Service Gazette.
NEW GUNNERY TESTS IN BRITISH NAVY—The new conditions are published under which the British fleet's gun layers will be tested in 1907. I.or light, quick-fire guns and destroyers' battle practice the men will fire for 55 seconds with the ship steaming at 12 knots an hour past a target 6 by8 feet.
The distance for 12-pounders will be moo yards at the start and end of the run and 920 on the beam. For 6-pounders,3-pounder Vickers and 3- Pounder automatic guns the conditions will be the same except that the extreme beam distance will be 800 and 700 yards, respectively. Each ship will be allowed to use any colored sails as targets with a view to getting better results.
The test of heavy guns covers a variety of weapons as diverse as the Dreadnought's 12-inch twin turret guns and the old 4.7 quick-fire broad-side guns of 1889. In 1906 several ships made such good scores that it became imperative that the conditions should be made more difficult. The Admiralty officials state that in view of the great increase in the rapidity and accuracy of fire generally the target will he reduced in order to train the gun layers to still greater accuracy of aim at the sacrifice of some rapidity.
Rectangular bulls-eyes are to be painted on canvas of all the old targets. Only bulls-eyes will be counted, but a record of the hits on the canvas outside the bull's-eye will be kept for the purpose of comparison with former years. The bull's-eyes will be 14 feet square for turret guns and 10by8 for broadside armament, reducing the danger are a by one half to three-quarters respectively.
In the case of 12-inch and to-inch turret guns it was found that the use of large cordite charges produced much smoke, the projectile reaching the target before the smoke cleared away and effectually preventing the gun- layer from seeing the fait of the shot, on which so much depended. In order to minimize this difficulty the range is to be increased to 2500 yards at the beginning and end of the run and 2400 yards on the beam.
New gunsighting telescopes of improved pattern have been issued to all Ships, thus doing away with the outcry raised when the range was increased three years ago. The telescopes were then of three power only.
The new ones are of variable power, going as high as 21 magnifiers. It is not expected that the number of bull's-eyes will be large this year, as the fleet is not used to the new arrangement. —New York Sun.
IMPORTANT TORPEDO TRIALS. —Trials took place recently at the torpedo range of Messrs. Whitehead, Weymouth, with a torpedo which was fitted With a new arrangement for heating the air used to propel it. The new heater was designed by Sir W. G. Armstrong, Whitworth & Co., after lengthy experiments. The design was explained to Captain Tanaka, the senior officer of the Japanese Commission in England. He obtained permission from his government to have an apparatus fitted to one of the torpedoes to be left behind for the purpose from the battleship Kashima. The torpedo so fitted was the subject of the trial.
Proposals have for some time past been made to heat the compressed air in a torpedo partly with a view to obtaining more energy out of it, and therefore either higher speed from the torpedo or longer range at the same speed, and partly because the present torpedo is almost useless when the sea water is at a very low temperature, a fact which in a great measure accounted for the large expenditure of torpedoes, without result, during the cold weather off Port Arthur.
The first torpedoes to be fitted with heaters were made in the United States by the Bliss Leavitt Company. Their system was to burn liquid fuel in the actual main reservoir. A torpedo fitted on their system, but considerably modified, was supplied by Messrs. Armstrong to the Admiralty, and went through its trials with success. There was, however, a good deal of apprehension on the part of the torpedo experts on account of the heat being applied to the air in the main reservoir. It was argued that by carelessness or accident a dangerous pressure might be reached, and that if the bursting of so large a chamber did occur, very serious results indeed would ensue. It was on account of these apprehensions that Messrs. Armstrong carried out experiments with the hope of finding some simple means of heating the air in a separate and very much smaller vessel. Their experiments were crowned with more success than they had dared to hope.
It is evident that the amount of weight to be carried by a torpedo must be strictly limited. In order to get as much power out of the engines and as much explosive in the head as possible, the existing torpedo has exceedingly little margin for more weight in the shape of a heating arrangement. To carry a separate vessel in the body of the torpedo, which had to act as a furnace for heating the air as it passed from the main reservoir to the engines, seemed almost out of the question on account of weight alone. Certainly, no torpedo of dimensions anything like the existing pattern could have carried the heating vessel, or combustion chamber as it is now called, which was first experimented with. But as the experiments proceeded it was found possible more and more to reduce the size of the combustion chamber, until at length practical dimensions were reached, and then permission to fit a torpedo was, as already explained, obtained from the Japanese government.
It was shown at Weymouth that a torpedo fitted with a heater could travel for double the distance at a given speed and the same expenditure of air that the torpedo with out heater could. In other words, there was a gain of about 100 percent in power due to the heater. If the torpedo be run for the same distance with a heater as a similar torpedo without a heater, the too per cent gain of power would be realized by increasing the speed, and at a range of 2000 yards this increase is from 26 knots to 33-5 knots. The speed of 33.5 knots is the highest which has ever been realized with a torpedo for a range of 2000 yards.
There is no doubt that, if the torpedo were constructed especially to use hot air instead of cold air as at present, the gain in power would be greater, and it has been decided to proceed at once with the designs of a new torpedo.
The experiments were resumed on the following day in the presence of representatives from the Admiralty and the Japanese government. On this occasion the heater was set to give a higher temperature, and a speed of 35.3 knots was obtained for a distance of 2000 yards. This is a gain of 9.3 knots, or 35 per cent, over the 26 knots which can be obtained with a similar torpedo not fitted with the heater for the same distance run. The designers are confident that they can obtain an even higher result by going to a higher temperature. Experiments will shortly be carried out with a view to testing this. —London Times.
EFFECTS OF THE JAPANESE RIFLE. —Japan possesses, we believe, the rifle of the smallest caliber of all those that are at present in service. The caliber of this rifle is 6.5 mm. Italy, Roumania, Sweden, and Norway have a rifle of the same caliber. \\Then war was declared it was thought that, notwithstanding its exceptional flatness of trajectory, the immediate effect of the bullet on man was not sufficient to disable him at once, and would allow him to continue in action until put out by the results of the wound.
This question was the object of a special study by Surgeon-General Kikouchi upon Russian prisoners, a study of which we give being the free translation:
"The Russian prisoners arriving at Matsouyama for treatment afforded mean excellent opportunity to find out the exact qualities of our new rifle Mei-dji,' now used for the first time. As regards the wounds, they in general appear benignant, which furnishes an evident proof in favor of the humanity of a projectile so dreaded.
"I should state here that before the adoption of this rifle by our army I was specially charged by our government with studying its defects and its good qualities. This was not the easiest matter, for naturally I could not as certain practically the effects of the projectile upon living men. We used in our trials cadavers as well as living animals, and from the results of these experiments I felt I could strongly recommend to the Japanese government this weapon as being an advance over the old one. I affirmed especially that each shot—no matter how slightly it touched any vital part of the body—would immediately disable the man struck, and that, more- over, the percentage of cures would be greater than formerly.
" But soon, in the press of our country, there arose on all sides doubts as to the effects of our small-caliber, jacketted bullet, and when some authorized high-ranking foreign officers appeared in the theater of war and contradicted the statements made by me, I frankly feared for my affirmations. The results of the present war have only confirmed my remarks in a most striking manner, for, besides the enormous penetrative force of our bullet, it is proven that the effect produced upon an enemy when he is struck is sufficient to render him at once incapable of further combat, even when the wounds are of but little gravity.
"On the other hand, the surprising rapidity with which the wounds of ten heal must be considered as a great step in the direction of humanity. This result comes especially from the fact that the very slender bullet penetrates rapidly without producing great ravages or extended fractures with fragments in the part struck. The greater part of the Russians who have fallen into our hands up to now had received their wounds in the combats on the Yalu. Since then 40 days have elapsed, and improvement has been almost everywhere so rapid, even for those who were severely wounded, that they may be considered as almost cured, and that a great number of them have been discharged as cured. Among them, however, were some men very gravely wounded. One of them, for example, had a lung pierced, and had lost, I estimate, from three quarts to a liter of blood. Now, this man has been discharged this very morning as cured. Another had received a dangerous shot in the lower abdomen; a third had had his left arm, his lungs, and then his right arm pierced; still another had been struck by a bullet which pierced the upper part of both thighs; and many Others had received similar wounds. These wounded, surprising to relate, did not die. On the contrary, as has already been said, they are, for the greater part, either well on the way to recovery or completely cured.
“If these wounds had been made with our former Mourata bullet their healing would have been very doubtful and very long. During the Chinese was, 1894-1895, in which we used the Mourata rifle exclusively, wounds of this kind soon become infected and the patient was then lost. Nowadays our diagnoses are almost always favorable, for we do not have to fear grave ulterior complications, except in very small proportions.
“I might even affirm that, in spite of its rapid penetration into the body struck, and in spite of the slight extent of the wounds, the effect is more rapid upon the wounded than with the old Mourata rifle (a, pretty close copy of the Gras rifle). According to my personal observations, and basing myself on my experience in the Chinese war and in the present war, I might even affirm that the Mourata bullet, with slow penetration, did not cut cleanly the veins and nerves which it encountered, but pushed them aside like rubber tubes, leaving the veins intact. This is no longer the case with the Mei-dji bullet, which pierces whatever resists it, and always cuts the veins cleanly, which naturally causes a great loss of blood and soon disables the wounded. Among the wounded Russians there were a great many who had received not one, but up to seven and even more wounds, which made me fear at first that in many cases the wounded man had not been put out of combat until after receiving several wounds. This fact would have corroborated my adversaries. I set to work to investigate carefully these cases, and personally questioned the men who had received several wounds, in order to find out when and how they had been wounded. The result of my investigation was to prove that, with very rare exceptions, the Russians had been laid out at the first shot. With the extraordinary flatness of trajectory of our rifle, these unfortunates, who were in the first line, being neither assisted nor removed by their ambulances, were all the more frequently hit as our troops approached closer to the Russians. They declared that the Japanese projectiles 'shaved' the ground. However frightful these successive wounds may appear, I must, however, say that I was pleased with this explanation, for it confirmed my first explanation. —United Service Institution.
MARINE TURBINES AND GAS ENGINES.
GERMANY ADOPTS TURBINES. —It has been announced by the director of naval construction of the German Navy that in the future it will be the policy of that navy to make extended use of steam turbines for the propulsion of ships. Experiments with the cruisers Lubeck and Homburg, the former of which has turbines and the latter reciprocating engines, have shown beyond doubt the general superiority of the turbines. It is recognized that there are certain disadvantages, among which are an inability to stop as quickly as the reciprocating engine when running at full speed, and also a present additional cost amounting, so it is said, to about 8o per cent. This latter figure will doubtless be much reduced as turbines be- come standardized. —International Marine Engineering.
FRANCE ADOPTS TURBINES.—The application of the steam turbine to war- ships is officially announced in France by the adoption of this motor for the six battleships of the new naval program. The Societe des Forges et Chantier de la Mediterrane and the Chantiere et Ateliers de Saint Nazaire-Penhoet, being the only firms licensed to construct Parsons turbines in France will built the motors for all six ships. Each ship will have eight turbines on four shafts, having a total effective horsepower of 22,500. The four screws will each be of 2.8 m. diameter, 2.6 m. pitch, and make about 300 revolutions. —Le Yacht.
THE GAS ENGINE FOR HEAVY MARINE SERVICE. (By Lewis Nixon). —It is said of a prominent American statesman that when the pros and cons of expansion were being discussed in a tiresome way, he rose in his seat and said: "But we've done expanded!"
We see much in the press about the possibility of adopting the gas engine for marine propulsion. It is adopted!
Engineers found progress with the steam engine the easier owing to the 15-pounds gain by vacuum, and the fact that the earlier engines were n9t built to permit of service pressures great enough to make this gain negligible.
The demand upon the steam engine is greater and greater and the last stage is reached in superheating the steam and in the turbine. Steam at 230-pounds pressure is an agent hard to hold in bounds, and the slightest yielding means death by scalding and burning. The engine force of a liner after a trip across the ocean look like battle-scarred veterans.
The turbine requires a very high vacuum for high efficiency and time only will tell how this will work out in service. But even with the best of conditions in steam service—and these conditions have so long been looked upon.as necessary evils, that the pitiable life in an engine room receives but little attention—we must still hark back to the man-fired boiler,and it would require a Dante to paint here a real picture of the fire-room inferno.
Horse powers of a thousand in one-cylinder gas engines have been used now for years,and the economy is demonstrated to be superior to the best types of steam engines run under the most economical conditions when newly tested. Many such engines run for months without stopping for repair or overhaul. Simplicity, too, is a feature of the gas engine of extreme importance, and this influences its rapid development in a marked degree.
I know of no fact showing the simplicity more clearly than the general grasp of the automobile engine. This modern miracle of the Twentieth Century, which in comfort gives us on our highways the speeds of a rail- way train, is having an influence upon the world's. progress in that it is bringing about an intimate personal touch with a prime mover and developing an understanding of mechanics which is becoming not only general but popular. The gas engine is easy to understand and control, and hundreds now run them where one can run a steam engine of like power. It helps the farmer cut his wood and thresh his grain and on large farms will soon do the ploughing and reaping.
Many a poor fisherman to whom age has brought waning strength and stiffening joints, finds in the gas motor a ready and easily understood means to continue his usefulness and earning capacity. On suburban lines it gives a flexible and always ready means of transportation independent of a central station and far more economical than electricity.in first cost and maintenance. On railway cars it has demonstrated its ability to do as well as the steam-propelled car and it only needs use and further study of the problem to show its superiority.
I am convinced that gasoline and alcohol are the ideal liquid fuels for gas engines for marine purposes on torpedo-boats, destroyers, launches, and scouts, and all other war-vessels of not over 20,000 horsepower where great speed and endurance are required and weight and space must be reduced to the minimum. This is because they are "liquid primary fuels," to use an apt phrase coined by Commander Willets, U.S.N., and can be used without atomizers or producers, so saving much additional apparatus and being always ready for instant application.
The danger, provided we have a proper installation of the gasoline tanks and connections, is far less than with steam of over 200 pounds pressure. e hear of a great many explosions of steam plants of late, especially Where deterioration eats up the small margin possible with extreme demand—but think of the accidents which occur unchronicled!
Without going into the dozens of advantages, for an understanding of Which I should advise reading the admirable paper of Commander Willets, U.S.N., read before the American Society of Naval Engineers, I will cite the following as the influences that force the recognition and ultimate almost universal adoption of the gas engine in place of the steam engine on the water:
1. Simplicity.
2. Less strain on the engine force.
3. Less weight and space for the same power.
4. Greater economy.
There have been so many errors in stating what has been done and will be done in the near future that a short resume is desirable.
In the first place not one, but ten torpedo-boats have been produced, of 35 tons displacement, carrying an 18-inch torpedo tube, a 47-mm. rapid fire gun and three automatic guns, with a speed of over 20 knots and an endurance of 2000 miles. In proof that no sacrifice was made in scantling to produce results impossible with steam, a vessel of this type was run across the Atlantic in winter gales.
The auxiliary fourmasted schooner Northland, of 3000 tons deadweight, has a 500 horsepower engine, and the fishing excursion boat Anion a similar engine.
A destroyer has been designed of 625 tons having 12,000 horsepower, and of 30 knots speed.
Another scout destroyer has been designed, of 1800 tons, with 30,000 horsepower and an endurance of 3000 miles at 30 knots, every detail of which is well within the limits of results already proven out.
The producer problem has received the attention of the ablest engineers of the world, as the present wasteful use of fuel with steam cannot continue and the men who give their time and attention to reduce the fuel bill of the world and conserve its latent energy are rendering a service of supreme importance to mankind.
The hard-coal gas producer is now in very general use and is rapidly forcing the steam plant aside, especially in factory plants.
The soft-coal producer is giving good results but must be further developed.
The next important development will be a simple and easily manipulated crude-oil gas producer.
With its coming as a commercial product we shall see the gas engine in future ramps, and with the advent of the first passenger liner its universal adoption on transatlantic passenger steamers will be assured.
Whether the steamer will be made smaller or not is hard to say, but very probably on account of the greater steadiness and the lesser influence of waves the vessels will continue to grow.
One hundred thousand horsepower can be installed in the space and on the weight of 45.000 horsepower of steam as put on a modern liner. The consumption of crude oil will be about 750 tons per day for such power.
The largest marine engine yet designed on proper proven-out data that I have knowledge of is a six-cylinder double-acting engine, 33-inch diameter by 33-inch stroke, developing 5000 horse at revolutions less than 200- but far larger units are in use on shore, and their application on water is an easier problem than on land—Engineering Magazine.
That Mr. Nixon had begun the construction of a boat to cross the Atlantic in four days was a chance reference he made last week in a speech at Tottenville, S. I. Later he said: " The reference to the vessel which should be able to cross the Atlantic at a rate more rapid than any craft yet built was made before a gathering of men interested in the development of Staten Island, not only as a place for residence, but as a site for manufacturing. The Standard Motor Construction Co., builders of gas engines on the Riotte patents, of which company I am president, has recently acquired a tract of about 12 acres in Tottenville upon which it will erect a plant to take care of the orders which now overtax the capacity of the Jersey City factory. The new factory, with water front and basin, sill be devoted to marine work. In explaining that I did not propose to build vessels there I referred to some of the things that I intended to do in the near future. I have built every type of boat from submarines to a boat for Arctic rivers drawing only six feet of water; vessels driven by sail, by paddles and from one to six propellers; armored vessels and the lightest of racers; the Gregory, the first motor-boat to cross the ocean, and I said that now I intended to build one more boat of an advanced type before I stopped building ships and that is a boat to cross the ocean in four days, and that while the hull could not be built in Tottenville the engines would be.
"Such a vessel one year ago was an impossibility. Today it is perfectly feasible. No vessel propelled by steam engines will ever cross in that time, but the striking development in the gas engine enables us to bring about such radical reductions in weight of machinery and fuel that it is a simple engineering problem. The engine of the future and very near future at that is the internal combustion engine.
"Destroyers of 30 to 33 knots are in existence, but they have practically no endurance—at full speed but two or three hundred miles. My new boat has an endurance of 3000 miles at 33 knots, and over 16,000 knots at cruising speed. The horsepower is about 30,000, the displacement less than 2000 tons. The Atlantic liner propelled by the gas engine will come as a demand of enlightened engineering progress. This is not a prophecy, but a sober conviction based upon results already accomplished."
Mr. Nixon said that the keel of the new warship will be laid in his yard in Perth Amboy, N. J. —Nautical Gazette.
Experiments in England with a 60-foot torpedo launch propelled by internal combustion engines of the Napier design, built by Yarrow & Co., have demonstrated that such a boat can be depended upon for service under very adverse conditions. After considerable experimenting in smooth waters, the boat was taken out into the open sea and given a trial in very rough water. It covered 176 nautical miles 202 statute miles) in 7 hours ii minutes. The mean speed was 24.5 knots, or 28.2 miles per hour. There was a crew of six men. The petrol (gasoline) consumption during the run was 220 gallons. As the tanks have a capacity for 350 gallons of fuel, it follows that the radius of action at full speed is about 280 nautical miles. The engine is stated to have run very well, not having been stopped from start to finish of the trial—Iron Age.
NAVY'S FIRST GASOLENE MOTOR—The preliminary test of the first gasolene motor ever designed or built in the navy was held in the machine shop of the Steam Engineering Department at the Navy Yard, Norfolk, Va., March18. So far as it went, it was entirely satisfactory, though the full test was not completed as to power. The motor is intended for installation in sailing launches, and for low speed traffic. It is of compact and light, yet durable construction, and contains many novel features. It was designed and built under the supervision of Corn. A. B. Willits, L.S.N., head of the Steam Engineering Department of the yard. —Norfolk Landmark.
GAS ENGINES FOR WAR VESSELS OF THE FUTURE—In London last week the members of the Institution of Naval Architects held a meeting, and one of the most important papers, if not the most important paper, read and discussed was one which dealt with "The Influence of Machinery on the Gun Power of the Modern War Ship. This showed that if a large number of guns are to be effectively mounted they must all be placed so as to fire on either broadside. In the Dreadnought out of ten 12-inch guns only eight fire on either broadside. To enable all ten to fire with the utmost effect it was shown that funnels must be abolished and also all deck erections. But if funnels are to be eliminated steam can no longer be used and the boiler must go. The firm of Vickers have faced this fact and after three years of almost continuous research-work have now perfected a system of gas machinery for propelling a ship. An explosive engine, in a word, is to displace the steam engine. The design for such a vessel has been worked out She has no funnels. Her speed will be greater than that of any existing battleship. Her dimensions are moderate, but she carries batteries more powerful than even the Dreadnought, since all of her ten guns can fire one it her beam, and six ahead or astern. This is to be the ship of the future.
Admiral Sir E. Fitzgerald, who opened the discussion, deprecated the adoption of too hasty generalization from the result of one battle, meaning that of the Sea of Japan. He remembered the battle of Lissa, and because one vessel was rammed and sunk there every war ship for thirty years was fitted with a monstrosity on the bows called a ram, which in these years had sunk many friends, but never a foe. With regard to the adoption of oil as fuel, he wondered what would happen if a shell entered the oil reservoir. The oil would all run out, if it did not explode, and the ship would be left without fuel, or, if the oil in one set of tanks escaped, with a heavy list to one side. Admiral Sir G. Noel said that if the marine gas engines foreshadowed could be produced there was no doubt that they would be of great value, because they would give ships higher speed and a much wider radius of action.
Admiral Sir E. Fremantle remarked that there could be no question of advantages which would ensue if a battleship's decks could be cleared of the encumbrance of the funnels, up stakes, and similar appliances necessary with steam engines. One of the things which would result would be that ships would not be liable to sudden reduction of speed from the destruction of their funnels. Internal combustion engines would get rid of that, but it was usually found that with all the improvements introduced there was generally an increased possibility of damage and disaster.
Sir William White pointed out that in attempting to reduce the diameter, and therefore, the weight, of turrets, the exposed portion of the guns was liable to destruction. At the battle of Tsushimath is portion in some cases had been shot entirely away. With regard to oil or gas engines, he believed that their day was coming.
Lieutenant A. T. Dawson believed that the advent of gas engines for marine use was nearer than Sir William White and many more appeared to realize. — Nautical Gazette.
COMPARATIVE ECONOMY OF PRODUCER GAS AND STEAM. —It is known in a general way that a good producer-gas engine plant will yield a horsepower upon about one-half the amount of fuel that is necessary to generate one horsepower with a steam plant. The relative efficiency of gas and steam has recently been made the subject of analysis by a well-known pioneer in the field of producer gas, J. M. Emerson Dowson, who bases his comparison upon a steam and gas power plant, each of a capacity of 250 horsepower. In the case of the steam plant, he finds that of 1120 heat units contained in the fuel, 224 units are lost in radiation, flue gases, ashes, etc., and that 8g6units appear in the steam that is generated. Of this amount, 112 units are lost by condensation in the pipes, etc., leaving 784 units that are supplied to the engine. Of these, 667 units are lost in the exhaust, leaving only 117 units to be converted in to work in the engine. Of these, 17 units must he deducted for engine friction, leaving only loo units, out of 1120originally in the fuel, available for useful work on the engine shaft. In other words, in order to obtain too heat units in useful work on the shaft of a steam engine, there must be 1120heat units in the fuel burnt up in the boiler. A similar investigation a the producer-gas plant shows that there need be only 525 heat units in the fuel consumed in the producer to give too heat units of useful work on the engine shaft. In the producer-gas engine 105 units will be lost in radiation, etc., from the gas plant; t26 units will be lost in cooling the engine; 177 will be lost in the exhaust, and there mill remain only 117 units to be converted into work in the cylinder, of which 17 will be lost in engine friction, finally leaving too units to perform useful work. This comparison shows a saving in fuel of 53 per cent in favor of the producer-gas plant. A comparison by the same authority of two 40-horsepower plants, gas and steam, shows a saving of 70 percent in favor of the gas plant. Excellent as is the economy of the gas plant as shown by these figures, it must be noted that the heat losses are still very large, and future improvement in economy must be looked for mainly in this direction, both in the gas plant and in the engine. — Scientific American.
RADIO TELEGRAPHY.
ATLANTIC WIRELESS. —The Marconi Company is about to make some important developments in its wireless telegraphic system. It has arranged to install a special station at Clifden, on the west coast of Ireland, and by that means to establish a direct connection with the United States. Tests have already been made, and are said to have yielded satisfactory results. The system has in some important respects been improved upon, providing for a much more distant transmission. At Poldhu the etheric impulses are dispatched into space from a number of lattice work aerials. At the new station on the west coast of Ireland metal plates will be used instead of wires stretched over the lattice work. —Electrical World.
RADIOTELEGRAPHY BY CONTINUOUS ELECTRICAL OSCILLATIONS. —Recently Mr. Valdemar Poulsen, of Copenhagen, gave a splendid demonstration of his new system of radiotelegraphy in London, of which Engineering publishes the following report:
Wireless telegraphy, Mr. Poulsen said in introducing his discourse, made use of the waves generated by a sparking oscillator. These waves were strongly damped; they began with great amplitude, somewhat like the explosive sound waves produced by a pistol shot, and died out rapidly. Undamped waves continued for a longer period with uniform amplitude; but it was only in Two that Duddell—in a remarkable discourse, delivered before the Institution of Electrical Engineers—had shown how to produce such continuous electric waves suitable for radiotelegraphy with the aid of his singing arcs. The problem had, indeed, not been far from being solved by Duddell. (Duddell's arrangement is indicated in Fig. 1.) When an alternating circuit containing capacity and self-induction was coupled in parallel with an electric arc fed by direct currents, the arc be- came musical under certain conditions, and an alternating current was produced in the alternating circuit, having the same rate of vibration as the note of the arc. Duddell had in this way obtained frequencies of 30,000 and 40,000, very high for electrical engineers, but far too low still for radiotelegraphy. Three and a half years ago Mr. Poulsen had commenced to study the question of how the frequency could be raised, and be had found that arcs burning in atmospheres of hydrogen or coal-gas and some other gases gave frequencies of about 1,000,000, which would Yield us the wave-length of about 300 meters suitable for wireless telegraphy. He had first made the arc burn in alcohol vapor merely by placing a spirit lamp directly under the horizontal arc. The superiority of hydrogen might be due to its thermal and electrical properties, its high atomic velocity, and its great cooling power. (Mr. Poulsen did not dwell on this Point.) As the velocity of sound in gases is by Newton's law, which later researches have only modified, proportional to the square root of the quotient: elasticity over density, we should expect more rapid vibrations in hydrogen, and that gas would propagate sound about four times as quickly as air. Mr. Poulsen, however, spoke mainly of the cooling effect of hydrogen, and the fact that it is advisable to cool the arc electrodes supports this argument. The a node could, he said, be made of a copper tube (Fig. 2) through which water circulated; the arc would then spring from an exchangeable ring at the end of the tube. The cathode was carbon. When both electrodes consisted of carbon (Fig. 3), the cathode might grow by deposition of Carbon on it, and in order to insure a clean, sharp edge, the cathode was very slowly rotated at a circumferential speed of 0.1 millimeter per second; the anode was cut off obliquely as in Fig. 3, so that the arc always played between the upper edges. The arc was produced in a box made of marble; all the dimensions of the boxes shown were considerably less than I foot. Stout solid carbons were used.
A mixture of hydrogen and coal-gas, Mr. Poulsen continued, answered still better than hydrogen. Carbureted hydrogen or coal gas was constantly fed into the box; the smell noticed on Tuesday rather suggested the formation of acrolein. Nitrogen also gave higher frequencies than air; ammonia was also effective, but objectionable (prussic acid is formed). Oxygen seemed to be the obnoxious element, probably because it gave rise to combustion of the carbon. The arc had to be adjusted to a certain "active" length, which increased with the current intensity and decreased with higher frequency; self-induction and capacity could be varied considerably. The usual active length of the arc was only 3 millimeters. In order to produce a greater potential gradient in the arc and to steady it, the arc was placed in a magnetic field, whose coils, branching from the main circuit, served also as choking coils. Fig. 4 explains the arrangement, and, further, the peculiar cross-connection adopted with the object of doubling the potential gradient. A single arc on a 450-volt circuit had produced 160,000 oscillations per second and an oscillating energy of 1200 watts. The same arc oscillating at 240,000 vibrations would yield oscillation energy at goo watts. The proportion of continuous-current energy which was converted into oscillation energy was diminished when the frequency was raised, as the figures just given would indicate. Higher current intensity would increase the energy of oscillation only up to a certain maximum intensity. If more energy were required, several arcs could be connected in series; this had been done in the laboratory, but in practice one arc had so far sufficed, even in sending messages from Copenhagen to North Shields.
Successful demonstrations of resonance were interposed at this stage. A small circuit, comprising an arc in illuminating gas, was radiating. About a yard from it was a coil. say, Is inches high,6 inches in diameter (larger coils were also used) consisting of very fine copper wire, tuned to 700,000 oscillations per second. When the generator was tuned to the same period, a vacuum tube in the secondary circuit began to glow; but the approach of Mr. Poulsen's hand, or a slight alteration of the variable condenser, sufficed to disturb the glow. From a larger coil beautiful ramified discharges spurted out; when a metal rod was brought near, this ramification changed into a quiet flame. Then a fine copper wire was twisted about the core of the coil, so as to leave a wire tail pointing upward. As soon as the system was excited, the fine wire was seen to whirl round, describing a luminous cone. A Teslatrans former with 3000 turns gave a very beautiful flame discharge.
Passing to a description of the station outfit, Mr. Poulsen showed their favorite transmitting arrangement, which is illustrated in Fig. 5. The antenna and its counter capacity might be made to act as the oscillation circuit comprising the arc in which case the oscillations would be created in the antenna itself. Or the energy might be supplied to the antenna from a primary generating circuit by means of a coupling which might be dose to loose, as in spark telegraphy. If the coupling were neither absolutely loose nor absolutely close, the frequency of the system would not be sufficiently defined, since the arc might develop one or two not very dissimilar periodicities. In the arc-wave system perfect tuning could be realized with both loose and close coupling, while in spark telegraphy a loose coup- ling was essential. In Fig. 5 the coupling was close—that is to say, the inductance is directly joined to the antenna, and also to the generating circuit, at a point near a loop. Signaling could be effected by various methods. To vary the length of the wave, apparently the simplest method, was not advisable, because the transmitting apparatus of each station would have to be characterized by two wave-lengths, and the number of stations which could operate simultaneously over the same territory, without mutual interference, would be reduced by one-half. According to another method, the telegraph key connected and disconnected the antenna and its counter capacity to and from the rest of the system; to protect the generator, a compensating oscillating circuit of weak radiation was introduced every time the key broke the antenna circuit, or the key could throw in resistance in the generator or antenna circuit. This last method was very simple and spared the contacts best. Other ways of inserting damping could also be resorted to, varying the length of the arc, the magnetic field, the gas feed, etc.
{FIG 1 – FIG 6}
For the receiver perfect resonance and, therefore, loose couplings were indispensable. But as the waves were continuous, the detector need only form.an intermittent part of the oscillating circuit. There would be no damping by the permanent inclusion of the detector then. The Pedersen ticker" receiver (Fig. 6) operated as follows: The oscillation circuit was permitted to get well into action, undisturbed by damping; then the detector would suddenly be inserted and absorb the accumulated energy; the detector, consisting of an electrolytic cell, a thermo couple, or a bolometer connected to a telephone, would then give a musical note. The oscillation circuit of Fig.6 contained a condenser which was intermittently Shunted by a condenser of larger capacity placed in parallel to the telephone. The intermittent contact maker, or "ticker," was a small electromagnetic vibrator like a Neef hammer; the contacts consisted of two hooks of gold wire, fixed at right angles to one another. German silver, or silver and steel, would make the telephone sound louder, but they were not so reliable as gold and platinum. This intermittent operation of the receiver, which embraces some feature of multiplex telegraphy, seems to us—if we understood rightly—to be one of the most important advantages of the system. In spark telegraphy, the energy is stored up in the transmitter until a powerful spark discharge takes place; here the receiver energy is stored up. The capacity of the receiver system, the lecturer continued was determined both by the condenser proper and the comparatively small and slowly varying capacity of the intermittent contact; this proportion of the capacities was a technical advantage, as it would allow of slight variations in the transmitted wave without any failure of the receiver being risked. As Morse signals consisted of dashes and dots, it was obviously to the purpose to introduce a " ticker" if a telephone receiver was to be used, as they did. The bolometer or thermo-couple, which would only momentarily enter into the oscillation circuit, might itself be in a tertiary circuit; apparatus of this kind, comprising a Pedersen ticker designed particularly for combination with a coherer, were explained by diagrams.
Coming to results, the lecturer pointed out that a spark-telegraphy station could, with very little alteration, be transformed into a Poulsen station. The sharpness of tuning with which stations could be worked without mutual interference was in practice about 1 per cent—e.g., stations A and B might work with waves of 600 meters, and C and D work over the same territory with waves of 606 meters. It should be mentioned that similar claims are made for spark-telegraphy apparatus. They had received with the aid of three receivers, all coupled to the same antenna, simultaneously three different telegrams, the three wave-lengths differing by about 4 percent. As the generator gave out aspect rum of waves with wave-lengths ranging from 300 to 3000 meters several hundred stations might be worked over the same territory. The greater wave lengths carrying greater energy should be utilized for the larger distances, and the higher antenna should be reserved for them.
Their first transmitting station had been erected at Lyngby, near Copenhagen.* in June, 1905. Their first receiving station had been nine miles from Lyngby. Another station was then built in the port of Esbjerg, 180 miles from Lyngby across the Danish Isles and Jutland, on the west coast of Jutland. With a consumption of energy of 100 watts, a radiated energy of 100 watts, a potential difference of a few thousand volts between the antenna and the earth, and wave-lengths of 700 or 1000 meters, good telephone signals had been obtained at Esbjerg; by strengthening the magnetic field of the arc, the radiating power had been raised to 400 watts.
When on one occasion they had fitted up this station at Esbjerg to receive spark-telegrams, the receiver had given out an inextricable jumble of English and German signals from ships and shore stations, further complicated by the interposition of atmospheric discharges. N'hen they tuned up for Lyngby again, communication with Lyngby had at once been re- stored without the slightest disturbance from extraneous sources. Three masts had been erected At Lyngby, of which two were used as a rule. The wire fan was suspended from a rope connecting the two masts. With a power of one kilowatt, and a mass too feet in height, they had recently established perfect communication between Copenhagen and North Shields, a distance of 530 miles, is 150 miles of which was overland. That result strengthened Mr. Poulsen's belief that to kilowatts should suffice to send radio telegrams across the Atlantic. Concluding, the author summed up
* There are three Lyngbys in Denmark; the one referred to is not the largest
the chief advantages of the system: Extreme accuracy of tuning, rendering multiplex telegraphy available to an almost unlimited extent; noninterference with other lines; increased freedom from atmospheric disturbance; greater efficiency and economy, because the losses by leakage and by brush discharges would be smaller with the lower potentials. There were also great possibilities for wireless telephony. -Scientific American.
MISCELLANEOUS.
TORPEDO BOAT STRENGTH OF NAVAL POWERS. -Torpedo boat destroyers and torpedo boats, which are merely large and small editions of the same thing, with a very indefinite line of demarkation between them, are being built in large numbers by all the naval powers. At the end of 1906 there were in service or under construction no less than 1877 vessels of this character, ranging from the smallest size up to 800 tons displacement. The table shows how the eight leading naval powers are supplied, the order being that of general naval rank:
Average Over 200 tons each.
Number. Tonnage. Tons. Speed. Number. Tons.
Great Britain 261 70,701 271 27.5 160 62,022
United States 52 12,463 240 27.4 26 9,097
France 438 51,295 117 25.6 64 20,645
Germany 106 30,730 290 26.5 61 24,184
Japan 129 26,221 203 27.9 52 18,886
Italy 184 23,772 129 26.0 49 13,733
Russia 202 32,232 160 24.9 59 19,932
Austria 113 14,632 129 24.1 38 10,090
The remaining 392,amounting to 39,965 tons, or an average of 102, are divided among 17 nations, of whom only nine possess more than a score each. Omitting from consideration all vessels of under 5o tons displacement, and all of under 22 knots speed, as being of comparatively small service, the eight powers have left a force as shown in the second table:
Average Over 28 knots.
Number. Tonnage. Tons. Speed. Number. Tons.
Great Britain 192 66,488 346 28.0 78 29,916
United States 46 12,030 262 27.7 25 8,401
France 294 42,865 146 26.6 58 17,283
Germany 96 28,070 302 26.8 31 12,610
Japan 103 24,695 240 28.4 56 18,496
Italy 146 22,769 156 26.3 25 8,693
Russia 122 27,020 221 25.9 10 2,922
Austria 44 10,261 233 26.6 9 3,510
Of torpedo vessels over 200 tons, England has 160; France,64; Germany, 61; Russia, 59; Japan, 52; Italy, 49; Austria,38, and the United States but 26. England's superiority is here very marked-Iron Age.
THE COST OF NAVIES. -A most useful return, in the form of a Parliamentary paper, has been issued by the Admiralty showing the expenditure of the great Powers on their fleets, arranged on a common basis, so as to obtain a real standard of comparison. This shows the naval expenditure in the financial year 1905-6 to have contrasted as follows:
Total expenditure. New construction and armaments.
Great Britain £29,593,635 £11,291,002
France 12,151,815 5,739,230
Germany 11,128,655 4,968,738
Russia 12,249,552 4,576,370
Italy 4,636,026 2,387,082
United States 24,444,948 11,374,876
It will be seen that in this year the United States spent a larger sum on new men-of-war than even Great Britain, but that we spent more than twice as much as any two European powers. The return also shows the tonnage of the new ships launched by each country in the past ten years:
1896-1901 1902. 1903. 1904. 1905.
Great Britain 696,275 89,465 155,225 85,880 105,360
France 234,80 45,956 31,142 45,318 31,381
Germany 205,829 30,119 64,340 44,072 33,936
Russia 218,276 52,265 45,010 5,138 20,416
Italy 82,008 650 12,425 13,373 14,555
United State 146,273 37,445 84,206 161,150 74,000
During the last three years Great Britain has put afloat vessels aggregating in completed displacement 3.46465 tons, while the United States in the same period has launched ships of 219,356 tons, Germany 142,348 tons, France 107,841 tons, Russia 70,554 tons, and Italy 40,353 tons.—United Service Gazette.
COMPARISON OF LOSSES IN RUSSIAN AND JAPANESE ARMIES.—The present is a comparison made by the Ruskii Invalid between the Russian and Japanese losses, the latter having been published in the &mane Medicole, and which deal with the period between February 1,1904,and November 1, 1905.
The following were attended in hospital: Russian Army, 333,411, or 224.25 per 100; Japanese Army, 334,073, or 220.51 per 1000. The slightly greater liability to disease of the Russian Army is easily accounted for by the fact that it operated in a climate with which it was unfamiliar, whilst the Japanese found themselves under much the same conditions as in their own country.
There died of disease: Russian Army (in the hospitals) 6947, (before entering hospital) 20,233, total, 7960, or 2.38 per moo; Japanese Army, 21,802,or 6.52 per 1000. The mortality from disease was, thus, in the Russian Army about a third that in the Japanese. If a comparison is made of the loss in killed and wounded in the Russian Army, the following results are obtained:
Killed or died of wounds before entering hospital, 20,233, or 24.82 per moo; wounded cared for in hospital. 111,777. The proportion of killed to wounded is I to 5.52 or in other words, to every too men killed, 552 were wounded. If the Russians missing are included in the proportion of those killed and wounded, the following results will be obtained for the Russian and Japanese Armies:
Russian Army. —Killed, 26,308, or 19.27 per 1000 of the total effective; wounded, 145.317,or 106.48 per 1000.
Comparison of killed to wounded was 1 to 5.92; number of wounded died in hospital, 3402; percentage of mortality from wounds in hospital was 3.04.
Comparison of deaths from wounds to deaths from disease was to .27, viz., to every too men killed or died of wounds,27died of disease;20.03 per moo wounded men were discharged as incapacitated from service. Comparison of death from wounds to that from disease was 100 to 73.
Japanese Army. —Killed, 47,387 or 31.27 per 1000 of the total effective; wounded, 173,425, or 114.47 per 1000.
Comparison of killed to wounded was to 3.06; number of wounded died in hospital, 1,425; percentage of mortality from wounds in hospital, 6.53.
Comparison of deaths from wounds to deaths from disease was 1 to .37, viz., to every too men killed or died of wounds, 37 died of disease;21.53 per taco wounded men were discharged as incapacitated from service. Comparison of death from wounds to that from disease was 100 to 99.
Epidemic diseases were more frequent in the Russian than in the Japanese Army: Russian Army, 34,205, or 25.05 per 1000; Japanese Army, 27,158, or 14.39 per 1000.
It should be mentioned that in these last figures the number of Japanese who suffered from beri-beri is not included, and these, according to the Semaine Medicate, amounted to 59,055, or 38.98 per moo of the total effective. In the figures quoted above, information relative to the garrison at Port Arthur is also not included. —La France Militaire.
ROYAL UNITED SERVICE INSTITUTION. —The sixty-seventh annual meeting of this institution was held under the chairmanship of Major-General Sir G. H. Marshall, who, in moving the adoption of the report, stated that the total number of members at the end of the year was 5404, showing an increase of 35 on the number recorded at the end of 1905. The Council had increased the investments by flow, and had transferred from investments £1000 for the purpose of forming a general reserve fund for renewing the lease of the building in 66 years' time, when the present lease expires. Colonel W.A. Hill, in second in a said there venue account for the year showed a debit balance of £717, which was due mainly to the necessity of having to carry, in accordance with the by-laws, the life subscriptions to capital, and partly to the publication of the special prize essays in the journal, and to the printing of the same in the form of a pamphlet for sale. But for these special items and the loss of interest on the £2000 carried to reserve, there would have been a surplus revenue of £230. The motion was carried.
The Gold Medal of the institution, together with the first Trench-Gascoigne prize of thirty guineas, for the naval essay, 1906, was awarded to Lieutenant B. E. Domvile, R.N. The second Trench-Gascoigne prize of thirty guineas was given to Lieutenant N. F. Usborne, R.N. The essay by Lieutenant E. V. F. R. Dugmore, R.N., was placed third by the referees. The subject was," What is the relative value of speed and armament, both strategically and tactically, in a modern battleship, and how far should either be sacrificed to the other in the ideal ship?" The referees were Admiral Sir G. H. U. Noel, Rear-Admiral R. L. Groome, and Captain G. A. Ballard, R. N. —United _Service Gazette.
COAL-STORAGE UNDER WATER. —In 1902 the Western Electric Company decided to provide for the storage of a considerable amount of fuel. As experience with coal bunkers at one plant slowed very clearly that the Illinois coals, which the company makes use of, when stored in ordinary bins exposed to the air, suffered materially from spontaneous combustion; it
was decided to try storing a large quantity of coal under water. This was carried out with satisfactory results, as no trouble has ever been experienced there from spontaneous combustion.
When it was decided to provide for a large storage of coal at the new plant at Hawthorne, Ill., the same scheme was followed, and a storage pit, built of concrete, divided up into three sections and covering a ground area of about 310 by 114 feet, was decided upon. It is arranged for filling with water so as entirely to cover all the coal that may be placed in it. As constructed, each section is approximately 15 feet in depth, and the whole pit has a capacity of about mow tons, which reserve is kept exclusively for emergencies.
Coal cars may be emptied into or loaded from the storage pits while on any one of five tracks. A locomotive crane, fitted with a grab bucket, is provided for taking the coal out of the storage pit. No provision is made for drying the coal before use, as the handling of the coal will result in its being dry enough by the time it reaches the boilers. —Engineering and 3fining Journal.
SUBMARINE SIGNALLING BY SOUND.—The recent experiments in submarine signalling by sound, carried out by H.M. ships Antrim and Spanker, will have gone a long way towards solving the very troublesome problem involved in signalling between lighthouses, or lightships, and passing ves- sels in foggy weather. It will also, no doubt, help towards solving the further problem involved in the avoidance of each other by ships under way in such weather. Every seaman, and even every landsman, who has crossed one of our large rivers in time of fog, is familiar with the absolute uselessness of the present system of signalling. It is a familiar experience for a pleasure steamer to be suddenly held up by a fog, and to grope its way very cautiously, and really in great danger, to it pier, to discover on arrival there that horns, bells, and other contrivances had been vigorously manipulated ever since the foe appeared. To seamen navigating the English and Irish Channels, the North Sea, the Banks of Newfoundland, and other foggy places, the experience has been often almost heart-breaking. It is well-known that the fog horn on St. Catherine's Point is worked by something like too horsepower, and is often inaudible within a very short distance indeed. It need hardly be mentioned either that every system of signalling, or of making known the presence of light- houses, or of ships to each other, by means of lights, during fogs, has utterly failed. Apparently none of the light waves we are cognizant of at the present time, and none of the sound waves, will penetrate fog for more than a very short distance.
With submarine sound signalling, however, the whole of the conditions are changed. Water, and particularly seawater, is a good acoustic conductor. It is a common experience when bathing, for instance, at mineral baths, where pumps are often employed, to hear the strokes of the pump when one's head is under water, whilst they are absolutely inaudible under other conditions. The system of sound signalling is based upon this fact: A powerful bell is struck with heavy blows, the strokes on the bell being made to signal certain definite numbers, just as revolving and flashing lights do, and the signals are read by the aid of microphones and telephone receivers. There are two distinct pieces of apparatus required— a bell of about 140 pounds weight (this size having proved the most satisfactory from repeated experiments), with a clapper whose weight varies from 1 ¼ cwt. to 3 cwt., and which is made to strike the bell by compressed air. The bell is suspended by chains at a depth of about 20 feet from the surface of the water. In the recent experiments carried out by the Admiralty, the bell was suspended from the cathead of the Spanker, and its depth varied from 16 feet to 24 feet, as the ship rolled. The compressed air is carried to the bell by a flexible pipe, and is operated from inboard a chamber attached to the upper part of the bell containing the piston that is actuated by the successive impulses of the compressed air, and which in its turn actuates the clapper. The receiving apparatus consists of a microphone, suspended in a tank containing a fluid of a certain density that has been discovered by experiment, the tank being fixed to the side of the ship on the inside, and wires being led from the microphone to a battery and receiving telephone.
There are two receiving apparatus fixed, one on each side of the ship, and it was found in the experiment between H. M. ships Antrim and Spanker, that the microphone, say on the port side, responded to the signals from the bell when the Spanker occupied any bearing, from half a point on the bow to half a point from right astern, the microphone on the star board side being silent when that on the port side responded. As the Antrim', head swung towards the Spanker, so that the bearing of the Spanker gradually changed from right abeam to right ahead, the response of the microphone on the port side changed, and at half a point on the port bow it ceased. When the Spanker bore half a point on the star board bow the starboard microphone commenced to respond, and continued to do so as long as the Spanker, which represented the lightship, was on her starboard side. It was therefore quite easy to determine the bearing of the Spanker from the Antrim, and it would have been easy to determine the bearing of a lightship or lighthouse by noting the bearing at which the port microphone ceased to respond, and the bearing at which the star- board microphone took it up, the bearing of the lightship being half-way between these.
It appears to the writer that the matter is capable of extension, though details will necessarily have to be worked out, to signalling between ships in foggy weather, the sound signals taking the place at present occupied by ships' lights at night, and ships approaching each other would be able to read each other's courses, and to avoid collision, just as easily, in the heaviest fog, as they now can by the aid of the ordinary ships' lights on a clear night. It should be a comparatively simple matter to arrange two distinct sources of sound—one carried, say, on the starboard bow, and the other on the port bow. A bell and a fog horn, for instance, could hardly be mistaken for each other, and the bell and the foghorn would take the place of the red and green lights used by ships at night. Every seaman knows that when he sees a red and a green light right ahead, a ship is approaching him end on, and he knows that he has merely to port his helm to clear. Also he knows when a red light is reported on his starboard bow, that a ship is crossing his bows from starboard to port, and that it is his duty to keep out of the way, which he does by porting his helm. On the other hand, when a green light is reported on his port bow he knows that a ship is crossing from port to starboard, that it is the duty of the green light to keep clear of him, and that it will do so by porting its helm. In the case of the green light he can watch the ship turning in obedience to her helm, by watching her lights. As she turns the green light becomes more and more clear, then the red light commences.to show, be- comes more and more visible, and finally the green light disappears. A similar arrangement would hold with signals given by sound, as explained. Supposing the port signal to be a bell, and the starboard signal a foghorn.
If a bell was reported on the starboard side the officer of the watch would know that a ship was crossing from starboard to port, that it was his duty to keep clear, and he would port his helm. If a foghorn was reported on the port bow he would know that a ship was crossing from port to star- board, and that it wash is duty to keep out of the way. The crossing ship in each case would know by the signals of the ship it was meeting how it was steering, just as with the red and green lights. In the case of a ship approaching end on, both signals would be reported on their respective sides, and each officer of the watch would know that each had to put his helm to port. A question that may arise is the behavior of the bell, or foghorn, in as e away, but as every sea man knows, fogs do not occur when there is a heavy sea. There is also the question of speed of signalling, but here again it is an axiom with seamen of all nations to go slow in a fog. — United Service Gazette.
SUBMARINE SIGNALS IN THE UNITED STATES. —The United States Light- House Board has arranged with the Submarine Signal Co., of Boston, Mass., to equip with submarine bells all-important lightships not already equipped. This includes the light-vessels south of Hatteras; those on the Great Lakes, and those on the Pacific Coast. The Point au Pelee Lightship, Lake Erie, which is maintained by the Lake Carriers Association in Canadian waters, has been equipped; and work is in progress on Bar Point (head of Lake Erie); Lake Huron and Poe Reef (Lake Huron); Gray's Reef, White Shoal, Lansing Shoal and Eleven Foot Shoal (Lake Michigan). These vessels will be ready when they go on the station at the opening of navigation. The Pacific Coast light-vessels will be equipped as opportunity offers. The five new light-vessels now building will be supplied with submarine bells before leaving the shipyard. In short the entire coast of the United States is to be protected by submarine signals; and Canada having made similar arrangements, all North America waters will soon have the advantage of such protection. —Nautical Gazette.
TURBO-ELECTRIC ENGINES FOR SHIPS? —The reciprocating steam engine has apparently reached the limit of its efficiency in the propulsion of ocean- going ships. The present indications are that the marine engine of the future will be either the steam turbine or the perfected producer-gas engine; with a strong probability that the latter, because of its excellent fuel economy, will be the preferred type.
There is, however, a third system of propulsion which theoretically, at least, has so much to recommend it that we should not be surprised to see it given a trial in one of the larger ships. We refer to the use of a turbo- electric plant of the same general character as that which is giving such excellent service in stationary power houses ashore. As installed in the engine room of a large steamship the system would consist of steam turbines, direct-connected to electric generators, the current from which would operate motors directly coupled upon the propeller shafts. Although at the first blush this looks like a complication of parts, the advantages derived in the increased efficiency both of the turbines and the propellers, to say nothing of other gains, would under certain conditions render such a plant superior to the present direct turbine drive. This will be evident from the following considerations:
If the turbines on an ocean liner are run at the high speed of revolution which gives the best steam efficiency, this speed will be too great for the propellers. On the other hand, there is a certain maximum speed, beyond which propellers suitable to the propulsion of a large ship cannot be driven efficiently. From the horns of this dilemma the naval architect has sought escape by the only road open to him—that of compromise. Consequently, in the largest turbine-propelled ships of today, the turbines are too large and heavy and too slow, and the propellers are too small and running too fast to give their respective best results.
The conflicting requirements of the turbine and the propeller may be harmonized by the interposition between them of the electric generator. This can be done by using small, high-speed, steam turbines direct-connected to generators, these turbo-generators being run at the speed which gives the most economical results. From the generators, current would be led to motors, whose type and speed of revolution would be accommodated to the propellers on the out board end of the respective shafts. It is evident that by this arrangement both at the steam end and the propeller end the designer would have a perfectly free hand, and in shape, size, speed, etc., he would be able to design directly for the work to be done and, therefore, for the highest efficiency results. Of course, in a plaint of this kind there would be a certain loss in the conversion from steam to electric power; but this has been reduced to such a low figure, that it would be more than offset by the increased efficiency of the turbines and propellers and by the great reduction in the sizes and weights of the turbines.
Incidentally there would be various valuable advantages secured. It would be possible, in the case of warships, to cruise at low speed economically, and it would be no longer necessary to provide separate cruising turbines. It would be possible to reverse immediately; and the go-astern turbines would, therefore, also be eliminated. Furthermore, the steam turbines could be located quite independently of the position of the propeller shafts, and might be carried on an upper deck immediately above the propeller-shaft motors. We understand that the problem, as we have out- lined it above, has been receiving careful consideration from some of the manufacturers of turbine and electric plants. The only discouraging feature, in any proposed experimental work that might be done, is that a comparative test, to be of any value, must necessarily be carried on in an ocean-going ship of the larger size, since it is only in the larger ships that the reduction of turbine speed becomes a serious drawback—Scientific American.
THE BRITISH SAILOR'S UNIFORM. —While there is much to welcome in connection with the alterations, modifications, and additions which have recently been promulgated in regard to the uniform of the seamen of the fleet, there is also room for some criticism. There has been a great deal of maudlin sentimentality sung and said about the sailor's uniform. As a matter of fact, it has not kept pace with the times, and men have been compelled to move about in ships, crowded with machinery in every corner, with "bell-bottomed" trousers and other loose-fitting garments, and with knife-lanyard festooned around their necks, at imminent danger to their lives.
Much of this will, happily, under the new regime, pass to the oblivion from which it has been too long preserved. Readymade clothing will now be issued from every ship, and the sensible regimental Army system of having tailors, recruited from the fighting ranks, to alter stock sizes to fit the men, will be adopted. This is pure wisdom. But there lurks a danger in the wording of the circular letter which may largely neutralize its effect. It is hoped that by carrying tailors the number of sizes kept in stock may be reduced to a minimum. This is just what should be avoided. Clothes must be made to fit the men, for nature will not bend so much as the contractor's cutter. It should be the aim to alter clothes as little as possible, once they are fashioned in a certain mould. The tailors, in fact, should be employed only to make small alterations and not large ones, to stock sizes, except in the case of out sizes. The argument of economy in storage space is unsound, as twenty garments of the same size take up as much room as twenty garments varying in size.
It is good to see a new and sensible overcoat introduced for sailors, which will finish well below the knee. A blue cloth overcoat of this description will look smart and be comfortable. All ratings may wear this overcoat without distinction, so the recenty expressed wish of the men in their" Magna Charth, "to be clothed a like, and have their ratings marked only by distinctive badges, will be partly met. The men will also be al-
lowed to wear brown canvas shoes, at the discretion of the captain, when actually on hoard ship. Both the overcoat and these canvas shoes will be optional, however, and the first will cost twenty-four shillings, while the latter will cost three shillings and six pence only. Both of these innovations are for the good, as also is the free issue of cap ribbons to men when they change ships for the convenience of the Service.
One of the best of the changes goes in favor of the stokers, who are to have clogs provided and loaned to them for work in the stokehold, when under steam. The wooden soles will have high leather uppers, extending well up to the knee, which will afford them ample protection from live coals and hot cinders. The chief petty officer mechanics of the engine- room department will also be allowed to wear blue jean overhaul suits, which will be provided for them at a reasonable price, and all other working chief petty officers can have them if so inclined. All hands are to have a canvas jacket and a pair of canvas trousers, as a suit in which to per- form all such work as coaling, painting, refitting, and other dirty jobs.
The first issue of clothing is to be a full gratuitous outfit, except in the case of boys and certain other classes of recruits who enter the navy on probation. These will not be fully kitted up at once, but they will eventually receive the same quantity of free clothing as the rest. Thus a free kit is practically secured to the men of the navy, though the cost of up- keep subsequently will still have to be borne from their pay. They contend in the "Magna Charta" that they should share the same privilege as the soldier and marine in regard to subsequent gratuitous issues after once being kitted up, but the authorities are not ready, apparently, to cover all this ground in one stride.
The new uniform regulations will, for the most part, begin to operate from April 1 of this year, with certain reservations in favor of the men, and they are to be in full swing by the first day of next year. The price of the whole kit is reduced by about fifty shillings, and its upkeep will certainly cost less than has been the case in the past, as some of the most expensive compulsory articles, such as cloth trousers, have been altogether eliminated from the above date. Hats and caps will be lighter and better ventilated than the present pattern, and there will be a choice in regard to such things as socks and knives, two patterns of these articles being available.
Another alteration worthy of notice is the fact that in future the men will each have two hammocks and a waterproof kit-bag provided by the country, and these will be kept as personal property, but returned to the Crown on quitting the service; renewals will be made at the expense of the country, though losses and wilful damage will have to be paid for from the men's own pockets. The hammocks will be of a khaki color. They will be marked with the man's name, and will travel with him from ship to ship; and the hammocks will be of the seamless pattern.
Other loans to men while performing special duties for which their own compulsory kits are inadequate, or which exposes them to undue strain and wear, will in future consist of oilskin suits, sea-boots, watch-coats, and, as previously mentioned, clogs for stoke hold wear. The oil skins and sea-boots will be for boats' crews and duty men, and the watch-coats for signalmen, look-out men, and other exposed night and day watch keepers. It is also, at last, recognized that sailors may have teeth worth preserving, and so a tooth-brush has been added to the kit, while black leather shoes and check shirts have been made optional.
Taking the effect of the change altogether, it is distinctly an alleviation of the financial strain which sailors have hitherto had to stand in regard to their clothing, and it should tend to considerably reduce the number of cases where men have previously got into serious trouble about their uniform. Compelled to take up contract-made articles and pay for them from their own pockets, the men have often been ordered to alter these garments the first time they we redonned. Such a state of affairs could only be productive of much resentment on the part of the men, and punishment frequently followed. All the danger of future friction has not been entirely abolished, though it might well have been, but it is greatly minimized, and the sailor's uniform has been much modified and improved, and made to meet the new conditions which exist in the ships of the navy to- day. This is a great gain, and disarms captious critics, though it does not remove all cause for criticism. —United Service Gazette.
THE BATTLESHIP BATTLE. —The battle of the battleships still flourishes with undiminished vigor in naval circles, and the opposing schools are arguing strenuously for the class of fighting ship which they believe to be the best for all purposes. The two larger groups of controversialists range themselves on the side of the large and medium-sized battleship respectively. We see no reason to depart from the attitude we originally took up in favor of the medium-sized ship. We are not the less confirmed in this view by the fact that such high authorities on naval matters generally, as Captain Mahan of the United States Navy, and Lord Brassey, have now publicly ranged themselves on the side of the smaller ship.
We do not, of course, deny that under certain circumstances, such as a stand-up ding-dong fight with equal numbers on both sides, the commander of a Dreadnought squadron would have a great advantage over a squadron of smaller vessels only numerically equal to his own. But there are many other considerations to be weighed beside the fitness for such a moment in the ordinary life and work of a battleship. Accidents and chances, arising alike from the hand of God and the king's enemies, can- not be excluded from the reckoning when the pros and cons of the advantages of large battleships are being weighed. It is well known that a single chance shot, striking a ship in a vital spot, may altogether disable her or cause her to temporarily withdraw from the fighting line to effect repairs, suppress a fire, or otherwise carry out work necessary to put her in trim to re-enter the fighting line. Such a thing is as likely to happen to a Dreadnought as a Montagu; a large battleship as a small one. Obviously the temporary loss of a Dreadnought to an admiral, in the middle of a battle, would be a very serious one, and might easily turn the tide of battle against him.
If the guns of a Dreadnought were mounted on two keels instead of one, a chance shot finding the mark would send the smaller vessel limping away from the action carrying only five 12-inch guns out of the fighting arena, instead of ten. This would not so heavily handicap the side to which the damaged ship belonged. It has to be remembered that it is no uncommon thing in these days for a ship to have to temporarily withdraw from the fighting line to effect repairs, and it is then that a Dreadnought would be so much missed, if five large ships were engaged, say with ten smaller ones, with the same aggregate tonnage and the same number of large guns as were carried by the Dreadnought squadron. And the "chance shot" is no mere figment, but an ever-present danger in a modern sea fight, when shot and shell will be falling like hailstones, in the middle of an engagement. Not all of these projectiles will do any vital damage, other than steadily reduce the fighting power of the ship, but one may eventually find the mark and cause a captain to take his ship out of action for temporary repairs. It is from such chances that, on the law of averages, the big-ship squadron would stand to suffer the most severely.
But in general calculations it is not the chance-shot theory alone that has to be considered, when the construction of such enormous battleships as those of 20,000 tons is being contemplated. Unfortunately, as we are too often reminded by a loss such as that of the Montagu, that the bot- toms of our largest ships get penetrated by the points of jagged rocks, and a vessel costing the country more than a million sterling goes to pieces, within a hundred yards of our rock-bound shores, in a manner that the wit of man cannot guard against. The worst of it is that a ship costing the country that builds it two millions sterling, is no more immune from such disasters while controlled by fallible humans, than is a ship which cost only half that sum.
The same arguments are applicable in such cases as those in which a Camper down sticks her stem into the thin bottom plates of a Victoria, and the latter ship founders in five minutes from the moment the blow is struck. The explosion of a mine under the bottom of a Dreadnought would probably cause a disaster as complete as those which sunk both Russian and Japanese battleships in and around Port Arthur; while an accidental explosion in a magazine, such as that which occurred on board the fine battleship of our neighbors at Toulon the other day, would wreck and destroy a Dreadnought as easily as an Una, and might even be more productive of loss of life among those trained as fighting men at great expense to the country.
There are other disasters known to men who go down, to the sea in fighting ships which cause the destruction, in a. single accident, of a large ship just as easily as of a small one. From this point of view, therefore, the spending of a sum, say, of £20,000,000 on naval fighting material, would appear to be better laid out on fifteen ships, carrying one hundred and twenty 12-inch guns, which is the most potent naval weapon of the moment, than in placing the same number of guns on ten keels only. We do not deny that there are other important considerations, but we are dealing with the matter chiefly from the points of view of gun-power and of speed. We are bound to confess that we attach more value to the development of gun-power (in a reasonably fast ship) than to the development of a singe extra knot of speed, at a considerable sacrifice either of armor or armament. We are not alone in this opinion in regard to speed and gunpower, but find ourselves in agreement with a large number of first-class experts on ship construction and gunnery matters. In our opinion a given number of heavy guns is also better disposed, looked at purely from the tactical and strategical point of view, on a larger number of keels, so long as a reasonable and not a ridiculous proportion is maintained.
Speed tells nowadays not so much in tactics as in strategy, for given guns of equal range and power on both sides (and a determination to fight), speed simply enables the fastest fleet to fight on the outer circle, at a chosen distance. The slower ships would fight in the inner circle, and bring their guns to bear by a turn of the helm, and so economize coal and reserve the energies of the engine-room staffs for emergencies. Speed will certainly help a commander to refuse battle, but even its advocates do not press this point.
We have urged the necessity of equality of gun-power, for equal gun-power can be, and should be, associated with smaller ships. It is only when speedy ships have the longest range guns that their speed is of the maximum amount of use to them. Our contention is that smaller ships need not mean smaller guns, but only a smaller number of the largest caliber of gun carried over one keel. There is not the same economy in upkeep and manning, perhaps, in "the three instead of two" policy of battleship building, but neither is there the same loss occasioned by un- foreseen and unexpected disaster in peace time, or by "chance shots during a battle, and the policy of medium-sized battleships is therefore not to be dismissed so contemptuously as certain ardent advocates of the big battleship theory are apt to reject it. A country such as our own has many uses for battleships of the Duncan size, equipped with the heaviest guns, especially in view of the rapid naval development of Germany near the comparatively shallow waters of the North Sea. —United Service Gazette.
At the opening session of the annual meeting of the Institution of Naval Architects, Mr. James McKechnie, the engineering director of Vickers, Sons & Maxim, Ltd., submitted a paper on "The Influence of Machinery on the Gun Power of the Modern Battleship," in which he analyzed the design of machinery so far as it affected the fighting efficiency of the latest types of warships. He pointed to the necessity of reducing the weight of the propelling machinery, and illustrated this by showing that if the Dreadnought had only required a speed of OA knots instead of 21 knots, her engines and boilers might have been 700 tons lighter, sufficient to have permitted two more 12-inch guns and their ammunition to be carried. He advocated the adoption of a battleship whose power would be furnished by internal combustion engines using producer gas generated on board, so that more space and buoyancy would be available for additional guns and ammunition. He further stated that after experiments extending over three years, his firm had perfected a definite plan for the construction of such a warship, the feature of which would be that it would have no funnels, no boilers, and would need a smaller crew. As there would be no funnels there would be no smoke, and the position of the ship would not be so easily betrayed as at present. The upper decks of the vessel would be left clear for the guns, which could be placed in the most desirable positions and fired in all directions.—United Service Gazette.