Professional Notes

Navy Oil Lands

New York Times, March 30.—Now that all but one of the trials at law due to the naval oil leases have ended, the question arises: What is the present status of the oil reserves of the United States Navy? There have been repeated reports of the draining away of the government oil deposits by adjoining private operators.

These reports mainly involved the Elk Hills, where certain government leases are still in effect. This is the reserve that figured in the case of Edward L. Doheny, who was acquitted of a charge of bribing former Secretary Fall to get lease rights. Lately Harry F. Sinclair, acquitted of conspiracy with Fall in the Teapot Dome lease, asserted that, due to drainage by neighboring Salt Creek private wells, “there is very little recoverable oil left in Teapot Dome.”

On the other hand, Admiral H. H. Rousseau reports that the vast oil reserves of the United States Navy are everywhere intact. Admiral Rousseau is chief of the naval oil office.

The Teapot Dome reserve, being a single unit, furnishes the simplest example of how the government tends its fuel supplies for war and other purposes. This structure was shut down completely on December 31, 1928, immediately after the recapture of the field following the finding that the leasing of it to Harry F. Sinclair by former Secretary Fall was fraudulent.

From Teapot Dome had been taken approximately 3,500,000 barrels of oil, of which 1,442,000 had been produced by the Mammoth Oil Company, which has been in receivership for more than four years.

The government “sealed” the field, shutting down sixty-two wells and stopping operations.

However, frequent tests are made, by experts in cooperation with the United States Geological Survey, at selected wells in the various sections to see if the underground supply is being drained off by producing fields in Salt Creek to the north and other fields to the north and northwest.

These tests consist of measuring the gas pressure of the wells, for a diversion of oil through underground passages also would result in diversion of gas and a lowering of the pressure. No lessening of pressure has been recorded, Admiral Rousseau says.

The same policy is applied to the Elk Hills section. But an entirely different condition obtains in that great field, Admiral Rousseau explains.

The government does not own all of the leases in the 35,000-acre tract, its holdings covering only 74 per cent of the territory, under which there are estimated to be 600,000,000 barrels of oil.

Oil has been produced for many years and still is being produced on the government land at Elk Hills, the total “take” having amounted to about 30,000,000 barrels.

Under the former government policy, which tended to an exploitation of its oil resources—the policy that in a measure led up to the discredited Sinclair and Doheny leases—many producing companies were granted rights to drill on the Naval Petroleum Reserve properties. The government receives profits from this production on a royalty basis. But the new policy is to forego these profits rather than continue a system which has resulted in 5 per cent of the total estimated supply being taken from the government’s Elk Hills field.

Out of the Elk Hills wells, on 960 acres of land leased from the government, now are coming 225,000 barrels of oil a month, it is reported. These producing fields are the sole survivors among a large group which were closed down wherever the government could find a means of canceling leases.

One of the important operators is the Belridge Company, which produces 70,000 barrels a month, or about one-third of the monthly total. This company has 300 acres, of which only a relatively small portion has been exploited.

The tenure of the holder of the remainder of the leased tracts, 660 acres, is uncertain, Admiral Rousseau asserts. This property is the scene of operations by the Pan-American Company, whose title to the leases under which it operates now is a subject of litigation. These leases, known as the consolidated lease, were contended to be faulty in a suit brought by the government in Los Angeles last November. The hearing has been continued until next month, when a decision is expected on the validity of the deal. If the suit is won by the government, indications are that the properties affected will be closed and held intact for future governmental use.

Meanwhile the government is guarding constantly its supplies in the recovered land in the Elk Hills region, known to officials as Reserve No. 1, and gas pressure tests are taken at certain points as often as every ten days.

Some portions of Reserve No. 1 are contiguous to active producing centers. Though no drainage has been detected, action has been taken to provide further safeguards. A bill now before Congress would permit the government to obtain territory in the Elk Hills region as a border of safety around its holdings.

A field force of geologists and other experts is constantly on duty; so, too, are the tenders of wells which have been closed down and the experts who make these valuable pressure tests. Their tests are guided by the advice of a naval reserve committee, a board of specialists headed by W. C. Mendenhall, chief geologist of the Geological Survey.

All branches of the work converge in the office of Admiral Rousseau.

GREAT BRITAIN

Naval Estimates

London Times, March 7.—The navy estimates for the year 1930 were issued yesterday (No. 84, 10s. net), and also a statement of the First Lord of the Admiralty explanatory of the estimates (Cmd. 3506, 3d. net). The statement is as follows:

The navy estimates for 1930 show a reduction of £4,126,000 below the estimates for 1929. Their net total is £51,739,000, as against £55,865,000 last year.

This substantial decrease is due mainly to the reductions which the government have felt justified in making in the shipbuilding programs of 1928 and 1929, in accordance with a policy which has already been stated to Parliament.

Although the decisions affecting shipbuilding have been announced as arrived at, it may be convenient to summarize them here:—

5 vessels of the program of 1928 have been canceled, viz.:
2 cruisers (10,000-ton type, with 8-inch guns).
2 submarines.
1 submarine depot ship.
12 vessels of the program of 1929 have been canceled, viz.:
2cruisers (one of 10,000-ton type, with 8-inch guns).
4 torpedo-boat destroyers.
3 submarines.
2 sloops.
1 netlayer and target-towing vessel

In addition, the decision whether the three remaining submarines of the 1929 program are to be proceeded with has been deferred until after the London Naval Conference has been concluded.

If the full program of these two years had been put into effect the new construction provisions in these estimates must have risen by over £1,000,000 to the neighborhood of £10,000,000 as compared with the provision of £8,621,626 in 1929. Actually the provision now proposed is £5,603,481. The effect of the changes is therefore to reduce expenditure on new construction in these estimates by over £4,000,000.

As to future shipbuilding the government have decided not to formulate any proposals until the results of the London Naval Conference are known and have been fully considered. No provision, therein stated is included in these estimates for commencing any further new construction in 1930.

As soon as the government are in a position to inform Parliament of their intentions, a statement will be made on the subject, and, if necessary, a supplementary estimate will be presented.

It should be noted, too, that in the case of the three submarines which remain in the program pending a final decision after the conclusion of the naval conference, these estimates do not provide for any expenditure. If it should be found necessary to proceed with them, Parliament will be asked later in the year to make such additional financial provisions as may be required.

Next to the reduction in the new construction provision, the most noteworthy feature in these estimates is the reduction which they forecast in naval personnel. Great attention has been paid by the Admiralty in recent years to the question of fleet numbers, with the object of securing the greatest possible economy in personnel, without, of course, jeopardizing essential requirements, including proper provision for training. Vote A for 1929 provided for 99,800 officers and men, but it was explained that this, the maximum number to be borne during the year, was the anticipated bearing on April 1, 1929, and would fall to 98,800 by April 1, 1930. As a result of further economies, the number now proposed to be reached by April 1, 1930, is 97,050, which is expected to fall to 94,000 by April 1, 1931.

 

The following is an abstract of the navy estimates for 1930, with the comparable figures for 1929:

Even allowing, however, for these two main factors, the presentation of estimates so much lower than those of 1929 has only been rendered possible by a very close scrutiny of every service with the object of curtailing expenditure. Of the causes operating in the contrary sense, I should in particular mention the increase of expenditure under the Singapore Base main engineering contract. Although no new commitments are being entered into pending the result of the London Naval Conference, it has been found that it would not be economical to retard the work contracted for, and, in accordance with the terms of the contract, considerably larger payments will have to be made in the year 1930 than in the current financial year. This and other additional commitments falling upon 1930, such as the effect of periodic increments of salary, additional provision for cost-of-living bonus, the automatic growth of the non-effective votes, additional purchases owing to the reduction in the quantities of stocks available for use in relief of cash expenditure, and the institution of the holiday week with pay for industrial staff, amount to about £1,000,000.

The estimates which were presented in 1924 were subject to an overhead deduction, intended to discount in advance possible delay in the progress of contract work, and on the understanding that, should such work proceed without interruption, the position would be dealt with when it arose. This system, with the approval of Parliament, has been adopted in every subsequent year. A similar deduction has been allowed for in 1930, regard being had to the smaller amount of contract work.

ENGINEERING AND RADIO

Diesel Engine Weights

Marine Engineer and Motorship Builder, March, 1930.—In the earlier stages of the development of the marine Diesel engine, and when the detractors of that prime mover were much more numerous than they are today, it was frequently advanced by way of criticism that the very high specific weight of the Diesel engine was a factor likely to retard its development and restrict its application to comparatively slow-speed cargo vessels where excessive machinery weight, as such, was not held to be of primary importance. It cannot be gainsaid that such criticism was not wholly unmerited, but how rapid has been the progress and how different the line of development from that then foreshadowed is best illustrated by the fact that the motor cargo liner of today is setting the pace in ocean speeds, and by the further fact that, in certain special forms, the internal-combustion engine can now be built with a specific weight actually lower than the most up-to-date steam propulsion machinery.

A convenient starting point in any discussion of the progress which has been made in weight reduction of direct-drive marine Diesel machinery is furnished by the latest production of that pioneer firm of marine oil engine builders, Burmeister and Wain, of Copenhagen. The machinery in question is that fitted to the East Asiatic Company’s new motorship Amerika, and as the same owners and builders were concerned with the first sea-going motorship, the Selandia, of 1912, a comparison between the specific weights of the machinery in these two ships becomes peculiarly appropriate. In the 4- stroke cycle, single-acting, air-injection machinery of the Selandia, the specific weight was of the order of 450 lb. per b.h.p., whereas in the 2-stroke cycle, double-acting, airless-injection engines of the Amerika the specific weight at 7,000 b.h.p. rating is approximately 115 lb. per b.h.p., as we stated in the article on this notable vessel which we published last month. In the later machinery the mean indicated pressure of 92 lb. per sq. in. is, of course, substantially higher than in the Selandia machinery, and the materials available for the manufacture of internal-combustion engines today are much superior to those of eighteen years ago. That the specific weight of the Amerika’s machinery should have been reduced to a figure approximately only 25 per cent of that for the Selandia is nevertheless a remarkable achievement for direct-drive engines, and the measures of that achievement will perhaps be better appreciated by extending the comparison to the high-speed geared machinery of the Hapag liners St. Louis and Milwaukee. In these two ships high-speed, 2-stroke cycle, double-acting M.A.N. engines, running at 215 r.p.m., are connected in pairs to the propeller through single-reduction gearing, giving a propeller speed of 110 r.p.m. It was claimed for this drive at the time of its inception that the specific weight was lower than any hitherto attained in any marine installations of equivalent power. Excluding the scavenging pumps and reduction gearing, the specific weight of these installations has been given as 110 lb. per b.h.p., but with the gearing included the figure is approximately 125 lb. per b.h.p., i.e., greater than that of the machinery of the direct-driven Amerika.

Apart from the great step forward represented by the Amerika, and excluding, for the time being, such weight-saving intermediaries as mechanical reduction gears, it is apparent from a perusal of the papers read and the discussions which accompanied them at the recent World Power Conference and World Engineering Congress at Tokyo, that, in certain quarters at least, the view is held that direct-driven Diesel engines for the propulsion of passenger liners can now be built with a specific weight which compares favorably with that for the most modern geared steam turbine installation. In these discussions Mr. Y. Okamoto referred to the figures given by Mr. John Johnson in his Institution of Naval Architects paper of last year relating to one of the Canadian Pacific 18,000-s.h.p. geared turbine installations, for which the machinery weight was given as 2,275 tons, equivalent to 0.126 ton, or 282.24 lb. per s.h.p. Taking for purposes of fair comparison the latest quadruple-screw, direct-drive Diesel engines, with supercharging and exhaust gas boilers for an installation of 22,000 s.h.p., the machinery weight was stated to work out at 2,200 tons, equivalent to 0.10 ton or 224 lb. per s.h.p., from which it is deduced that the Diesel installation was actually lighter than the geared turbine machinery by about 15 per cent, expressed on a specific weight basis. The most sensational development with regard to weight saving in a marine Diesel installation is, of course, that at present being completed for the German warship Ersatz Preussen. In this remarkable vessel quadruple-screw geared Diesel machinery of 50,000 b.h.p., comprising four sets of the latest M.A.N. double-acting, 2- stroke cycle, airless-injection engines will be fitted running at 215 r.p.m. and driving through single-reduction gearing. The specific weight of these engines is assessed at the phenomenally low figure of 17 lb. per b.h.p., and since the same makers have recently completed two similar type 11,700- b.h.p. high-speed, double-acting, 2-stroke cycle 10-cylinder engines for use in a Berlin electric-generating station, with a recorded specific weight of 55 lb. per b.h.p., some mystery attaches to the means whereby the warship machinery weight has been reduced to less than 30 per cent of that already low figure. At the same time it should be pointed out that the weight of engines, gearing, thrust block, shafting, etc., gives a specific weight figure of about 51 lb.

The question of weight reduction in marine Diesel machinery is largely bound up with that of metallurgical science, as represented by the production of the highest grade materials. While recognizing fully the measure of the achievement represented by the Ersatz Preussen installation, and assuming that such machinery will prove itself to be entirely dependable on service, it does not necessarily follow that machinery of this special, highly rated and, presumably, highly costly construction will prove suitable or desirable for the wear and tear of mercantile tonnage. What is important, however, as the foregoing record shows, is that the former criticism on the score of excessive weight can no longer be applied to the marine Diesel engine.

First Rivetless Ocean-Going Cargo Vessel Launched

Nautical Gazette.—The first rivetless cargo vessel, a 2,500-barrel oil tanker, has just been completed in the shipbuilding yards of the Charleston Dry Dock and Machine Company, Charleston, South Carolina, and was launched February 14. Its service test will take place about February 28, after which it will go into service for the Texas Oil Company.

The vessel was constructed entirely by the arc-welding method and has not a rivet, bolt nor structural angle anywhere in its structure. The arc welding was done under a new system of dovetailed, lock-notched plates, developed by Richard F. Smith, a young ship designer and inventor. One acetylene cutting torch and one General Electric arc-welding machine were employed. Only nine workmen were required and 8,000 pounds of welding wire were used as compared to 85,000 pounds of rivets which would have been necessary had the construction been by the riveting method.

The preliminary estimate of Mr. Smith was that a saving of 20 per cent in weight and of 25 per cent in the cost of construction would be realized as compared to riveted vessels. These figures were verified in the actual work, and in addition the vessel was found to have greater cargo capacity because of the absence of rivets, bolts and angles. The ship is 120 feet in length and 23 feet in width, and has a 10-foot draft. The United States Navy Department, as well as a shipbuilding corporation, a railroad company and foreign shipbuilders, has inspected the vessel.

Machines Will Record Static To Detect Gulf Hurricanes

New York Times, March 16.—The detection of tropical disturbances in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico is expected to be facilitated by a static disturbance recorder developed for the Navy. Nine of the machines will soon be installed in those areas.

Naval hydrographic officers said today that “by means of simultaneous cross bearings from the various stations it was hoped that the storm centers could be located when still far distant and the movement of the storm followed continually.”

They believe that storm centers and heavy static sources are associated. The equipment will make continuous automatic records of static disturbances.

The detection of storm centers has obtained impetus by the experiments of Lieutenant E. H. Kincaid and W. B. Burgess, of the Naval Research Laboratory.

Television, Present and Future

Engineering, March 14.—As was to be anticipated from the title, “Television, Present and Future,” which Sir Ambrose Fleming chose for his lecture, delivered in connection with the Physical and Optical Societies’ Exhibition on January 9, he merely referred in his introduction to the various attempts made to transmit images of moving objects and kinematograph pictures, and to the proposals for the construction of television apparatus. There is little to be said about the present achievements in television, and the lecture was essentially an exposition of the scientific basis of the methods and devices and of possible future progress, with special reference to the Baird system.

Television, Sir Ambrose explained, depended upon the persistence of vision, the fact that the effect of a stimulation of the retina persisted for about 1/16 second, so that stimulations succeeding one another at shorter intervals would not be distinguished by the eye as separate impressions. Thus, if a spot of light were made to travel downwards over an object and the journey was then repeated over and over again in parallel lines displayed more and more to the right or left, the eye would see the whole object, provided that the latter were completely covered in y₁₆ second. Moreover, if we could produce a similar spot of light at a distance, moving in synchronism with the first and varying in intensity in accordance with the color of the object, we could reproduce the latter. At the transmitting end, the spot of light was produced by a scanning disc which was perforated by a series of 30 holes arranged in an equiangular spiral of one complete turn. Such a spiral was first used by Nipkow in 1884. The diameter of each hole was y₃o of the pitch of the spiral, and the disc was rotated at the rate of 16 r.p.s., or more, the rays from a high-power incandescent lamp being focused by a lens upon the object. The scanning of a human face in this way caused no inconvenience. The lamp, disc, and motor were generally placed in one room, and the scanning rays were passed through a small opening in the wall to fall upon the face of the subject sitting in front of a screen.

The light scattered from the face was received by a photo-electric cell, or a battery of cells. Falling upon the cathode of the cell, the rays liberated electrons without any time lag, and the current from the grid of the cell was amplified by valves and transmitted by wire (or wireless) to the receiving end. The current was proportional to the momentary intensity of the illumination. The cell consisted of a glass bulb, in which an alkali metal was deposited on a thin coating of silver or copper. The cells were made in two types: vacuum cells for scientific measurements, and more sensitive gas cells, containing argon or helium at a pressure of about one-sixth of a millimeter of mercury, for commercial purposes. The potassium film, as such, was most sensitive to violet light, but its deposition on to copper rendered it more generally sensitive to the spectrum. At the receiving end, these photo-electric currents were reconverted into light by the aid of neon lamps. The neon lamps contained two plate electrodes about 1 mm. apart. When these were charged by a local battery to a potential difference of 200 or 300 volts, the cathode began to glow with the reddish neon light all over its surface, and the glow increased in intensity in accordance with the currents which were received from the sending station; the starting and stopping of the glow were instantaneous. If, then, this glow were observed at the receiving end through the holes of a second scanning disc, kept in exact synchronism with the first, the observer would see the object reproduced by the phenomenon of persistence of vision. The television picture, Sir Ambrose remarked, did not consist of a set of dots like a process block, as was often assumed. It was built up of a series of line elements or arc-shaped strips. The great difficulty of maintaining exact synchronism between the two scanning discs had been overcome by Mr. Baird by the aid of the received current which composed the picture.

Passing to future developments, the lecturer mentioned suggestions he had himself made to Mr. Baird. At present the object of which the image was to be transmitted had to be placed in front of the screen. If the object were horizontal, a large plane mirror could be placed in front of it at 45 degrees so as to reflect the horizontal scanning rays vertically upwards. The size of the object was, moreover, practically limited to about that of a human head. The size of a large object could be suitably reduced with the aid of a large convex lens, the image of which would be scanned through the spiral- hole, disc, or by one of the less expensive large concave mirrors. The beam of light from the mirror would be reflected by a small plane mirror as in a Newtonian telescope, and would be focused on to the surface of the scanning disc. In this way eclipses of the sun or moon might be televised. Very highly sensitive photo-electric cells would be required and the most recent cells of the research laboratories of the General Electric Company at Wembley, containing caesium films deposited on oxide of silver, were ten times more sensitive than potassium films. Larger neon lamps were also required. In America, such lamps had been fitted with 2,500 electrodes but these were suitable for costly research and not for commercial use.

MERCHANT MARINE

Europa Wins Blue Ribbon

New York Times, March 30.—Man and his machines are constantly making new speed records. Last week the Europa of the North German Lloyd Line took the blue ribbon from her sister-ship, the Bremen, by crossing the Atlantic in 4 days, 17 hours, and 6 minutes, that is, in 18 minutes less than the Bremen.

The newly acclaimed speed queen of the seas has recorded a doubly notable achievement in that she was forced to combat head winds and head seas during the first days of her voyage to surpass the record of her sister-ship, the Bremen. Perhaps in so doing she has cleared herself of the suspicion of a “jinx” which had been suggested by the disastrous fire which swept her last year as she was nearing completion.

In the Europa it is said that the builders profited somewhat by the tests of the Bremen. To a superficial examination, there are certain minor but very real differences. By the nautical expert, the unofficial competition of the two vessels for future voyages will be watched with interest, particularly to determine if the features incorporated in the Europa and not found in the Bremen have a part in the speed of the new title- holder.

Perhaps the most notable of these features is the bow of the Europa, which is slightly more bulbous than that of her sister. The principle of the rounded bow in the ever- waged quest for speed was forecast after the World War while the sharp-bowed liners held a monopoly of speed records.

The Europa’s propellers, it is further noted, are smaller than those of the Bremen, but are capable of more revolutions per minute and they are differently arranged. Whereas the Bremen’s churn the water outward, two of the Europa’s churn the water inward and two outward, thus taking further advantage of the dead water created at the stem by the bulbous bow as against the outward push of the water from a sharp bow.

94 Ships Being Built in American Yards

New York Times, March 10.—Ninety- four vessels of 316,726 gross tons were under construction March 1 in the shipyards of the nation, according to the bi-monthly report of the American Bureau of Shipping. Vessels of the ocean-going and Great Lakes type of more than 500 gross tons totaled 29 and their tonnage 284,107, whereas miscellaneous vessels, such as ferryboats and barges, while totaling 65 had a total tonnage of only 32,619.

Twenty-seven shipyards were engaged in the construction of these vessels, eleven of the yards being engaged on the larger ships. Many of the larger yards, including the Bath Iron Works Corporation, the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Ltd., the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, the Pusey and Jones Corporation, and the Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company were at work on both large and smaller vessels.

The report of the bureau shows that the larger ship lines have started to enlarge their fleets with the aid of the government funds made available by the merchant marine act of 1928. Whereas the bureau’s report for many years was confined largely to yachts and tankers in the classification of vessels of more than 500 gross tons, with a passenger vessel occasionally appearing, the current report finds nine passenger vessels under construction. Two of these, the Ward liner Morro Castle and the Grace liner Santa Clara, have been launched since the report was compiled.

The Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company, which built the Morro Castle, is reported by the bureau to be at work on her sister-ship, the Oriente, and a 21,000-ton Dollar liner, the largest ship reported under construction. The New York Shipbuilding Company was reported building the Grace liner Santa Clara, which completed its speed trials last week, and also three ships of 8,500 tons each for the Export Steamship Company.

The Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corporation, Ltd., was reported building an 18,500-ton passenger vessel for the Matson Navigation Company, a passenger vessel of 7,057 tons for the New York and Porto Rico Steamship Company, two tankers of 6,100 tons each for the Sinclair Navigation Company. The largest tanker under construction is a 15,000-ton craft for the Standard Shipping Company at the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company yard.

The Sun Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Company leads the field in large tankers, reporting four of 9,000 tons each, under construction for the Sun Oil Company, the Tidewater Associated Transportation Corporation, the Standard Transportation Company, and the Motor Tankship Corporation. Only one yacht of more than 500 gross tons was reported building. That is the Corsair, owned by J. P. Morgan.

Shipping Board Engineering Competitions

Neptune Log, March, 1930.—In July, 1922, the United States Shipping Board Merchant Fleet Corporation, in its endeavor to improve the efficiency of operation of its vessels, established a Fuel Conservation Committee. The members of this committee were selected from various representative organizations concerned with the operation of ships. The chairman of the committee is C. A. McAllister, President of the American Bureau of Shipping.

The committee proceeded to formulate a program designed to improve the art of fuel burning; to educate the seagoing personnel in the proper operation of the machinery of the vessels; to standardize, analyze and compare the operation of its vessels; to experiment with, develop and put in use means of improving the engineering efficiency of the vessels.

In coöperation with the United States Navy, schools were established at the Philadelphia navy yard and the Mare Island navy yard, Vallejo, California, to instruct merchant marine engineers in the proper methods of burning fuel. A total of 1,318 men were instructed in these schools. The cost of this instruction has been repaid to the Fleet Corporation manyfold in the more intelligent and economical operation of the vessels’ power plants.

Standards of performance were set for each class of vessel operating in the Shipping Board fleet, and as each vessel completed its voyage an inspection was made and the performance analyzed and compared to the standard, pointing out ways of improving the vessel’s efficiency and extending commendation for meritorious performances. Through this a healthy spirit of friendly competition and pride of performance has been built up.

Recognizing the desirability of rewarding those officers whose performances were outstanding, the Shipping Board authorized the payment of a semiannual bonus of $50 each to the fifty chief engineers and the fifty masters having the best records for the six months’ period.

This honor roll for the first six months’ period of 1929 has just been announced by the Fuel Conservation Committee.

To secure a place on this roll a vessel must have turned in an efficiency of at least 95 per cent of that of the leader of her class, and to have traveled at least 20,000 miles during the six months’ period.

There is also announced an honorable mention list which contains the names of fifty masters, and an additional fifty chief engineers, whose performances, although not equaling those on the honor roll, are so meritorious as to deserve mention.

To compile these lists required the analysis of sea and port performances of the voyage of 249 vessels which have traveled a total of 5,638,840 miles during this six months’ period. During this period the vessels were at sea 555,634 hours and in port 410,952.

Denoting the increasing efficiency of operation of Shipping Board vessels it is interesting to know that even allowing for the lower price of fuel oil now prevailing, and the increasing age of the vessels, a saving of $77,510 over the preceding six months’ period has been achieved.

As a matter of interest in illustrating the continued improvement in operation, it is to be noted that in the case of the Class “A” vessels built at Hog Island, of which there are now 57 in the Shipping Board service, the reduction in fuel per mile since 1923 has amounted to 28 pounds, which for this class of vessel represent a saving of 110,696 barrels for the first six months of 1929 over what would have been the consumption had there been no improvement over 1923.

AVIATION

Final Report on Guggenheim Aircraft Competition

Baltimore Sun, March 9.—Although no new device was developed particularly for the Guggenheim Safe Aircraft Competition, the entries covered almost the whole field of features which either practically or theoretically are expected to improve the control or speed range of aircraft, according to the final report on practical results of die tests made public last week. These features include variable wing area, variable wing camber, trailing edge flaps, leading edge slots, slots ahead of trailing edge flaps, variable incidence wing, spoiler lateral control, floating ailerons and fixed leading edge auxiliary airfoil or slot.

Certain general conclusions from the results of the competition are summarized in the report as follows:

The advantages, if any, of variable wing area and variable camber could not be determined due to the unsatisfactory flying characteristics of those aircraft using these features.

The use of a variable incidence wing appears to have little or no justification from any standpoint.

The advantages of slots and flaps in lowering the minimum speed were clearly demonstrated.

The airplane equipped with floating ailerons exhibited unusually good controllability at speeds near the minimum either with or without slots and flaps in operation as such.

The use of the spoiler device did not provide the desired lateral control on the aircraft using it.

With the present type of longitudinal control it is practically impossible to fly an airplane at angles of attack greater than that at which the maximum lift of the airfoil combination is obtained.

The fixed leading edge slot proved to be a detriment to high speed and its effect on low speed could not be established on the airplane equipped with it.

The competition showed that the design and construction of an airplane which will successfully meet a given set of conditions can best be handled by a manufacturer having a well-equipped and experienced engineering division.

It is regretted that all of the competitors originally entered did not submit aircraft for demonstration. The absence of the autogiro was particularly disappointing, since no results of its performance directly comparable with other types of aircraft are available.

Only two airplanes, one of which failed to pass a minor qualifying requirement, exhibited attributes which warranted completion of safety test and demonstrations. These were the Curtiss Tanager which was awarded the first prize of $100,000, and the entry of Handley-Page, Ltd., of England.

It is believed that the following devices, all of which are to be found on either the Curtiss or Handley-Page entries are worthy of incorporation on various types of aircraft or of further study:

Automatic leading-edge slots.
Flaps, either automatically or manually controlled.
Floating ailerons.
Long-stroke, oleo landing gear with provision for locking in the position assumed under load.
Extreme range adjustable stabilizer.
Brakes.

It was expected that more than one airplane would pass the qualifying and safety tests and that the award of the first prize would depend upon points made in comparative tests. Since only one airplane reached the stage for award of points, the comparative tests were not conducted and the prize was awarded to the Curtiss Tanager.

The Cost of British Airships

Aeroplane, February 19.—According to the Times, Lord Thomson, Secretary of State for Air, speaking at Cardiff on February 14, said there had been wild exaggerations about the money spent on airships. The total amount spent on the program since 1924 was £2,000,000. The two ships that had been constructed had given added knowledge, and a country such as ours must pay for its research.

The airship had been invaluable so far as transatlantic aviation was concerned. To date, 427 people had flown the Atlantic, and 402 of these completed the crossing in airships. The R-101 was strong enough to stand any gale. Given a good skipper and a good crew, he would go out in the R-101 in any weather.

With regard to the future development of airships, he knew that they could be built for about £600,000. They could carry 40 passengers and could complete the journey to India or Montreal in three and a half days.

After that the public would determine whether airships were going to be a commercial proposition. At any rate, Great Britain had given the lead to the rest of the world.

Liquid-Cooled Power Plants

U. S. Air Services, March.—Because aviation, he thinks, is rapidly approaching a peak in cylinder resistance offered against the speed demanded, Rex Beisel of Tulsa has turned to careful study of the possibilities in liquid-cooled power plants and declares that he can see a bright future of greater speed just ahead. Mr. Beisel, vice president and engineer of the Spartan Aircraft Company, addressed, recently, groups in the National Society of Automotive Engineers on the trend he discovers toward a return to new cooling processes. Development of greater speed through use of chemical cooling, he points out, discloses greater possibilities in aviation power plants.

The proposed “come-back” of the liquid- cooled motor, Mr. Beisel declares, has a number of prophets. The prediction, he admits, appears to be a bit rash yet. In simple manner he substantiates to himself his belief by considering the fact that the fastest racing airplanes in the world are now cooled with water and the motors are turning over 3,000 r.p.m. The secret, it is pointed out, is found in the maximum reduction of fuselage resistance and the increased cooling facilities of the high-speed water-cooled motors. He said:

As the industry grows, still greater speed will be in demand. The radial motors will supply this demand to a point. However, a peak will be reached at which it will not be possible further to cut down cylinder resistance. A step toward return to liquid-cooled motors has already been made in chemical cooling. An airplane engine could run at much greater speed—at much higher temperature—were it not for the fact that water, for example, boils at 212 degrees. Since the size of the radiator depends inversely upon the temperature difference between the air and the boiling point of the cooling medium a satisfactory liquid with boiling point higher than that of water will permit the use of a smaller radiator. A chemical formula with a boiling point of 325 degrees F. and freezing point of 0 degrees F. has been compounded. The radiator area required with this chemical is approximately 30 per cent of that required with water as a cooling medium. The use of the chemical offers another advantage due to the small cooling area required. This area can be incorporated on the surface of the wings, or in the form of skin radiators. This has been more or less prohibitive in the use of water because of the excessive cooling area necessary. In the case of the military airplane, the added vulnerability through loss of water from bullet holes has practically prohibited its use. A chemical cooler could allow the radiator to be crowded into a section of the upper wing. At the present time the majority of engines are air cooled. But the maximum horsepower with a reasonably low resistance appears also to be limited to about 600 horsepower and even then the very large frontal area is not conducive to high speed.

In addition, it is difficult to cool an air-cooled engine at high revolutions per minute—that is, high horsepowered for small frontal area. The aircooled motor is further handicapped in that gearing is very necessary in the case of high engine revolutions and when geared, an additional cooling problem enters in, in that the velocity of air flowing behind the propeller is materially reduced due to its greater diameter and lower revolutions per minute.

In the case of the liquid-cooled engine of the V or X types, for example,, those used in the 1929 international air races, the frontal area is inherently small and since cooling of the engine is a function of the radiator only, it is possible to increase the revolutions of the engine, introducing gearing and obtaining resulting performances very appreciably greater than can be obtained through the use of radial engines.

An Air Minister at Sea

Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette, February 20.—Sir Samuel Hoare, who as Air Minister in the late government speaks, or ought to speak with a certain responsibility, has been making a trenchant attack on the provision of aircraft carriers. He would restrict the fleet air arm to “the limited number of small machines that could be carried on battleships and cruisers.” This would mean an end of the fleet air arm as it exists today. On the ground of accommodation alone, there is no room for the 27 flights of the arm to be carried in battleships and cruisers, at any rate without interfering with their gunnery or other work. Take the Mediterranean fleet, with its two carriers. Apart from the naval officers of these ships who are qualified as observers, there are 68 officers in the flights and headquarter units, to say nothing of the hundreds of other ranks and ratings. The fleet has only six battleships and nine cruisers, and they could not possibly absorb these numbers, even if such a scheme was practicable which it is not. Then again, a carrier is equipped to handle aircraft, to maneuver so as to help them take the air, and to drop behind the fleet if need be to gather them in again. A battleship or cruiser could not do this and at the same time engage or pursue the enemy. Imagine the plight of a pilot trying to take off from a turret roof with the guns in action. Granted that carriers are costly. So is all naval war material. The test is rather one of necessity, and carriers are justified by the fact that with them fleet aircraft can be properly accommodated, equipped, concentrated, and utilized in a manner which would otherwise be impossible. Sir Samuel should remember the advice to the cobbler. He may know all about aircraft, but he is no authority on their use afloat or on naval operations.

British 1930 Air Exercises

Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette, March 6.—The air exercises to be held this summer will be planned on a wider scale than those of 1928, when the object was to test the defenses of London against raids. Questions concerning the defense of the trade routes will be investigated, and for this purpose use will be made, for the first time in such exercises, of the flying boat squadrons in home waters. It is also proposed that the aircraft of the fleet air arm shall take part. The new types of interceptor fighters and day bombers which will also be available are expected to afford much valuable information in the elucidation of certain problems of air attack and defense.

Air Defense

Army, Navy and Air Force Gazette, March 6.—The importance of the problem of air defense increases daily. The measures adopted by the great nations for the reduction of armed forces do not decrease the peril of air attack when war breaks out again. That next war, if it be between major powers, will in all probability begin with strong air offensives against vulnerable points in the belligerent countries. No formal notice may be given, and in any case there will be no time to improvise an effective defense system. In 1914 aircraft had not left the initial experimental stage and the numbers available were insufficient for heavy attack on enemy towns and bases. Therefore the improvised defenses of the time grew with the development of the air arm. At the end of the war Great Britain possessed the most elaborate and effective air defense system in the world. A year or two later all had gone except the knowledge. Now the system is being reconstructed slowly but surely. The Air Ministry is responsible for air defense, and the Army units engaged are under the orders of the air officer commanding, air defense of Great Britain, for operations.

At the end of last year the War Office issued the Manual of Anti-Aircraft Defense (Army Units), Volume II—War. It is short—there are only 41 printed pages—but it should be read even by soldiers whose only concern in air defense is an anxiety to avoid airplane bombs and machine guns. The importance of ground units in air defense is often forgotten by those not directly concerned with the principles of air warfare. Defense from air attack is not a matter of airplanes alone. Guns and searchlights play an essential part, and there is moreover a vital and elaborate system of communications which must be maintained if there is to be proper coordination of effort and a proper economy of force.

The new volume recognizes the risk of early enemy air attack. “An enemy, possessing a powerful fleet of bombing aircraft, might so delay the strategical concentration of troops by destroying bridges, railways, embarkation ports, and by bombing mobilization areas as to affect the issue of the campaign.” Therefore the air defense system must be capable of mobilization before the opening of hostilities. That mobilization will not be possible unless the country is prepared to spend more money on the defense system than is at present allocated.

The manual classifies the means employed in air defense under two heads, active and passive. The first includes fighter airplanes, “the first and principal weapon of air defense,” A.A. artillery, small arms on the ground, searchlights, and sound locators. Passive defense includes balloon aprons and nets—the system developed by Major-General Ashmore and his staff in 1917-18—and concealment and camouflage. The importance of antiaircraft artillery is recognized, as it may on occasion be the primary means of defense. Fog or cloud may hamper defending aircraft as often hampered during the Great War. A.A. guns may be brought into action without long warning—a marked advantage. There is a disadvantage. “Unless the target flies straight from the time at which the prediction is made until the burst of the shell, the chances of hitting are remote. Efforts to shorten the time beyond a certain point by increasing the muzzle velocity of the shell, lead to prohibitive increase in weight of the equipment, and to undue wear in the bore.” Some reference might be made here to the virtues of the box barrage, but perhaps that principle has been abandoned.

There is much of the functions of search lights and sound locators, both of them invaluable aids to aircraft and guns. In regard to the employment of balloon aprons and kites it is pointed out that as they require a large organization “they will be found only in large, permanent, antiaircraft defenses.” Those who were concerned with the first production of balloon aprons in 1917 and who remember the pleasant wit of the scoffers will be happy to note that in the present official view “their presence has an undoubted moral effect.” There is warning in regard to the use of camouflage as a means of passive defense. It requires an elaborate organization, and those who hope to disguise London as a sewage farm or a desert area will be disappointed. Smoke screens have their value but “they must not be allowed to interfere with the active means of air defense” as they have on certain occasions.

Aviation in Canada

Engineering Journal, Feb. By J. H. Parkin.—The dependence of national development and progress on transportation is nowhere more marked than in Canada. The settlement and development of the Dominion first followed the natural waterways, later the railways, and may now be said to be following the airways. Regions formerly regarded as inaccessible and doomed to remain forever undeveloped are now not only being explored but are actually in process of development practically wholly by means of aircraft.

In perhaps no other country are aircraft being put to as great a variety of useful and practical tasks as in the Dominion. Immediately following the war Canada set about making use of aircraft and taking advantage of their characteristics in everyday peace-time pursuits with such success that aircraft have now become an important factor in the life of the country.

In the use of aircraft for exploration, reconnaissance and surveying, Canada has taken a leading part and has brought the practice of aerial surveying to a high state of development. The value of aircraft in developing and protecting the timber wealth of the country was quickly appreciated in the Dominion, and great strides have been made in the use of aircraft for the detection and suppression of bush fires, for timber cruising, and forest sketching. In the last few years aircraft have played an important part in development of the mineral resources of the Dominion and have been intensively and successfully employed for prospecting, geological exploration, and in development work, particularly in the great north country known to be geologically favorable but hitherto practically inaccessible. Aircraft are also being employed in the warfare being waged against different pests and blights attacking the forests and crops. The air mail lines are being steadily extended and improved and the use of aircraft for the carriage of express and passengers is continually increasing. For customs and fisheries patrol and many other everyday civil and commercial tasks aircraft are being employed with success in the Dominion.

The success with which aircraft have been used in Canada is remarkable when it is remembered that the operations were in many cases commenced using military types of aircraft and that even now few of the aircraft are specially designed for the service and conditions under which they are operating. The success of the few machines designed for specific purposes indicate what can be accomplished. To make fullest use of aircraft in the country, machines suited to Canadian requirements and conditions must be developed.

In developing aircraft suited to the special services and peculiar conditions, an aeronautical laboratory is essential. Recognizing this fact and the national importance of aviation in Canada, the National Research Council has undertaken, with the approval of the subcommittee of the Privy Council on scientific and industrial research, the establishment at Ottawa of completely equipped aeronautical laboratories. The laboratories planned will compare favorably in extent and capacity with the best in other countries.

While the whole field of aeronautical research embraces most branches of engineering activity as well as many other sciences, the three principal divisions are aerodynamics, hydrodynamics, and power plant. Accordingly, the National Research Council is installing a wind tunnel for aerodynamic research, a test tank for the study of problems connected with floats and hulls, and power plant equipment for the testing of aircraft engines, fuels, etc.

The work of the laboratories will be principally aeronautical research for the purpose of improving the performance of aircraft, developing new types and solving problems arising in connection with the design, construction and operation of aircraft in Canada. Aeronautical testing will also be undertaken for designers, constructors, and operators, and the laboratories will be found very useful for many investigations of a non- aeronautical character.

Not the least important work of the laboratories will be the facilities offered for training in aeronautical research. The experience gained by young men in one or two years of research will be of material benefit not only to them but to the Canadian aircraft industry and aviation.

National Aeronautic Association Plans for 1930

Aviation, March 1.—On February 12, the board of governors of the National Aeronautic Association met at national headquarters, Barr Building, Washington, D.C., under the direction of Senator Hiram Bingham, president, and outlined a program of activities for 1930. Twenty important projects were planned and are as follows:

1. An intensive campaign of aeronautical education among all classes in order to promote airmindedness.
2. Organization of air tours and air races where such events will serve to further the progress of aviation.
3. Congressional authorization for the airmarking of all post offices and other government buildings where necessary.
4. Suitable state legislation requiring the air marking of all incorporated cities in accordance with the standards of the U. S. Department of Commerce.
5. Urging upon every state and community the establishment of adequate airport and landing facilities.
6. Energetic stimulation of junior aviation activity.
7. Energetic cooperation with civic, social, and commercial organizations and aeronautic groups in the development of aviation.
8. Uniform state aeronautical legislation consistent with the federal laws on the subject and in accordance with the recommended legislation set forth in Aernautics Bulletin No. 18 of the Department of Commerce (i.e. uniform licensing of airmen and aircraft.)
9. Continued development of the air mail system in the United States.
10. The energetic development of international air mail, express, and passenger routes, with special emphasis on such routes throughout the Americas.
11. Rapid development of private flying clubs and glider clubs.
12. Providing an adequate air defense for the United States and its insular possessions. We believe that the first step in that direction is to complete the Army and Navy 5-year programs, modified and augmented to meet changed requirements due to changed conditions.
13. Immediate legislation to provide for a just solution of the difficult personnel problems of the Army Air Corps.
14. Construction by the Navy of additional aircraft carriers.
15. Expansion of Army, Navy, and Marine Corps reserve aviation with proper provisions for airplanes and supplies.
16. Government aid for the more rapid development of airship navigation.
17. Continued development of the industrial war plans system.
18. Adequate awards for noteworthy aeronautic achievements.
19. Further development of aviation insurance and the fostering of aviation coverage in general policies.
20. An adequate headquarters building for the National Aeronautic Association in Washington.

The Henrickson Ice Warner

Aviation, March 1.—An instrument designed to warn pilots of the existence of conditions conducive to the formation of ice has been developed by the Bureau of Standards and is known as the Henrickson ice warner. It consists of a thermal switch located on a strut or other exposed part of the plane in the free air stream, and an indicator installed in the cockpit. A red light in the indicator flashes on at temperatures between 26 and 32 degrees which, according to experiments of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics, are those temperatures at which ice is formed in saturated atmospheres. Whether the degree of saturation present in the air is sufficient to prove dangerous is still a matter for the pilot’s judgment. Both the lift of the plane and the gross weight are greatly affected by ice formation, which may occur very rapidly between these two temperatures.

Standard pocket-size flashlight batteries are used for ease of installation, and are placed in a small box containing a red lamp within the cockpit. Contact points are made of coin silver. The lower contact is attached to an insulating sheeting of bakelite, and is crescent shaped so the temperature-actuated switch arm can ride over it without jamming due to any increase or decrease in temperature.

The time lag of the instrument is not excessive, although somewhat greater than that of the minimum temperature recorder. A thin aluminum base, to which the bimetal coil is attached, has proved itself a good radiator. In flight tests made by Roger Scott, operations manager at Hoover Field, Washington, the instrument has functioned satisfactorily. Previous laboratory tests made on a standard vibration board, and in an automobile over rough roads in an atmosphere of 32 degrees have shown that the bimetal coil with attached switch arm is sufficiently stiff to operate even when subject to severe vibrations.

Do-X to Attempt Atlantic Flight

Baltimore Sun, March 27.—The giant seaplane Do-X will fly the ocean and tour North America this summer if plans announced today are carried through.

Taking off from Lake Constance on the German-Swiss border, early in July, the big seaplane, which has a capacity for 150 passengers and baggage, would be flown over a 4,775-mile course to New York City. Stops for fuel would be made at Barcelona, the Azore Islands, and Bermuda.

She would be operated by a crew of six and carry fifty passengers, the small passenger list allowing an increased fuel load for the long hop from Barcelona to the Azores and from the Azores to Bermuda, 1,655 miles and 1,821 miles, respectively. Allowing for an average 25-mile-an-hour head wind the elapsed time of the flight would be about fifty hours.

After arriving at New York the Do-X would make one trip to the Great Lakes, stopping probably at Buffalo, Cleveland, Detroit, and Chicago, then return to New York City and skirt the North and Central American coasts via the Panama Canal to Pacific Coast cities.

In discussing the flight with associates, Dr. Dornier has insisted that he was not interested in the spectacular aspects of the flight, that it was to demonstrate the feasibility of transatlantic airplane service.

The big seaplane, in reality a flying boat, is of monoplane construction, 162 feet from wing tip to wing tip and with a 152-foot hull. On its transatlantic flight it will be powered by twelve 600-horsepower Curtiss Conqueror motors, manufactured at the Buffalo plant of the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. Two of these motors already have been shipped to Friedrichshafen for installation.

They will develop 1,200 more horsepower than the motors with which she made her test flight last October, carrying 169 passengers.

It is estimated the motors will drive the Do-X at a cruising speed of 125 miles an hour.

With the fifty passengers and fuel for the Azores-Bermuda hop she will be carrying a useful load of 40,800 pounds. The fuel alone for one hour of flight weighs 1,800 pounds.

The Do-X was launched on Lake Constance July 14, 1929. She was built at Altenrhein, Switzerland, just across Lake Constance from Friedrichshafen, home of the Graf Zeppelin.

There have been rumors that Dr. Dornier was connected with the Zeppelin Company, but so far as information in this country goes that is incorrect, and this summer’s flight will not be in line with the proposed transatlantic Zeppelin service, which is being financed jointly by German and American bankers.

The 5AT Tri-Motored Seaplane

N. W. Ayer and Son, March 5.—The largest twin-float seaplane in the United States, if not in the world, has achieved an exceptional performance in a series of tests through which it was put at the Philadelphia navy yard and at Hampton Roads, Virginia.

Designated as the 5AT tri-motored seaplane, it is adapted for alighting upon and taking off from water by substitution of two metal floats 22 feet long for the wheels commonly used on the landplane.

Primarily, the ship is a passenger transport plane, which can carry thirteen passengers, baggage, and mail. It can, however, be converted quickly into a bomber or torpedo ship, a 20-passenger troop transport, or a hospital air ambulance.

As a torpedo carrier, it has a capacity for two Mark IV torpedoes, weighing 1,800 pounds each. As a bomber, with landing wheels substituted for floats, it has a useful load of 6,000 pounds, equivalent to a cargo including a pilot, radio operator, bomber, gunner, three machine guns, two 1,100- pound bombs, 800 pounds of smaller demolition bombs, and fuel sufficient for five or six hours’ flight.

The craft differs from flying boats, which have been built to larger dimensions, in that it can be converted readily from water to land use. If desired, skis can be attached to replace the pontoons, so that it is adaptable to polar conditions. This was the case with the somewhat similar Ford craft used by Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd for his South Polar expedition, which was tested with skis and for low temperature work in Canada before its historic performance at the bottom of the world.

While not amphibian, the great seaplane has much of the flexibility of that type. Little time was required and no difficulty experienced in making the shift to pontoons at the Navy’s aviation plant at Philadelphia after the flight from Detroit, equipped with landing wheels.

Preliminary tests at Detroit were halted by the formation of ice in the river and consequent risk of damaging the pontoons. At Philadelphia, floating ice in the Delaware River interfered somewhat with the tests, but on several occasions the ship was taxied through fields of drift ice without causing any harm.

The trial trips at Philadelphia showed that, with full load, the plane had a high speed of 127 miles an hour, a cruising speed of 103 miles, a stalling speed of 65 miles and that with full load it can take off in 17 seconds. This is considered an outstanding performance for military or commercial twin-float seaplanes.

As a wheel equipped ship, the 5AT has a high speed of 135 miles an hour and a cruising speed of 113 miles.

The ship is powered by three Pratt and Whitney Wasp motors, with a combined horsepower of 1,275. The tests at Philadelphia demonstrated that the craft, as a seaplane carrying thirteen men, could climb at the rate of 850 feet a minute at a 3,000 foot altitude with all three motors in action. With any two in use and the third cut out the ship climbed about 300 feet a minute.

Normal cruising speed was maintained on any two motors with the third idling. When the two wing motors were cut out and that on the nose alone was in use, the craft lost altitude to such a slight degree that the result would be described as a “very long gliding angle.”

With all motors off, the plane can glide 8.7 miles for every mile of height it reaches.

In passenger transport service, the ability of a ship to keep its speed on two motors or to climb if desirable, is of obvious importance. It is no less important as a military factor, since in the event of engine trouble, the plane could maintain its place in formation, or, if carrying a load, could accomplish its mission or return to its base without having to discharge its torpedoes.

In an altitude test the craft, fully loaded, reached 15,500 feet. The gross weight on this trip was 13,500 pounds or slightly more than six tons. The weight of the ship itself is 8,825 pounds.

The wing span, over all, is 77 feet 10 inches; the length is 49 feet 10 inches, wing area is 835 square feet, the height 14 feet 6 inches, and the normal gasoline capacity 277 gallons. This can be increased to a maximum of 355 gallons.

The maximum radius of action is 625 miles. Electric inertia starters permit all motors to be primed and started from the cockpit without either pilot or mechanic leaving it.

Other specifications include: average width of cabin 4 feet 6 inches; height of cabin 6 feet; length of cabin, 18 feet 9 inches; 13 removable passenger seats; baggage space, 30 cubic feet; metal propellers; 25 ampere generator; oil capacity, 34 gallons.

The wing loading is 16.2 pounds per square foot, while power loading statistics are: one engine, 31.8 pounds per horsepower; two engines, 15.9 pounds per horsepower ; three engines, 10.6 pounds per horsepower.

Helium Production at Amarillo

New York Herald Tribune, March 16.— At a cost of a fraction more than $12 a thousand cubic feet, approximately 1,000,000 cubic feet of helium gas was produced at the United States government plant here during January. The gas was of 98 per cent purity. Construction of additions to the plant and the storage tanks, which will double their capacity, is now under way. F. A. Vestal, engineer in charge, states that by July 1 production by the plant here will be ample to supply the dirigible needs of the United States Army and Navy, even should the quantity which these two departments of the government are now using be doubled.

During 1930 the needs of the government dirigibles will be approximately 12,000,000 cubic feet of helium, it is estimated, and it is expected that twice this quantity will be required in 1931. In the additions now being made equipment from the old helium plant at Fort Worth, which has been dismantled, is being used.

The present storage capacity here is 1,000,000 cubic feet. This is being increased to 2,000,000 cubic feet. It is planned to have sufficient helium in storage by the time two new dirigibles of the Navy are completed in 1931 to supply them with the non- inflammable gas.

Improved methods have brought about an enormous decrease in the cost of producing helium during the last eighteen months, and it is believed by Mr. Vestal that a still further reduction will be made soon.

The supply of gas from which helium is extracted comes from extensive government holdings in the Amarillo territory, including four wells with a combined open flow of 32,000,000 cubic feet daily and gas leasehold rights on 26,000 acres, estimated to contain fifty years’ supply of helium. The wells are connected with the helium plant by eleven miles of 6-inch high-pressure pipe line. Negotiations are pending for the purchase of surface and gas rights to 11,833 acres.

The helium produced at Amarillo is 3j£ per cent purer than that produced at the Fort Worth plant, Mr. Vestal said. This higher purity helium has a greater lifting power of lighter-than-air craft than that formerly used.

Army Aircraft Concentration in California

New York Herald Tribune, March 2.— The nation’s aerial fighters stationed at this base and at the other stations throughout the country have begun preparations for the national concentration of military aircraft forces at the Air Corps field exercises to be held in California next month. During the aerial maneuvers, which will be held from April 1 to April 24, several new tactical theories in air operation are to be tested.

The coming exercises will mark the first time that there has been a national concentration of military planes on the Pacific Coast. More than 130 ships will participate in the maneuvers, which are to be conducted under the command of Brigadier General William G. Gilmore, assistant to the chief of the Air Corps in charge of training and operations. While the major portion of the flight problem will be worked out at Mather Field, near Sacramento, some of the principal operations will be conducted near San Francisco, and this will be the first time that plans have been used on a large scale in a stimulated coast defense operations. It is believed that in this phase of the aerial exercises the question of the battleship versus the airplane will be reopened.

The first week of the military aircraft exercises will be devoted to the training of the elements within the various groups to be represented in the concentration and which will be drawn from all parts of the United States. This will involve training in airdrome discipline, including traffic problems, such as prompt take-offs and landings with a view to perfecting coordination of combined units on congested areas.

With a total of 130 planes on one field, F. Trubee Davison, Assistant Secretary of War for Aeronautics, has pointed out in detailing the plans for the coming maneuvers all elements of necessity must be very accurate, not only for the success of tactical operations but for general safety as well.

The second week will be devoted to elementary tactical problems involving each type of aircraft and including practical tests of new and untried tactics which have been evolved from previous exercises.

British Air Budget

New York Times, March 9.—The additional expenditure of $4,450,000 on aviation was announced today by Lord Thomson, the Secretary of State for Air, in his department’s estimates for the coming year. The total amount the government will spend on aviation is $89,250,000, as compared with $84,000,000 last year.

Most of the increase comes from expansion in civil aviation and its equipment. The additional expenditure on the Royal Air Force, however, is comparatively modest and is “designed to demonstrate,” according to Lord Thomson, “the earnest desire of the government to avoid disastrous competition in air armaments.”

The government agrees to continue its subsidizing of light airplane clubs, of which there are now thirteen in Great Britain. The university air squadrons at Oxford and Cambridge also will be continued, and Lord Thomson declares they are showing excellent results. Some criticism is expected by the government on the limiting of the home defense program to fifty-two squadrons, but the limitation reflects the MacDonald Cabinet’s desire for the ruthless cutting of all military expenditures.

Regarding airships, Lord Thomson expresses satisfaction with the R-100 and R- 101 and affirms his faith in their future accomplishments. “Both airships have proved to be thoroughly stable and easy to control,” he declares.

The department’s estimates make provision for a flight of the R-100 to Montreal in the spring or summer, for a flight to India by the R-101 in the autumn and for a flight by a squadron of flying boats over the Baltic Sea in the summer.

MISCELLANEOUS

The Security of Armaments

Naval and Military Record, March 12. By Sir Herbert Russell.—Armaments are the material expression of a nation’s strength. They are the sinews of the national body upon which it depends for the ability to take its own part in the world. When we find any national body strenuously developing its sinews we reasonably suspect that it is getting into training for a fight. The causes leading to this process of muscular expansion may be obvious, or they may be speculative. We are just now in a period when there is no visible effort at developing the biceps on the part of any of the great national bodies. And so the pacifists have proclaimed that the era has dawned when there is no longer any need to maintain sinews, that soft brains will supplant sturdy brawn, and that we may throw away our gloves and go out of all training with any idea of remaining ready to back right with might.

Moral righteousness is a fine thing. But it is a precious poor substitute for physical fitness. The man of atrophied muscle who is reduced to the pitiful gesture of turning the other cheek to an impudent aggressor is not going to find much consolation for his humiliation in the sense that moral right is on his side. He merely feels burning shame at his impotence to point moral right with one on the solar plexus. He knows that his impudent aggressor is simply trading on his muscular impotence. A great country is a strong country, the terms are synonymous. But strength must take a tangible form. Who, down to the early nineties, thought of Japan as a great country in what I will call the diplomatic interpretation of the term? An interesting country—a fascinating country—a charming people, and all this sort of thing, but great ? What had they ever done in the world ? Then they mopped- up Chinese sea power like a dogfish let loose amid a school of herrings. Next they mopped-up Russian naval and military power with a thoroughness which set the Western world rubbing its eyes in astonishment. Their greatness had always been there only we had not realized it until they showed their strength. Again and again during the wave of demoralization caused by the retreat from Mons I heard men exclaim, “We must get the Japs over to beat the Germans !” The suggestion was illuminating as illustrating the respect in the popular mind for the Japanese nation as a result of the splendid demonstration they had given of their capacity for taking their own part. Russia thought they would discreetly retire before her unwieldy bulk; instead, they girt their sinews and just doubled up that unwieldy bulk.

And so it has been throughout the world’s history. The concrete symbol of the greatness of this little country is the badge of the crown and the foul anchor. It is the label of our national sinews, never wholly absent from the contemplation of foreign chancelleries when we are arguing a point with them. When Mr. Philip Snowden took his stand against the foreign statesmen at The Hague who were seeking to filch our just right still further, all those statesmen instinctively felt that they were up against the spokesman of a strong country. Had the self-same man taken up the self-same line on behalf of a weak country what sort of a chance are we to suppose he would have stood? There was naturally no sort of hint that the rapacious foreigners were endeavoring to best the strongest sea power in the world, but I have not the least doubt that a sub conscious realization of the fact proved Mr. Snowden’s greatest asset. He was in a position to be as brusque and downright as he pleased, and he was in that position because at the back of moral right (which does not trouble international financiers) was the impalpable reality of superior physical might. It appears to me that the one country which nowadays realizes this truth is the United States. She wants a preponderant Navy for the sake of prestige, to add weight to whatever she may say in the course of her mentorship of the rest of the world. She wants it to “show the flag,” and, after all, showing the flag is only a friendly way of reminding other people of national strength.

Ever since the world became civilized armaments have been a very definite adjunct to diplomacy. The fluctuations in them are dictated by changes in political situations. “Sabre-rattling” has never been in our line, but the existence of a supreme navy has proved a palpable influence in determining various critical situations which come easily to mind in a retrospect of the past half- century. The current view of certain British and American statesmen is that such coercive influence is no longer necessary in this (presumably) vastly improved world, but I must confess that I cannot find any practical evidence of a similar faith in other countries. The statesmen who count in America are determined that their pacifist pacts shall be backed by the “biggest ever” in the naval line; other people may believe in pacts if they will, but the land which mainly promotes and fosters them believes more in armaments. Curiously enough, no other nation nowadays seems at all concerned that Great Britain shall reduce her Navy. Anxiety upon the subject is limited to the United States, with whom war is supposed to be “unthinkable.” Is it altogether unreasonable to conclude that other nations, having had plenty of experience of the extreme moderation and justice which has always marked British policy so far as this in any way involves the Navy, would prefer to see the British Navy remain supreme than surrender the trident to another navy, whose purpose in claiming a parity studiously calculated in terms of actual dominance is so very obscure? I cannot recall any talk in this country about a “Big Stick Navy.” For generations past now we have simply built what warships we needed, and, as regularly as clockwork, successive First Lords of the Admiralty have clearly explained why we needed those warships in presenting the navy estimates to Parliament.

A strong nation, like a strong man, is best fitted to keep the peace. The British people are very desirous to keep the peace, although a good many of them think that the whining of Socialist politicians about the horrors of war are a little bit supererogatory at a time when no such horrors are threatened in any shape or form. Whether the best way of ensuring for all time against the horrors of war is by signing virtuous treaties, scrapping our weapons, and spending the money saved upon free motor cars for tired people, or some equally worthy object of social reform, is a misgiving only to be answered in one way. We are not liked in the world; in fact, we are thoroughly disliked. Let there be no misconception as to this. But our strength commands respect. We do not want to flaunt that strength any more than an amiable giant with an offensive neighbor feels any necessity to give weight-lifting demonstrations upon his doorstep. But to wantonly sacrifice that which has made us strong and which keeps us strong is to court the fate which has come to all nations when they would no longer be troubled with the obligations imposed by keeping fit to take their own part. I am prepared to be told that this is a quite unnecessary homily as we are not going to sacrifice our strength. To which I can only reply that the amount of canceling of prearranged warship construction which has gone on since the Five Years’ Replacement Program was authorized in 1925, “to replace worn-out ships,” seems to me a pretty practical example of encouraging muscular atrophy. Has all this "gesturing” to a cynical world enhanced our prestige or gained us one atom of respect? It certainly has brought us ridicule and contempt, not, indeed, for what we have done, but for the way of doing it.

In the past our sea power has waxed and waned in response to the changing conditions in world affairs. But we have always remained “captain of our soul” in the matter of determining the waxing and waning. We have been influenced certainly by what other nations have done, but we have never asked them what we may do or told them what they must not do. In fact, we have regarded the process of “keeping fit” as our own particular business. The French, it may be observed, still take this view. They intend to keep up that element of their national strength which is expressed in sea armaments. They have joined in discussion upon the subject so as to maintain the comity of nations, but on the very clear understanding that they were not going to stand any humbug. They are not preparing for war; if any people on the face of the earth have had enough of war for a very long time to come it is the French. But they believe that the possession of a hundred submarines will give them a much more weighty voice in world counsels and, therefore, when they are asked to agree to the total abolition of the submarine they politely request that more such bunkum shall be talked. What is the consequence? We are bound to admit once again that the French are the most logical nation on earth and they gain enhanced prestige for declining to reduce their strength.

Russia is said to be arming her Red Army to the teeth and preparing for “an inevitable world war.” We read this with indifference. Why? Because our own strength enables us to treat it with indifference. We feel that a fleet in the Baltic, with aircraft carriers sending droves of airplanes over St. Petersburg, or Petrograd, or Leningrad, or whatever the blessed place is now called, is a possibility to leave the Soviet satisfied with violent talk and nothing more. China continues to threaten all sorts of funny things against the cursed foreigners who will not give up the concessions which they have converted from mud and bamboo jumbles into splendid townships. But nobody takes all this very seriously because the China squadron is a permanent silent reminder to the Celestial exploiters that “no can do” is the final comment upon all their heroic talk. Thus we see how our armaments preserve the peace by the very simple process of making the would-be conquerors afraid to break it. We can tell Russia and China—and anybody else for the matter of that—that we are not going to stand any nonsense and they know that we have the strength to make good our admonition. In the early days of the Great War children were taught to “thank God and the British Navy for their daily bread.” There was no irreverence in this literal truth. It has become a perverted habit of thought with our pacifists to think and talk about our armaments as a perpetual provocation to war. They are arguing that we must “ensure the peace” and that, to do this, we must cut down the means of making war. In other words we must voluntarily renounce keeping ourselves fit to take our own part and trust in the kindly good will of other nations not to give us a slap in the face. This may be good stuff for Sunday schools. But when it forms the doctrine of British statesmen it certainly arouses a sense of dismay.