UNITED STATES
Vessels under Construction, U. S. Navy, Joint Report of Progress as of June 1, 1937
Type and Name | Contractor | Percentage of Completion | Keel Laid | Months to Build | Date of Com pletion as Reported by Building Yard | |
Hull | Machinery | |||||
Aircraft Yorktown | Newport News S.B. & D.D. Co. | 96,5 | 98.2 | 5/21/34 | 43 § | 7/20/37 |
Carriers: Enterprise | Newport News S.B. & D.D. Co. | 95.1 | 92.2 | 7/16/34 | 47 | 12/21/37 |
Wasp | Bethlehem S.B. Corp. Fore River | 22.2 | 25.8 | 4/ 1/36 | 36 | 9/19/38 |
Heavy Wichita Cruiser: | Philadelphia Navy Yard | 57.8 | 50.3 | 10/28/35 | 38 | 8/ 1/38 |
Light Brooklyn | New York Navy Yard | 86.4 | 87.6 | 3/12/35 | 36 | 11/ 1/37 |
Cruisers: Philadelphia | Philadelphia Navy Yard | 86.9 | 78.4 | 5/28/35 | 36 | 10/ 1/37 |
Savannah | New York S.B. Corp. | 68.2 | 79.8 | 5/31/34 | 41 + | 3/ 1/38 |
Nashville | New York S.B. Corp. | 62.4 | 76.1 | 1/24/35 | 45 + | 7/ 1/38 |
Phoenix | New York S.B. Corp. | 48.9 | 52.7 | 4/15/35 | 36 | 11/ 1/38 |
Boise | Newport News S.B. & D.D. Co. | 78. | 71.9 | 4/ 1/35 | 36 | 5/18/38 |
Honolulu | New York Navy Yard | 71.4 | 73.5 | 9/10/35 | 36 | 5/ 1/38 |
St. Louis | Newport News S.B. & D.D. Co. | 36.4 | 23.2 | 12/10/36 | 38} | 1/ 2/39 |
Helena | New York Navy Yard | 15.2 | 9.5 | 12/ 9/36 | 39 | 5/16/39 |
Submarines: Pompano | Mare Island Navy Yard | 83.6 | 93.5 | 1/ 4/36 | 30 | 10/ 1/37 |
Salmon | Electric Boat Co. | 87.1 | 56. | 4/15/36 | 27 | 1/19/38 |
Seal | Electric Boat Co. | 79.9 | 52. | 5/25/36 | 30 | 3/19/38 |
Skipjack | Electric Boat Co. | 69.4 | 48. | 7/22/36 | 33 | 6/19/38 |
Snapper | Portsmouth Navy Yard | 58.3 | 72.8 | 7/23/36 | 27 | 3/ 1/38 |
Stingray | Portsmouth Navy Yard | 54.2 | 60.4 | 10/ 1/36 | 30 | 6/ 1/38 |
Sturgeon | Mare Island Navy Yard | 32.1 | 53.1 | 10/27/36 | 30 | 9/ 1/38 |
Sargo | Electric Boat Co. | 12.8 | 2.4 | 5/12/37 | 33 | 6/ 4/39 |
Saury | Electric Boat Co. | 12.7 | 2.4 | — | 34} | 7/19/39 |
Spear fish | Electric Boat Co. | 12.7 | 2.4 | — | 36 | 9/ 4/39 |
Sculpin | Portsmouth Navy Yard | 2.5 | 5.7 | — | 30 | 6/ 1/39 |
Squalus | Portsmouth Navy Yard | 2.5 | 5.7 | — | 32 | 8/ 1/39 |
Swordfish | Mare Island Navy Yard | .2 | 4.4 | — | 30 | 8/ 1/39 |
Destroyers: Somers | Federal S.B. & D.D. Co. | 85.9 | 89.2 | 6/27/35 | 34 | 12/22/37 |
(1850 ton) Warrington | Federal S.B. & D.D. Co. | 83. | 86.8 | 10/10/35 | 36 | 2/22/38 |
Sampson | Bath Iron Works Corp. | 46.7 | 59.9 | 4/ 8/36 | 27 | 12/19/38 |
Davis | Bath Iron Works Corp. | 45. | 56.9 | 7/28/36 | 30 | 2/19/39 |
Jouelt | Bath Iron Works Corp. | 42.3 | 51.9 | 3/26/36 | 33 | 4/19/39 |
Destroyers: Gridley | Bethlehem S.B. Corp, Fore River | 99.8 | 97.1 | 6/ 3/35 | 29 | 6/15/37 |
(1500 ton) Craven | Bethlehem S.B. Corp. Fore River | 92.8 | 92.6 | 6/ 3/35 | 32 | 9/ 2/37 |
Fanning | United Shipyards Inc. | 92.2 | 90.7 | 4/10/35 | 22 + | 8/ 9/37 |
Bagley | Norfolk Navy Yard | 89. | 97.7 | 7/31/35 | 24 | 7/30/37 |
Blue | Norfolk Navy Yard | 78.1 | 88. | 9/25/35 | 27 | 10/ 1/37 |
Helm | Norfolk Navy Yard | 73.3 | 82.1 | 9/25/35 | 30 | 12/ 1/37 |
Mug ford | Boston Navy Yard | 81. | 92. | 10/28/35 | 24 | 10/ 1/37 |
Ralph Talbot | Boston Navy Yard | 80. | 90. | 10/28/35 | 27 | 11/ 1/37 |
Henley | Mare Island Navy Yard | 84. | 89.3 | 10/28/35 | 24 | 10/ 1/37 |
Patterson | Puget Sound Navy Yard | 84.3 | 93.1 | 7/23/35 | 24 | 11/ 1/37 |
Jarvis | Puget Sound Navy Yard Federal S.B. & D.D. Co. | 81.7 | 93.1 | 8/21/35 | 27 | 12/ 1/37 |
Benham | 24.8 | 26.1 | 9/ 1/36 | 26 | 9/14/38 | |
Ellet | Federal S.B. & D.D. Co. | 24. | 25.6 | 12/ 3/36 | 29 | 10/29/38 |
Lane | Federal S.B. & D.D. Co. | 21.7 | 24.5 | 4/ 5/37 | 32 | 12/14/38 |
McCall | Bethlehem S.B. Corp. (Union) | 67.1 | 69.1 | 3/17/36 | 24 | 3/ 2/38 |
Maury | Bethlehem S.B. Corp. (Union) | 60.5 | 66.4 | 3/24/36 | 27 | 6/ 1/38 |
Mayrant | Boston Navy Yard | 15. | 8.5 | 4/15/37 | 28 | 6/14/38 |
Trtppe | Boston Navy Yard | 15. | 7.5 | 4/15/37 | 30 | 8/14/38 |
Rhtnd | Philadelphia Navy Yard | 10.2 | 3.5 | —. | 28 | 12/14/38 |
Rowan | Norfolk Navy Yard | 11.5 | 6.6 | — | 28 | 6/14/38 |
Stack | Norfolk Navy Yard Charleston Navy Yard | 11.5 | 6.6 | _ | 30 | 8/14/38 |
Sterett | 20.6 | 4.9 | 12/ 2/36 | 28 | 6/14/38 | |
Wilson | Puget Sound Navy Yard | 23. | 4.1 | 3/22/37 | 28 | 6/14/38 |
Sims | Bath Iron Works Corp. | 3.8 | 3.1 | — | 30 | 4/12/39 |
Hughes | Bath Iron Works Corp. | 3.8 | 3.1 | __ | 32 | 6/12/39 |
Anderson | Federal S.B. & D.D. Co. | 1.3 | 4. | _ | 30 | 4/12/39 |
Hammann | Federal S.B. & D.D. Co. | 1.3 | 4. | __ | 32 | 6/12/39 |
M uslin | Newport News S.B. & D.D. Co. | 2.7 | 1.3 | _ | 30 | 4/12/39 |
Russell | Newport News S.B. & D.D. Co. | 2.7 | 1.3 | _ | 32 | 6/12/39 |
O'Brien | Boston Navy Yard | — | — | _ | 31 | 8/12/39 |
Walke | Boston Navy Yard | — | — | _ | 33 | 10/12/39 |
Morris | Norfolk Navy Yard Charleston Navy Yard | .1 | .6 | _ | 31 | 8/12/39 |
Roe | .2 | .4 | __ . | 31 | 8/12/39 | |
Wainwright | Norfolk Navy Yard | .1 | .6 | _ | 32 | 10/12/39 |
Buck | Philadelphia Navy Yard | .1 | .5 | — | 31 | 9/12/39 |
Note.—Submarines Permit, Plunger, and Pollack; and destroyers Winslow, Case, Conyngham, Shaw, Tucker, Downes, and Dunlap were delivered since April report.
“Hindenburg” Disaster
Press Release, May 7.—Commander C. E. Rosendahl, U.S.N., Commanding Officer, Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, New Jersey, today reported the following information regarding the Hindenburg disaster. The message was filed at 3:15 a.m.
The Commanding Officer of this station has communicated to the Commandant Fourth Naval District, Navy Yard, Philadelphia, Pa., the immediate superior, and to the Navy Department, all the known information relative to the loss of me German airship Hindenburg at this station on afternoon of May 6. Briefly summed up, the following represents the situation as now known, the airship Hindenburg is a total loss from a hydrogen fire originating at or near the stern of the ship and in the ship during the landing operations at the Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, about 6:25 p.m. E.S.T., May 6, 1937. The landing was being conducted in the normal manner. The ship’s manila trail ropes had been dropped to the ground from an altitude of about 200 ft., and there connected to corresponding ground ropes used in landing the ship. About 4 minutes after the ropes had been dropped, a fire appeared in the after part of the ship and worked progressively forward. The ship settled to the ground tail first and was practically completely ablaze for her entire length by the time the ground was reached, it is impossible at this time to assemble the various stories in connection with the rescues of the Personnel of the Hindenburg, but it is apparent that there were several notable cases of rescue Work by persons within the ship and without. The fire burned for several hours and was finally extinguished completely by means of chemical extinguishers and water. According to the best information now available, out of the total of 97 persons on board, 64 escaped alive. Included in this number are 44 members of the crew of 61 and 20 passengers, out of the total of 36. Two of the 20 surviving passengers are reported to be seriously injured. Seven persons of the 97 are still unaccounted for. Although trained naval airship personnel searched the wreckage completely upon sufficient cooling of the structure, no additional bodies were recovered. The search is being continued and will probably become more effective with daylight. Of the three airship captains on board, Captain Lehmann and Captain Pruss escaped with bad burns. Captain Wittemann miraculously escaped without the slightest injury as did a considerable number of the crew. Medical assistance was quickly available from many sources, and those injured who could not be accommodated at the Dispensary at this station, were taken to near-by hospitals. The Naval Air Station has been closed to all visitors, in order that the wreckage may be maintained intact for such official investigations as will logically follow. At this time the Commanding Officer of this station cannot state definitely just what form such investigations will take, but it is expected that decisions will be reached by the government agencies having jurisdiction, during Friday, May 7. The public is earnestly requested not to attempt to visit this station until further notice. It is manifestly impossible to carry on the necessary investigations should the public be admitted to the station. Press and other Public Relations organizations are being afforded full opportunity to acquire general information. No damage occurred to any government property, and it is not believed that there were other than very minor injuries to any naval personnel. However, Allen Hagarman of Lakehurst, New Jersey, a civilian member of the ground crew, died at the Dispensary on this station tonight from burns. It is entirely too early to hazard any guess as to the origin of the fire which destroyed the ship. The cause of the fire and the consequent loss of the ship will of course have to be determined by the investigating bodies.
New Model Basin Named
Press Release, May 14.—Secretary of the Navy Claude A. Swanson announced today that, with the approval of the President, decision had been reached to designate the Naval Experimental Model Basin as “The David W. Taylor Model Basin,” in honor of Rear Admiral David W. Taylor (C.C.), U.S.N. (Ret.), who was the war-time Chief Constructor and served under President Roosevelt when the latter was Assistant Secretary of the Navy. Admiral Taylor is considered to be the most outstanding naval architect this country ever produced and has an international reputation second to none.
The David W. Taylor Model Basin was authorized by Act of Congress on May 6, 1936, and the Naval Appropriation Act approved by the President April 27, 1937, appropriated funds for its construction. This new model basin, replacing the present model basin in the Washington Navy Yard, which was designed in 1895, is to be constructed at Carderock, in the vicinity of Cabin John, Maryland. This site was selected because of its special suitability by reason of rock foundation, adequate water supply, and proximity to the design staff of the Navy Department. Advertisement notices have been published for bids to be opened about the middle of July for the construction of the Model Basin and the plans and specifications will be ready to issue to bidders in about two weeks.
While the Navy Department by law operates the Model Basin, it is not solely a navy project but a national project, working for shipping and scientific interests throughout the United States. It is, to a large extent, a self-liquidating project, because all work done for any individual or private company is carried out at the expense of the individual or company concerned.
Various Notes
Secretary of the Navy Swanson announced today that the date for opening bids for the construction of Battleship No. 55 is extended from June 2,1937, to Thursday, June 17, 1937, subject to all other conditions contained in the Navy Department’s invitation for bids of March 15, 1937.—Press Release, May 8.
Millions of dollars in Federal and private contracts were tied up today when the Federal Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co. plant was closed as 2,400 employees called a strike. The issue was slightly confused, workers maintaining that their strike had closed the plant and the management insisting that it had shut down of its own volition.
It was learned today, after the shutdown, that the workers had staged a sit-down from 10:30 a.m. until noon yesterday as a display of strength. Today they reported for work between 7:30 and 9 a.m. but did nothing but debate. At 10:00 a.m. the plant whistles blew and officials announced that the plant was closed until further notice. The workers filed out in orderly fashion. Four hundred white collar workers were unaffected.
The company was at work on a large contract from the Standard Oil Co. of New Jersey for the construction of oil tankers, and last Saturday launched the U.S.S. Warrington, a destroyer. The U.S.S. Somers was launched some time earlier, but a good deal of work remained to be done on both vessels. The keels for two more destroyers already have been laid.—Herald Tribune, N. Y. Kearny, N. J., May 18.
The strike of 2,500 workers at the Federal Shipbuilding and Drydock Co. plant here was settled late today when L. H. Korndorff, president, agreed to sign a contract with the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America, Local 16, an affiliate of the Committee for Industrial Organization. As announced by Korndorff the contract provides that the union will be recognized as the collective bargaining agent for its members and wages will be increased from 57£ cents to 62| cents an hour. Hours and working conditions remain substantially the same. Work, which had been suspended since the walkout last Wednesday, will be resumed Monday, it was said.—Herald, Washington. Kearney, N. J., May 22 (U.P.).
The navy cruiser Savannah slid down the ways into the Delaware River today at the New York Shipbuilding Corp. yards, to be commissioned by next spring as the newest unit of the United States Fleet.
Fourteen-year-old Jane Mayo Bowden, of Savannah, cracked a bottle of champagne on the vessel’s prow. A strong wind showered the wine over her mother, Mrs. James H. Bowden, and sister, Marguerite, who were with her on the christening platform.
A piece of the broken bottle scratched her on the arm and she was given first-aid treatment.
Mayor Robert M. Hitch, of Savannah; Mayor George Brunner, of Camden; naval and other officials saw the 600-ft. ship floated in the river and towed to a dock to be commissioned.
Miss Bowden is a niece of United States Senator Richard B. Russell, Jr., and United States Representative Hugh Peterson, Jr., both of Georgia, and a granddaughter of Chief Justice Richard B. Russell, of the Georgia Supreme Court.
The keel of the Savannah was laid in May, 1934. It is the third naval vessel to bear the name, and will be of 10,000 tons displacement.—Sun, Baltimore. Camden, N. J., May 8.
For the first time in the history of the Norfolk Navy Yard, two destroyers, the U.S.S. Blue and Helm, will be launched at the same time next Thursday noon.
A general invitation has been extended the public by navy yard officials to witness the event.
Launching of the destroyers will be unusual, not only because of the double event, but also for the reason the launching will be accomplished by flooding the dry dock in which the vessels have been constructed. At the moment the vessels lift from the blocks and are afloat the christening will take place.
The U.S.S. Helm is named in honor of the late Rear Admiral James Meredith Helm, who rendered conspicuous service during the Spanish-American War. The Blue is named in honor of the late Rear Admiral Victor Blue, who also performed meritorious service in the Spanish-American War.
Sponsor for the Helm will be Mrs. James Helm of Washington, widow of the late rear admiral. The Blue will be christened by Miss Kate Lilly Blue of Bluefields, Marion, S. C., sister of the late Rear Admiral Blue.
The Helm and Blue are identical in design, both being vessels 334 ft. long with a beam of 35 ft. and a draft of 9 ft., 10 in. Each weighs 1,500 tons. Keels for the two destroyers were laid September 25, 1935.—Star, Washington. Portsmouth, Va., May 24.
President Roosevelt today sent a report of five cabinet officers recommending the sale of helium to foreign countries to promote safety in lighter-than-air craft to the Senate and House Military Affairs Committees.
The report, prepared by the Secretaries of State, War, Navy, Interior, and Commerce, stipulated that any sale of helium should have “adequate safeguards against military use.” It said that “any unneeded surplus” of the noninflammable gas should be made available to foreign countries. The gas is being used in medical experimentation, as well as for American lighter-than-air craft.
The question of sale of helium to foreign countries was raised by the disaster to the Hindenburg at Lakehurst, N. J., early this month.
Meanwhile representatives of a domestic airship concern testified before the Senate Military Affairs Committee that Germany wants helium “for military purposes” and not for commercial use.—Tribune, Chicago. Washington, D. C., May 25. [Special.]
An isolated arctic port—where money is so useless it is “strewn in the streets”—will be visited by the Coast Guard cutter Northland, sailing today on a survey expedition. The unique spot is St. Lawrence Bay, on the barren Siberian coast, where money has no value because no traders are allowed and there is nothing to buy. It has but two Russian inhabitants, a woman doctor and a male scientist.
Commander F. A. Zeusler of the Coast Guard described St. Lawrence Bay as “one place in the world where money means so little it is strewn in the streets.”
He said that on his first visit there in 1934 his men saw coins on the ground. But scientific research, not abandoned money, is taking Commander Zeusler back.
He has the Russian Ambassador’s approval that he may correlate his oceanographic studies with those of distinguished Soviet scientists who seek to solve the puzzle of what happens to Pacific Ocean water after it passes through Bering Strait into the Arctic Ocean.
Zeusler started his study of Far Northern currents and of the plankton—minute vegetable and animal organisms on which fish feed—3 years ago.
He began them, colleagues say, because he was bored with simply steaming back and forth as “ferryman, mail carrier, judge, jury, and motion picture impresario” for the isolated settlements in Far Northern Alaska and the Aleutian Islands.—Star, Washington. Seattle, May 21.
Bids for the construction of two submarines to be built in private shipyards will be received on June 16 at the Navy Department, Washington, D. C.—Marine Progress.
Bids will be received on June 4 at the office of the Secretary of the Navy, Washington, D. C., for furnishing propelling machinery for installation on 4 submarines.—Marine Progress.
Great Britain
New Battleships Ordered
London Times, April 29.—Though in a technical sense the three new battleships of the current year’s building program are to be of the same class as the King George V and Prince of Wales of the 1936 program, in nomenclature they are to form a new “Admiral” class. The First Lord of the Admiralty announced in the House of Commons yesterday that they would be named Anson, Jellicoe, and Beatty.
There was an “Admiral” class of battleships towards the end of the nineteenth century. There was to have been another toward the end of the war, of which the Hood only was completed, her three sister- ships being countermanded while still in an early stage of construction when the war came to an end. While names of distinguished admirals of the past have recently been given only to flotilla leaders, it is fitting, now that battleships are once more being built, that there should be a reversion to the earlier precedent of commemorating great seamen by naming after them great ships.
No former ships of the Navy have borne the names of Jellicoe or Beatty, for it is not two years since the deaths of these two great men. It is not necessary to tell even the younger generation today of their claims to fame; they are well known. But there have been five former Ansons, named after the circumnavigator and victor at Finisterre in 1747.
The first, a 60-gun ship, was so named when she was launched in the year of that victory; she was sold out of the Navy in 1773. The second Anson, 64, was launched in 1781, and had a long and honorable career in action before she was wrecked off Mount’s Bay on December 29, 1807. The third was a 74, launched at Hull in 1812 and broken up in 1851. The fourth, an 81-gun ship with engines of 800 hp., was launched in 1860, to be obsolete before she was completed, since the day of the ironclad was already at hand. She was renamed Algiers when her successor, the 10,600-ton battleship of the first “Admiral” class, was launched in 1886, and she did duty as a harbor ship at Chatham up to 1904. The fifth was placed on the sale list after 23 years in 1909.
One of the Hood’s sister-ships was to have been named Anson in 1919, but as she was never completed the sixth of the name is the new ship of this year’s program.
The contracts for the three new battleships are being allocated as follows:
H.M.S. Anson.—John Brown and Co., Ltd., Clydebank.
H.M.S. Jellicoe.—Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson, Ltd., Wallsend-on-Tyne (with machinery by the Wallsend Slipway and Engineering Co., Ltd.).
H.M.S. Beatty.—The Fairfield Ship' building and Engineering Co., Ltd., Go- van.
The decision of the Admiralty to build two of the battleships on the Clyde will mean a period of sustained employment not only for the shipyard workers in the yards concerned but also in the steelmaking industry. The battleships will take about 3 years to build.
The placing of the orders has been anticipated on the Clyde for some time and berths have already been prepared in the yards of Messrs. John Brown and Messrs. Fairfield, of Govan.
Messrs. Fairfield have launched noteworthy vessels for the Admiralty, among them the Renown and Valiant. Messrs- John Brown have been responsible for the Hood and other famous ships.
The order for the Jellicoe is the first battleship order that Messrs. Swan, Hunter and Wigham Richardson have received from the Admiralty. The firm has built many destroyers and several cruisers, and at present are building a cruiser and 4 destroyers.
H.M. Aircraft Carrier “Ark Royal”
The Engineer, April 23.—The Ark Royal was successfully launched from the Birkenhead yard of Cammell, Laird and Co., Ltd., and was named by Lady Maud Hoare, the wife of Sir Samuel Hoare, the First Lord of the Admiralty.
The Ark Royal was ordered as part of the 1934 program, and her design was therefore of necessity governed by the restrictions of the Washington treaty, then in force. Under that treaty the standard displacement of aircraft carriers was, it may be recalled, limited to 27,000 tons, and the maximum total tonnage of aircraft carriers to 135,000 tons, circumstances under which the aim of the designers would naturally be to provide for carrying as many aircraft as possible in each ship. For some time, however, prior to the time when the Washington treaty was due to expire, the British government had advocated a reduction in the standard displacement of aircraft carriers to 22,000 tons. The Ark Royal was accordingly deigned for a standard displacement of 22,000 tons, which it was then anticipated would be the maximum figure allowable if the treaty were renewed. In the London Naval Treaty, however, which replaced the Washington treaty, the limit for the standard displacement of aircraft carriers was fixed at 23,000 tons. The displacement of the Ark Royal is therefore below the maximum allowable for this particular class of naval vessel.
The order for the construction of the ship was placed with Cammell, Laird and Co., Ltd., in April, 1935, and the keel was laid on September 16 of the same year. It is expected that she will be completed and commissioned during the summer of 1938. Some particulars of the vessel will be of interest to our readers. The weight of the ship as launched was, we understand, about 15,300 tons. This weight of steel having been worked into the hull during the comparatively short period of 18 months, in a ship incorporating many novel features in design, with the use of gelding to a large extent, marks a record in such special construction, and reflects the greatest credit upon the shipbuilders and the Director of Naval Construction and their respective staffs.
The hull of the Ark Royal has a length of 685 ft. between perpendiculars, and is thus some 50 ft. shorter than that of the aircraft carrier Courageous, which has a standard displacement of 22,500 tons. The beam is 94 ft., but the extreme breadth at the flight deck is slightly greater. From our inspection, the half width of the port side deck appeared, if anything, to be slightly greater than the half width of the starboard side. We understand that the overall length of the ship at the flight deck is about 800 ft., with a depth of about 84 ft. The Ark Royal bears the distinction of being not only the longest, but also the deepest ship yet constructed on the Mersey.
The great size of the vessel and the extent of her flight deck may better be realized if it is stated that the length of the deck is about four-fifths of that of the Cunard White Star liner Queen Mary, and that it extends unbroken from her stem to her stern. In the present state of construction we could not discern any obvious positions for the navigation of the ship, but it seems probable that as in recent aircraft carriers these will be placed in an island formed on the starboard side of the flight deck. An outstanding external feature of the design is undoubtedly the flare at the bows.
It is required for housing the two accelerators for the launching of aircraft, which can be seen projecting from the flight deck at the bows. The large overhang at the stern of the ship, with its gradual round down, has no doubt been provided with the double object of making the flight deck as long as possible, and providing good air-flow conditions at the stern of the ship. By such means an easier landing is assured, and air bumps are avoided. Similarly there is a pronounced round down of the flight deck at the bow of the ship, which has been no doubt provided in order to assist in giving good air-flow- conditions over the deck.
The hangars are arranged in two series, one above the other, and three lifts are provided to transport the aircraft to and from the flight deck. About 70 aircraft will be carried. The lifts are designed to carry the aircraft with the wings folded, thereby enabling space to be saved and more aircraft to be stowed in the available hangar space. The sponsons on which the four 5-in. guns are to be mounted are placed at the sides of the ship, just below the level of the flight deck. The other platforms which are also visible are doubtless intended to accommodate the smaller guns and the searchlights.
A ship’s complement of the order of 1,600 is to be carried, and there will be cabins provided for as many as 130 wardroom officers. A new feature of the cabin appointments is that running hot and cold water is to be fitted in all these cabins.
The propelling machinery of the Ark Royal will consist of Parsons geared turbines taking steam from high-pressure water-tube boilers. It will be designed for a speed of about 30 knots, with a total s.hp. of round about 100,000.
Various Notes
Orders were issued for the building of the two “Dido” class cruisers of the 1936 new construction program to commence on March IS, but it was found necessary, owing to present and prospective demands for ship repair and other work at Chatham and Portsmouth, to defer the commencement of work on these vessels until later in the year. In the circumstances contracts were allotted for the two “Dido” class cruisers of the 1937 program, orders for which, in the normal course, would have been placed towards the end of the year.—United Services Review.
The British Admiralty was moving into swift action tonight to determine the cause of an explosion which tore a hole in the British destroyer Hunter off the southeastern coast of Spain. Three sailors were killed and 12 injured.
First reports were not definite, but indicated the Hunter, cruising with the non-intervention patrol to keep war materials and volunteers from entering Spain, struck a mine placed by Spanish rebels 5 miles off government-held Almeria. The hole was opened near the water line.
Reports that the warship was hit by a bomb dropped from a plane were discounted. Likewise there was some confusion over a report that the British submarine H-35 had been attacked and some of her personnel killed and injured.— Tribune, Chicago. London, May 13.
King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and little Princess Elizabeth came to crowded Portsmouth today to see the pride of Britain’s Navy.
The King boarded the royal yacht, Victoria and Albert, to a 21-gun salute, for a royal dinner preparatory to reviewing the fleet tomorrow.
Thirty minutes earlier, the royal party rode over a 6-mile parade course while cordons of marines, territorials, and ex-service men restrained the cheering thousands. The 11-year-old heiress presumptive to the British throne smiled and nodded to the throng.—Sun, Baltimore. Portsmouth, England, May 19.
American subsidized shipping in the Pacific was the subject of a committee meeting of the Imperial Conference today—the first convened since the opening plenary session on May 14. The shipping committee, headed by Walter Nash, New Zealand Finance Minister, dwelt for 3 hours on what might be done to stop the tendency of British shipping companies to fold up under the competition of American, Japanese, and Dutch companies in the Pacific.
For years British tonnage in those waters has been steadily declining. Part of the blame is laid at the door of large postal subsidies paid to American ships by the government and partly to the fact that American passenger ships connecting the principal Pacific ports are faster than the British.
In an effort to recover British prestige in this sphere it was suggested recently by the imperial shipping committee that two new ships for the passenger routes should be constructed and that existing vessels should be reconditioned with government aid.—Herald Tribune, N. Y. London, May 18.
The eight vessels of the “K” type which have been ordered under the 1937 program all beat names which are new to the service with one exception. This is H.M.S. Kingston, to be built at Cowes. There was a 60-gun ship named the Kingston which took part in the capture of Gibraltar in 1704, and in the subsequent battle off Malaga, commanded on both occasions by Captain Edward Acton. In 1708, under Captain Simon Bridges, she was present in Warren’s action off Cartagena. The vessel was still in the Navy in 1744, when she fought in the battle off Toulon, with Captain John Lovatt in command. Twelve years later still she was in Byng’s action off Minorca, and in 1759, with Captain Thomas Shirley in command, she fought at Quiberon Bay- A ship with so long and creditable a record deserved a better fate than that which overtook her. She was sold in 1762 to a British company, and while known as the Lord Clive was burnt during an attack on Nova Colonia in January, 1763, with heavy loss of life.—London Times.
H.M.S. Icarus, first of the 8 destroyers of the Intrepid class, built under the 1935 construction program, will be completed today by Messrs. John Brown and Co., Clydebank. The Icarus has been built in 14 months, or from 4 to 7 months less than the time taken to build the Hero class destroyers built under the 1934 program. She will be commissioned to relieve H.M.S. Worcester in the 3rd Destroyer Flotilla in the Mediterranean.—London Times, May 1.
The ex-battleship Centurion has been recommissioned with a Devonport crew as an independent command for use as a target ship in the Fleet Firing Service. Captain W. N. T. Beckett, M.V.O., D.S.C., promoted last year after commanding the flotilla attached to the Vernon, torpedo school, has assumed command of the Centurion, with Commander C. W. May, late of the Shikari, as executive officer.
The destroyer Shikari has also been recommissioned with a Devonport crew for service as attached ship to the Centurion, which is maneuvered from the destroyer by wireless control during firing practice. Commander F. R. Parham, from the Training and Staff Duties Division, Admiralty, has been appointed in command of the Shikari. The two ships are expected to leave for Portland next month to join up with the Home Fleet after the Review.—London Times, April.
The Admiralty have entrusted to Messrs. John Brown & Co., Ltd., Clydebank, an order for the construction of the depot ship for submarines to be built under the 1937 program. This vessel will be similar to the submarine depot ship Maidstone now on the stocks at the Clydebank yard. The Maidstone, which belongs to the 1935 Program, is a vessel of 8,900 tons displacement, and it is expected that she will be launched in the autumn of the present year.
The Caledon Shipbuilding & Engineering Co., Ltd., Dundee, have received from the Admiralty an order for the construction of the surveying ship to be built under the 1937 program. The Propelling machinery will be supplied by the Larsons Marine Steam Turbine Co., Ltd., Wall-send-on-Tyne.
The Manchester Dry Docks Co., Ltd., have been successful in obtaining an order for the construction of small naval craft, which has enabled the company to resume shipbuilding at their Ellesmere Port yard after about 12 years’ cessation.—The Shipbuilder, May.
France
Gautreau’s Fleet News
United Services Review, April 29.—Admiral Durand-Viel, on reaching the age limit, was replaced as First Sea Lord, a post he held for 6 years, by Admiral Darlan, who, although the youngest among flag officers of his rank (54 years of age), is the Chief of greatest experience and authority. Since he was promoted to flag rank he successively commanded at sea the First Cruiser Squadron (10,000-ton ships) in the Mediterranean, and the Brest Battle Squadron, which became, under his command, the premier French naval force both for numerical strength and fighting efficiency. Its training ground, formerly limited to Brittany waters, was extended to West Africa, Dakar and Casablanca being used as fleet points d’appui. Admiral Darlan was for many years, as Chef du Cabinet Militaire, the bras droit of Ministers Georges Leygues and Frangois Pietri, and in that capacity he exercised a personal influence on the framing of France’s naval policy.
The new armored fleet, which comprises 26,000- and 35,000-ton cuirasses, is for a good part his own creation. Which means that the shipbuilding program will be carried out as planned and includes 3 further battleships of 35,000 tons in replacement of the obsolete Provence, Bretagne, and Lorraine, of 24,000 tons, that are partly modernized pre-war vessels. Admiral Darlan will represent the French Navy at the Coronation in London, where he previously attended naval conferences.
The 26,500-ton battleship Dunkerque, which has just concluded at Brest her series of steam and artillery trials, will fly the flag of Admiral Darlan at the London naval pageant. Her name recalls the brave stand against enemy bombardments of the Flanders Harbor, where the British, together with the French, fought so long for the common Allied cause. Dunkerque served for four years as a Franco-British base, naval construction and repairs going on under German shells and bombs.
From her striking silhouette that new cuirasse will be seen to have been inspired from the larger and more powerful British Nelson and Rodney. Like these mastodons, she is obviously meant for offensive a outrance. Her heavy artillery is massed forward in two quadruple turrets on the axial line en echelon, somewhat far apart. Wide arc of fire and easy concentration of the whole heavy armament on a single target, ahead or on the beam, are among the advantages of that unprecedented gun distribution.
The Gallic weapons, only of 13-in. bore (330 mil.), are much inferior, of course, in smashing power and penetration to the British 16-in. guns, which are, besides, more numerous (9 against 8) and less vulnerable, being housed in 3 turrets. On the other hand, their range is very great, their muzzle velocity being at least 1,000 meter-seconds, and they are not inferior to older 15-in. ordnance in all-round efficiency, as recent long-range tests have shown.
Although a Dunkerque would be no match for a Nelson, she offers certain points of vantage worth noting. Her speed on trials exceeded 31.5 knots, with well over 130,000 hp., and she lately kept at over 30 knots under service conditions. Well-designed hull lines have something to do with that satisfactory result. Her huge central armored tower a la Nelson, despite its many advantages from a gunnery standpoint, is being criticized as being detrimental to speed and to stability in rough weather. Her early tendency to pitching has been remedied, and her nautical qualities are good. Her radius of action is estimated at 7,500 miles at 15 knots.
While having the steaming capabilities of a battle cruiser, the Dunkerque is a bona fide battleship and is officially classed as a batiment de ligne, line-of-battleship, and with every reason. She has battleship armament. Her heavy guns are very much superior to the excellent German 11-in. weapons in use at Jutland. Her armor defense excels for quality and total weight the armor protecting the 24,000-ton cuirasses of the Bretagne type and that of all battleships under 30,000 tons in service. She carries no less than 11,000 tons of armor, thus 40 per cent of her normal displacement. Her water-line plates are 11 inches thick. Her main deck has a thickness of 7 inches amidships, and some 14 inches of special steel cover her heavy guns and her conning towers. She is, indeed, battleworthy.
The six 7,700-ton armored cruisers of the Galissonniere type are all either in service or undergoing trials. The Galissonniere and the Jean de Vienne have joined the flag of Vice Admiral Abrial in the Escadre de la Mediterranee after maintaining 35.46 and 35.9 knots, respectively; at full speed. Their designed speed was only 32.5 knots with 88,000 hp. (Rateau turbines). They developed some 20,000 hp. in excess of the stipulated power. The Marseillaise, fitted with Parsons turbines and built by the Loire Chantiers, maintained 36.10 knots for 8 hours and kept at 28 knots for 24 hours with a low rate of combustion. The Montcalm (Parsons) did 35.7 knots. The Gloire (Rateaus) has commenced off Lorient the series of her speed tests. The Georges Leygues, Penhoet- built and fitted with Parsons turbines, is leaving St. Nazaire very shortly for Brest. She was the last of her series to be laid down, has benefited from minor improvements and is expected to beat the records of the Marseillaise.
Admiral Darlan is an enemy to make- believe and bluff. No more Washington displacement trials, but speed tests to take place with normal displacements, to be war speeds! The six French 7,700-ton cruisers may be considered good for 34-35 knots in service. Their margin of superiority over the new 30-knot battleships of the Dunkerque, Richelieu, Gneisenau, Littorio, King George V classes is judged to be too small. A seventh cruiser of 8,000 tons, named De Grasse, to be ordered this year, will have a designed speed of at least 34 knots, and is likely to reach 38 knots on trials.
Despite strenuous training and high professional worth and morale among officers and crews, the French Navy is slowly defining in relative weight, from the fact that Germany and Italy are building new ships at a much faster rate. Yet certain points of superiority remain with the French Navy. Minister Gasnier-Duparc is continuing the traditions of his great predecessors, Georges Leygues and Pietri.
Salvage
Marine Journal, May.-—-The armed brig felemaque, which sank 150 years ago in the Seine estuary, allegedly with $25,000,000 worth of treasures aboard, is to be put up at auction. That decision was taken by the French government following repeated demands to search for what is considered to be the most valuable wreck lost at sea.
The Telemaque’s treasure was brought together by Louis XVI who, foreseeing the coming of the French Revolution, had pearly all of the most precious ornaments in his possession secretly embarked on the brig. The treasure is supposed to include Marie Antoinette’s famous $8,000,000 necklace and $12,000,000 in gold out of Louis XVI’s personal fortune. It also includes sacred ornaments which were assembled in the Rouen cathedral and silver objects of the abbeys of Jumieges and St. Martin de Boscherville.
On January 1, 1790, Adrien Quentin, the Telemaque’s captain, was offered a large sum of money to transport to London what he thought were barrels of tar. According to the story, he was not aware of the value of the cargo entrusted to him. He set sail at Rouen and started down the river Seine. He was obliged to tie up and wait, upon arriving at the estuary, as the tide was unfavorable. At midnight, a violent storm broke and tore the ship from its moorings. The captain had only sufficient time to jump into a lifeboat and save his life and that of his ten sailors.
How deep the ship lies embedded in the soft sand today is not known. That is the risk on which the bidders will be obliged to base their offers. What is put up for auction is actually a permit to search for the treasure with a condition that the state will reserve the right to one-third of the value recovered.
Thus far, three attempts have been made and the position of the wreck has been ascertained fairly accurately. The first attempt was made by the government in 1813, but the wreck was not found. A second attempt was made later by Mr. Magny, an engineer, who found the site of the wreck, but only succeeded in refloating a few boards, spending $15,000 doing it.
A third and equally unsuccessful attempt was made a few years ago. In 1935 a salvage firm asked for permission to work on the wreck. This request, however, led to others, and to be fair the authorities decided to auction the salvage rights. The bidding is scheduled to take place some time in June.
Various Notes
The grand maneuvers which the French Navy is about to carry out are based upon a “general idea” of particular interest to British naval circles. The Atlantic Fleet is being brought into the Western Mediterranean to combine with the powerful forces stationed in those waters, and there will be a very big concentration of contretorpilleurs and sousmarines. The scheme is intended to test the capacity of the French Navy to keep open the sea communications against a presumptive foe endeavoring to deny them by all possible means, including the employment of air power.
Reduced to very simple terms, the exercises will mainly amount to a manifestation of the effectiveness of the convoy system across given danger areas; but it scarcely need be pointed out what a wide scope of naval activity may be implied within such an objective. The French are even less concerned about keeping open the great trade route to the East than they are in being able to maintain communication in war time with their North African possessions.—United Services Review, April 29.
Names have been selected for a number of the new warships to be built under the 1937 program.
These include the 8,000-ton cruiser De Grasse; the destroyers L’Agile, Le Corsaire, Le Farouche, Le Fier, Le Flihustier, and L’Entreprenant; the submarines La Bayadere, La Creole, La Favorite, L’Africaine, La Praya, and Emeraude; the colonial sloops Beautemps-Beauprb, and Ville d’Ys; the mine-sweepers Annamite, Bambara, La Batailleuse, La Boudeuse, La Capricieuse, La Curieuse, La Gracieuse, La Moqueuse, La Rieuse, and L’Impetueuse; the aircraft tenders Sans Crainte, Sans Pareil, Sans Peur, and Sans Souci; and the oiler Taru.—The Navy, London.
Germany
Fortifications
Sun, Baltimore.—Germany is constructing great new fortifications along the Baltic coast, it was disclosed tonight, to speed completion of a vast network of defenses at every border.
The new line centers about Lubeck Bay north of Hamburg and looks northward toward the Nordic countries.
Building of the fortifications was revealed by Germans who related that workers had jammed Travemunde, popular spa near Hamburg, and rooms were at a premium for that reason. They recounted:
The Priwal, a section of Travemunde, with both sea and land plane facilities, has been designated a submarine harbor.
Fortifications have been erected east and west from Travemunde.
A seaplane harbor has been constructed at Schlutop; an airdrome near Alt-Gartz.
Coast batteries have been imbedded on the heights overlooking the bay eastward from Travemunde.
Summer dwellers at Eckernfords have been refused further lease of their little shacks, but the shacks have been left standing. Cannons lurk behind them, residents of the district say.
Fortifications on the Island of Fehmarn, flanked by Kiel and Lubeck bays, can dominate the belt of Langeland, which is Danish water, one reliable informant said.
Germany has been busy fortifying her borders since Chancellor Hitler voided the Locarno Security Pact by marching troops into the demilitarized Rhineland zone in 1936.
Advices in past months have told of “pill box” defenses on the west along Franco-Belgian borders; reconstruction of the marine harbor at Helgoland, destroyed by order of the Allies after the World War; of gun emplacements on that North Sea island; of eastern emplacements, particularly along the Czechoslovakian frontier. —London, May 13.
Various Notes
Latest news from Germany is that the LZ-130 will be finished by the autumn of this year. The LZ-131, of the same shape and size but with more passenger accommodation, will be laid down before the end of 1937. The LZ-132 will be laid down a few months later, so that during 1939 Germany should have four airships flying.—The Aeroplane.
Secretary of Aviation Colonel General Goering sent the following message from Berlin to the Commanding Officer, Naval Air Station, Lakehurst, N. J.
“For the heroic rescue of the survivors of the German airship Hindenburg when she was destroyed at her landing at the airship port Lakehurst I express to you and your brave men my warmest thanks and appreciation. The unreserved help of the American airmen coming to the rescue of their German comrades is a beautiful proof of the spirit which links the airmen of all nations.”—Press Release, May 8.
Italy
Various Notes
With the grim-faced Duce watching them, cheering deputies of the Italian Parliament tonight passed Premier Benito Mussolini’s 5,500,000,000 lire ($289,300,000) national defense budget for 1937-38, an increase of $38,240,000 over the 1936-37 defense expenditures.
With shouts of “Duce! Duce!” they received the government’s explanations of why Italy, with no war on her hands, now must spend more money on armaments than she did when she was fighting in Ethiopia.
These explanations were made by Mussolini’s undersecretaries for war, navy, and aid—II Duce himself is minister of all three departments—" General Alberto Pariani, Admiral Domenico Cavagnari, and General Guiseppe Valle.
Admiral Cavagnari hurled an implied challenge to other Mediterranean naval powers and indicated an extension of the range of Italian sea power. He insisted the Italian Navy “from now on must become an ocean-going navy” rather than one confined to the Mediterranean. He pictured the Mediterranean and adjacent seas as sure to be battle zones in any future European war.
His budget, providing for building more striking units and increasing naval personnel, was for $97,310,000, or nearly $15,780,000 more than last year.—Tribune, Chicago. Rome, May 4.
Premier Mussolini, faced with the challenge to prove his vaunted European air supremacy, plans to enter an imposing fleet led by Il Duce’s own pilot son, Bruno, in the transatlantic air race this summer.
This was disclosed today by an unimpeachable Italian aviation authority who declared Italy’s decision to place entries in the transoceanic air derby remains unaltered in spite of America’s taboo on the race.
Major Biseo, ace veteran of the mass Italian flight to America led by Italo Balbo, with Bruno Mussolini will lead an aerial armada of nine all-Italian specially designed planes equipped with Italian motors. Il Duce had ordered that unless the plane’s motors were built in Italy the country could not participate in the race.—Herald, Washington. Rome, May 18 (U. S.).
Italy intends to organize a mass flight of landplanes to Tokyo to reciprocate for the visit by the Kamikaze, General Guiseppe Valle, Undersecretary of State for Air, declared at a dinner given in honor of the visiting Japanese fliers by ambassador Yotaro Sugimura. Many squadrons of new planes will be sent on the flight, he said.
The government is also considering the establishment of an air line between Tokyo and Rome.
The contemplated route for the Italian air service will touch Brindisi, Rhodes, Haifa, Afghanistan, and China. Possible German collaboration in the project is reported in well-in-formed quarters, characterizing this new proposal as another manifestation of the anti-Comintern line up.—Japan Advertiser. Rome, April 26.
Today’s meeting of the Fascist corporations was expected to lead soon to tightening of government control over all industries connected directly indirectly with the nation’s national defense. Creation of a “state stock demesne” to centralize control of all defense industries was forecast.
There was expectation also that the plan, deferred for years, to substitute a chamber of corporations for the present chamber of deputies might be forwarded.—Tribune, Chicago, May 14.
The new Italian cruiser Duca degli Abruzzi is reported to have made 38 knots on her 8-hour trials last month.—Nautical Magazine, Glasgow, May.
Expansion of the Independent Air Force.—A decree in the Official Gazette of March 13 gives the program of expansion of the Independent Air Force, which now includes the greater part of the Air Force in Libya. This program provides for a strength of 93 wings, with a regular personal strength of 20,325 (exclusive of conscripts), by January, 1941, and represents a substantial further expansion. Besides the Independent Air Force the Italian Air Force includes the Military and Naval Air Services, and the Colonial Air Forces in Libya and East Africa. No expansion of the Military, Naval, and Colonial portions of the Air Force has been announced.
Air Forces in Libya.—Under a Royal decree, published in the Official Gazette of January 29, 1937, the air forces of Libya are united under a single command. They include: (a) An Aeronautical Command of Libya. (b) Units of the Metropolitan Air Force, (c) Air Units for Colonial Garrison.
The Aeronautical Command of Libya has jurisdiction over the entire Colony. Personnel assigned to the Metropolitan Air Forces of Libya are taken from the authorized strength of the Air Force. Personnel assigned to Air Units for colonial garrisons are supernumerary to the authorized establishment of the Air Force, and their strength will be determined by the Air Ministry in accord with the Ministry of Colonies and the Ministry of Finance.
The Aeronautical Command of Libya is placed under the Air Ministry for all questions concerning employment, training, and technical-administrative matters, except the employment of Air Units for Colonial Garrisons, which comes under the government of Libya. In cases of exceptional and urgent military or political exigencies of the Colony, the government of Libya may make use of the units of the Metropolitan Air Force stationed within the territory of the Colony, provided that such use does not interfere with other tasks entrusted to such units by the Air Ministry.
Anti-Aircraft Shelters.—Under a Royal decree published on December 21, 1936, all newly-built houses must be provided with anti-air raid shelters, under penalty of imprisonment or fine. The expenditure incurred is to be borne by the owners of the buildings concerned.
The Duce.—After completing the prescribed tests before an examining commission, Signor Mussolini was awarded his Military Pilot’s brevet. The Duce carried out the tests in an S.81 type airplane.—Journal Royal Service Institution.
Japan
South Sea Policy
Hochi Translation in Japan Advertiser. —The negotiations for the conclusion of a new trade agreement between Japan and the Netherlands Indies during the past four years have been brought to a successful conclusion. In the main the new pact is advantageous to this country. Japan has agreed to give preference to Javanese sugar, but it has given no specific understanding regarding annual purchases. On the other hand, the Netherlands Indies has agreed to a modification of the import quota imposed on this country. There is every reason to think that in the event the new agreement goes into effect a new chapter will be opened in the history of trade relations between Japan and the Netherlands Indies.
In this connection, it is reassuring to know that the government is to formulate a new South Seas policy on the basis of the report submitted by Mr. Kazue Kuwashima, new Minister to the Netherlands, who has returned from a trip of investigation. It is confidently to be expected that under the new policy there will be increased Japanese economic activity in the South Seas.
Japan’s wish is to live in peace with foreign countries and to expand peacefully. If this is to be realized, there must be free trade. It is but natural for Japan, in view of its geographical position, to expect the South Seas to open its doors to this country to provide an outlet for its surplus population, provide materials needed by its industry and furnish a market for its manufactured goods. The satisfactory conclusion of the trade negotiations with the Netherlands Indies raises expectations that there will be fewer obstacles in the way of Japan’s peaceful expansion in the South Seas.
At present the Netherlands Indies are prosperous due to the increasing price of Javanese sugar and rubber. This is a good opportunity for Japan to make a peaceful advance there. Let us hope that this country will redouble its efforts to develop the resources of the Netherlands Indies and other South countries in the interests of solving the population and other problems.
The aim of a colonization policy should be the economic development of the country that pursues it. Japan’s expansion has hitherto caused misgivings abroad. The explanation is partly that it smacked of militarism, since the South Seas are important to this country from a strategic point of view. The emergency is abnormal- In shaping our policy toward the southeast it must be borne in mind that the Netherlands Indies is under the suzerainty of Holland. A South Sea policy needs to be economic in character.
Considerable importance attaches to Mr. Kuwashima’s conclusion that trade relations between Japan and the Netherlands Indies must be based on reciprocity and that Japan must co-operate to develop the resources in that territory. It is important not to pay much attention to territorial expansion in the South Seas. In framing a policy the government must be inspired by a desire to further the economic interests of the country. By seeking to expand peacefully, a country poor in natural resources, such as Japan is, can justify its efforts to expand. It would be well for Japan to switch from the continental policy to a southward policy, but any southward policy must aim at economic expansion.
Various Notes
The first-class destroyer Oshii, 1,500 tons, was launched at the Maizuru naval dockyard after a ceremony yesterday morning, says Domei. Vice Admiral Kamesaburo Nakamura, commandant of the Maizuru naval station, represented Navy Minister Mitsumasa Yonai at the ceremony.
The new destroyer is 365 ft. long and has a beam of 10.15 meters. Its draught is 9 ft., and its speed 34 knots. It is armed with six 5-in. guns and 8 torpedo tubes. The keel was laid in August.— Japan Advertiser, April 20.
The 10,000-ton cruisers Nachi and the Haguro collided during night maneuvers and both warships sustained slight damage about 8:30 P.M. off the southeastern coast of Kyushu, according to a Domei message from Kure. No casualties occurred. The Nachi is commanded by Captain Ryozo Fukuda and the Haguro is under the command of Captain Muneshige Aoyagi.—Japan Advertiser, April 9.
Reasons for the Japanese naval “replenishment” program are to be explained in a pamphlet entitled “The Treatyless Situation and Our Navy,” which will be distributed on May 27, Wavy Day. The three principal points of the publication are expected by Domei to be:
- The new replenishment program worked by the Navy was initiated in the spirit of self-defense and is in no way calculated to invite a building race among the naval powers. In other words, it is based on Japan’s principles of non-menace and non-aggression. The Navy aims at effective replenishment in a manner adapted to Japan’s special position and in accordance with the traits of the Japanese people.
- Defenses must be able to ward off any attempts on the part of other powers to disturb peace and order in the Far East. Japan’s naval forces must be able to deal a crushing blow to the fleet of any aggressive nation in the Pacific.
- In view of Japan’s geographical position in the Far East, efforts must be made to apply naval strength fully to consolidate national defenses. The present arms replenishment program is the minimum required by the existing situation. The efficiency of the Navy must be so developed as to meet this situation, for it is possible to gain supremacy at sea.—Japan Advertiser, April 28.
The development of a thoroughly successful method of producing aviation gasoline from ordinary fuel through artificial means is claimed by the Tokuyama naval fuel depot following 15 years of experimentation. The discovery will make this country independent of foreign nations in the production of this type of fuel, which is now brought from America, the Navy expects.
Utilizing its experience in coal liquefaction, the fuel depot constructed a hydrogenation plant and began test operation on March 10. Ordinary gasoline, produced from crude petroleum, is put in a container with a specified proportion of hydrogen and the whole subjected to a pressure of 100 atmospheres and raised to 300 degrees Centigrade in the presence of a catalyst. An “excellent and cheap” product results, the Ashi says.
The Navy is said to be mapping out a program for producing some 20,000 tons of aviation gasoline per year with this process. The South Manchuria Railway Co., the Korean Coal Industry and other firms with hydrogenation plants will be encouraged to be ready to adopt the method in preparation for war. It is also expected to relieve the country of the necessity of buying foreign patents to produce aviation gasoline. Naval officials are said to be jubilant over their success.—Japan Advertiser, April 29.
Japanese press dispatches from Tokyo today said that the “little cabinet”—the ministers of war, navy, and foreign affairs—met yesterday “and discussed frankly proposals for Anglo-Japanese co-operation in the economic development of China.”
The three ministers also considered measures “to end the current belief in China that Japan and Britain intend to divide China into spheres of economic influence.”
Chinese newspapers printed the dispatches with the same prominence they gave the coronation of King George and, at the same time, said editorially that “the elaborate disclaimers appearing in the Japanese capital can be interpreted only as tending to confirm our worst fears—namely that Britain and Japan, in the guise of some understanding to respect each other’s economic interests in China, really are planning virtually to divide our country amongst themselves.”
Anglo-Japanese conversations about China are continuing in London, despite the coronation holiday, the Chinese understood, and have reached a point where some of the measures being discussed need ratification by higher officials in Tokyo.—Herald, Washington. Shanghai, May 12 (U. P.).
Other Countries
Bulgaria
Bulgaria’s one and only shipping company, the Bulgarian Sea Shipping Co., is adding a new steamer of 2,000 tons to its fleet which consists of 7 units of a total tonnage of 234,000 tons. There are four lines, one of which is through the Mediterranean, and touches at Liverpool and London as well as at the larger Continental ports. —Nautical Magazine.
Holland
Some further details have been published of the new 1,300-ton mine layer under construction at Amsterdam. In general her design will follow that of the Rigel, of the East Indies Marine, with a speed of 15 knots. She will be equipped with a seaplane and derrick for handling it, and have stowage capacity for 120 mines. She will serve as a cadets’ training ship in peace time, as does the Norwegian Olaf Tryggvason.
Four more submarines have been ordered, K-21 and 22 from the Schelde yard at Flushing, and K-23 and 24 from the Rotterdam Dry Dock Co. Schelde-Sulzer Diesels of 5,000 total hp. will give them a surface speed of 20 knots. Like K-19 and 20, already in hand, they will be mine layers.
Four new destroyers of nearly 2,000 tons displacement are to be ordered very shortly. They will be 36-knot ships with a main armament of five or six 4.7-in. guns, and will carry a seaplane each. Altogether, therefore, the Royal Nether- land Navy appears to be in for a period of expansion.—The Navy, London.
Greece
It is worthy of note that the so-called “Comeb,” the standing shipping committee of the Balkan entente whose business it is to watch and assist the common shipping interests of the four States, has had another satisfactory meeting at the Piraeus. The countries belonging to the entente are Greece, Yugoslavia, Rumania and Turkey. Bulgaria and Albania remain outside.— Nautical Magazine.
Turkey
The launching of a Turkish motor tanker took place recently on the Golden Horn—the first of its kind. Extensive preparatory works are being carried out for the creation of shipbuilding yards on the Horn. For the present, equipment will be furnished for the building of medium-sized passenger and cargo vessels —Nautical Magazine.
U.S.S.R.
The Russian shipping of coal from Spitzbergen rose from 170,000 tons in 1933 to 406,000 tons in 1936. This year Russia intends to ship 500,000 tons of coal from their Spitzbergen mines. The Norwegian export of coal from Spitzbergen was 285,000 tons.—Nautical Magazine.
Merit orders have been conferred by the Moscow authorities on 172 members of the Red Navy of Russia for their work in developing the Northern Sea Route. During the 1936 navigation season 160 commercial and expedition vessels sailed the route, and of these 14 completed the entire passage.
The route not only insures communication between the western part of Russia and its remote eastern part, but opens up an approach to the mouths of the Yenisei, Ob, Lena, Kolyma and other great rivers of the north.—Star, Washington, May 23.
Merchant Marine
Ship Industry Urged to Build
Star, Washington, May 22.—Warning that failure of the new maritime act might mean government ownership of shipping Chairman Joseph P. Kennedy of the U. S- Maritime Commission tonight urged the industry to “build now!” as a measure of national defense and self-sufficiency.
Most of our ships are so old, he said at a Maritime Day dinner of the U. S. Propeller Club, that “assuming 20 years as a conservative estimate for the life of a ship; 85 per cent of our fleet will be fit for retirement in five years.” He said:
That single statement shows clearly the crisis facing our Merchant Marine. What’s the sense of talking about an adequate or a first-class merchant marine in the face of such facts?
For us an adequate merchant marine has to be a new merchant marine. The question comes: What are we going to do about it? The answer is “build ships!”—the best and most modern ships —and build them right away.
For the third time, Kennedy said, Congress has rejected government ownership as a way of securing an appropriate merchant marine. He continued:
Perhaps it would not be untimely to suggest, that in view of such an intense purpose to have an adequate merchant marine, the failure of private enterprise this time may bring about a different method of achieving the goal.
If the government has to pull the whole load again, the people may want to own the tow as well as the tug. It strikes me that this writing on the wall is clear enough so that private shipping interests know that if they are to save themselves they have no choice but to make the present law work.
Before our entry into the World War the shortage of vessels crippled us as a commercial power. Upon our entry into the World War, the shortage of vessels crippled us as a military power.
Although we are self-sufficient in so many ways as to arouse the envy of most nations, our Achilles heel was and still is our shipping.
Regardless of how peaceful we may desire to be or how anxious we are to spread the gospel of the “good neighbor,” we do not forget that a good neighbor respects himself—that charity begins at home.
Minimum prudence has made the American people legislate insistently for an adequate merchant marine. President Roosevelt, in his message to Congress on March 4, 1935, told us why.
We had to have an adequate merchant marine, he said, to preserve fair competition in trade. A major war, even with the United States as a neutral, he warned us, might seriously cripple the commerce of the country.
In the scheme of national defense, as for the Proper assurance of replacements of our Merchant Marine, the preservation of the shipbuilding industry must be maintained.
After commenting on defects of the old government subsidy system, Kennedy said:
“The keynote this time is competitive Quality, not favoritism.”
Other features of the Maritime Day celebration here were the presentation of the National Maritime Association’s Trophy Cup to Senator Royal S. Copeland of New York for the maritime act, which he vitiated; the casting adrift in the harbor °f a 10-ft. wreath in honor of those who died at sea and in the air during the year, and a ceremony at which the waters of the seven seas were mixed.—New York, May 22.
Shipbuilders’ Council Meets
Nautical Gazette, May 15.—The National Council of American Shipbuilders held its annual meeting and election of officers on April 22 with about 70 members in attendance.
The officers of the Council as follows were re-elected:
Mr. H. Gerrish Smith, President
Mr. Roger Williams, Vice-President
Mr. C. C. Knerr, Secretary-Treasurer
The following directors were elected for a term of two years expiring April, 1939:
S. W. Wakeman, Vice-President Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Ltd.
Robert Haig, Vice-President Sun Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.
H. L. Ferguson, President Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.
L. H. Korndorff, President Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co.
G. H. French, President Maryland Dry Dock Co.
C. W. Middleton, Vice-President Babcock & Wilcox Co.
R. B. Mildon, Vice-President, Westinghouse Electric & Mfg. Co.
Irving Barnett, President, New York & New Jersey Dry Dock Assn.
Mr. H. Gerrish Smith in his report deplored the fact that not a single seagoing merchant vessel above 1,000 tons gross, with the exception of oil tankers, for either foreign or domestic trade, had been laid down in an American shipyard in 1936. Mr. Smith expressed some satisfaction for the work now in progress for oil tankers, small craft, and naval vessels. He succinctly reviewed the labor situation and submitted comprehensive figures regarding employment in the industry.
Mr. Smith’s report also embraced the numerous changes in federal statutes by shipping legislation during the past year. He surveyed the world conditions in shipbuilding and the various foreign aids to vessel construction and operation. He sounded a note of warning that though our foreign trade had increased 10 per cent in 1936 over that in 1935, “the importance of a substantial participation by American vessels in this trade is as great as ever but our position in it will be jeopardized unless the Maritime Commission finds a way to work out successfully the problems with which it is confronted under the Act of 1936.”
Supplementing the thorough report, Mr. Smith set forth meticulous tables which graphically depict many phases of shipping. Among the most arresting tabulations is the following:
Approximate Value of Unfinished Shipbuilding Business Under Way in the Private Seaboard Shipyards of the United States
Date | Privately Owned V essels | Government Vessels | Total | |
Jan. 1, | 1929 | $20,000,000 | $30,000,000 | $50,000,000 |
Jan. 1, | 1930 | 90,000,000 | 30,000,000 | 120,000,000 |
Jan. 1, | 1931 | 65,000,000 | 25,000,000 | 90,000,000 |
Jan. 1, | 1932 | 32,000,000 | 26,000,000 | 58,000,000 |
Tan. 1. | 1933 | 5,000,000 | 24,000,000 | 29,000,000 |
Jan. 1, | 1934 | 7,000,000 | 140,000,000 | 147,000,000 |
Jan. 1, | 1935 | 1,000,000 | 118,000,000 | 119,000,000 |
Jan. 1, | 1936 | 14,000,000 | 165,000,000 | 179,000,000 |
Jan. 1, | 1937 | 32,000,000 | 133,000,000 | 165,000,000 |
Voith-Schneider Propellers
Motorship, April.—In view of the attention attracted among our readers by the publication, some three years ago, of a description of the Voith-Schneider propeller it is of interest to note the great success that has attended the use of this propeller in Europe. According to the Liverpool Journal of Commerce there were, at the beginning of 1936, some 22 vessels with Voith-Schneider propellers in service, the highest horse power of any of these vessels being 1,800 b.hp. on two shafts; there were also under construction at the beginning of the year 4 other vessels.
Since then orders have been received for 27 vessels, nine of which are of 3,000 hp. each, two of 4,000 b.hp., and the others in varying powers up to 1,000 b.hp. The vessels in service or under construction are representative of almost every type of craft, and include passenger ships, seagoing ships, tugs, floating cranes, fire floats, and coasters.
It is of interest to note that the first vessel in Great Britain to have Voith-Schneider propulsion was ordered during 1936, and is now under construction by Messrs. Wm. Denny and Bros, for the United Africa Co. She is a tug and passenger ship with a 250-b.hp. engine driving direct on to a single Voith-Schneider propeller.
Another order recently received is for two fire boats for Paris. Voith-Schneider propulsion is particularly suitable for such dual-purpose vessels, in that the same engine can be used to drive both the pumps and propeller and both can be in operation at the same time, since unirotational, constant speed engines are used with Voith-Schneider drive.
Another interesting vessel which went into service last year is the Makrele for the Biological Research Department at Helgoland. She is powered with two 210- b.hp. oil engines driving direct on two Voith-Schneider propellers.
The Hamburg-Amerika Line has placed an order for a 4,000-s.hp. twin unit turboelectric passenger ship for service in the Baltic and North Seas.
A feature of the Voith-Schneider system is the number of repeat orders which has been obtained. The German railway authorities in 1931 took over their first Voith-Schneider passenger ship, and all subsequent construction, namely, seven ships, have had Voith-Schneider drive.
Japanese owners placed in service two years ago a seagoing tug of 600 b.hp. which has proved so successful that three more similar tugs are now being built.
Various Notes
The Maritime Commission announced today it would offer for lease, within a few days, five government-owned steamship lines now being operated by four managing agents. Invitations for bids are being drafted, it said. The leases will be good for one year. The lines carry freight to all parts of the world, and consist of a fleet of 37 vessels with a dead weight tonnage of 318,000. They are:
America France Line, operated by Cosmopolitan Shipping Co. Inc., of New York—operates 6 vessels between Atlantic ports north of Cape Hatteras and French Atlantic and Channel ports.
American Republics Line, operated by C. H. Sprague & Son, Inc., of Boston—operates 10 vessels between North and South Atlantic ports and ports on the east coast of South America, south of Para, Brazil.
American Hampton Roads—Yankee and Oriole lines, both operated by Southgate-Nelson Corp. of Norfolk—these lines use 9 vessels plying between ports north of Cape Hatteras and ports on the east coast of the United Kingdom. The Yankee Line serves Philadelphia and North Atlantic ports and German ports. The Oriole Line serves Atlantic ports north of Cape Hatteras and west coast United Kingdom and Irish ports.
The American Pioneer Line, operated by Roosevelt Steamship Co., Inc., of New York, in three services: Indian, Australian, and the Far East—5 vessels are employed in the Indian service, 4 in the Australian, and 3 in the Far Eastern.
The new Merchant Marine Act requires the commission to terminate the managing operator system of running government lines. The lines must be sold or chartered by next June 29.
The commission, in chartering the lines, will Wake them all eligible for subsidies, which replace the aid previously provided through ocean-mail contracts.—Sun, Baltimore. Washington, May.
Bids were received on April 30 at the New York office of the U. S. Maritime Commission for drydocking and making repairs and renewals on fifty vessels in the reserve fleet at Staten Island. The specifications called for dry-docking of the vessels, scrapping wire brushing, painting, scaling, and drilling plates, and the following bids were received:
United Shipyards, Inc.
50 vessels, per gross ton $ .2618
Total price..................... 76,974
Brewer Drydock Company
1 vessel, per gross ton.. $ .28
5 vessels, per gross ton..... .27875
10 vessels, per gross ton .2775
50 vessels, per gross ton .2750
Todd Shipyards Corporation
5-10 & 50 vessels, per gross ton $ .3535
Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co.
50 vessels, per gross ton $ .2550
Exclusive of cost of towing vessels.—Marine Progress, May.
Transatlantic travel is running far ahead of last year and passenger traffic experts recently expressed the opinion that the 1937 movement will exceed by far the 1936 total. Thanks to the coronation of King George VI and other attractions abroad, the season got under way much earlier than usual this year and advance bookings indicate that eastbound travel will hold up well until the end of summer.
The eastbound movement from January 1 to April 30 was about 65,000 passengers, a gain of almost 15,000 over the first quarter of 1936. The westbound movement amounted to 58,000 passengers, a gain of about 14,000 over last year. The figures cover the total movement between United States and Canadian Atlantic ports and Europe, including the Mediterranean.—Herald Tribune, N. Y.
Three modern fireproof steamers, each costing $4,040,000, will be contracted for with the Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. by the government- owned Panama Railroad Co., Secretary of War Woodring announced yesterday.
The new vessels will replace the existing four ships operating between United States ports and those in the Canal Zone. Each of the new craft will be 486 ft. long, of 6,000 tons dead weight, have a normal speed of 16 J knots and provide 72 staterooms for passengers. The Commerce and Navy Departments have approved plans and specifications for the new ships.—Star, Washington, May 22.
The Treasury reports increased shipping through the Panama Canal, reflected in an upturn in canal tolls this month. For the first half of May, toll receipts aggregated $1,034,000, compared with $993,000 for the same period last year. Since last July 1, however, tolls have aggregated only $21,116,000, compared with $22,327,000 in the same period a year ago.—Star, Washington.
The United States Maritime Commission, on May 1, issued invitations for bids for the purchase for scrapping of 28 obsolete steel cargo vessels in its laid-up fleet. The bids will be opened in the Commission’s offices in Washington at 12 o’clock noon (E.S.T.) on May 27. The Commission’s action followed the recent announcement of the policy which it will pursue in selling or chartering the 188 vessels in its reserve fleet. Under this policy, all vessels will be sold on an “as is, where is” basis through competitive bidding, providing the ships are not required for national defense. The 28 obsolete ships which the Commission is offering for scrapping range in size from 1500 to 10,000 tons. They are located at the following points:
Staten Island, New York 4
Norfolk, Virginia......... 17
New Orleans, La........ 7
The Commission’s invitation for bids stipulates that the ships must be dismantled in shipyards within the continental limits of the United States. The work must be completed within 18 months after the award. A performance bond of $25,000 for each vessel will be required.—Marine Progress.
Aviation
Polar Flight
Sun, Baltimore.—Daring Soviet aviators today carried the first aerial landing party to the north pole. An expedition of 11 men, having flown over the pole, was landed safely on an ice floe about 20 kilometers (13 miles) from the top of the world. The expedition was headed by Dr. Otto J. Schmidt, director of the Soviet’s “Northern Sea Route,” leader and planner of many ambitious arctic projects.
The flight was made from Rudolph Island, about 82° N. and 60° E. (or about 560 miles from the pole).
The successful landing brought to a successful climax years of preparation by Soviet scientists and airmen, looking toward establishment of an air base at the north pole and an ambitious program of polar exploration by airplane.
The polar flight also is part of the Soviet plan to establish a commercial air line between Moscow and San Francisco across the north pole, a distance of about 6,000 miles, much of it across unexplored sea. The polar station would be the “halfway house.”
M. V. Vodopyanoff was pilot of the plane. He took his heavily loaded, 4-motored craft off the new landing field at Rudolph Island at dawn. The landing was 6 hours and 10 minutes later. Before coming down the airplane circled the pole many times looking for a landing spot.
Tass, the Soviet news agency, announced the pole was reached at 11:10 a.m. and the landing made at 11:35 a.m., at the time of the meridian of Rudolph Island (about 2:10 a.m. and 2:35 a.m., E.S.T.).
Immediately after landing the party began preparing a landing field for 4 other airplanes still waiting at the Rudolph Island base.
They are to take to the pole supplies and equipment for the establishment of a base, which will remain there for about one year.
News of the exploit reached Moscow by radio messages relayed through Rudolph Island. It was delayed, however, because Vodopyanoff’s radio apparatus was broken in the landing, and repairs required several hours.
Vodopyanoff was one of the three Soviet airmen who spent more than a month last year in aerial surveys of the arctic in preparation for today’s adventure.—Moscow, May 21.
Airways Control
Herald, Washington, May 28.—Sweeping reorganization of air traffic regulations, giving the Federal government step-by-step control over all airplane flights from take-off to landing, have been drafted by Air Commerce officials, it was learned last night.
Director Fred D. Fagg, in an exclusive interview, declared the rules are the most drastic attempt yet made by any nation to eliminate flight-accident hazards in the commercial, military, and civilian aviation field. They will be proclaimed within a few days.
Under the new set-up, the flying area of the nation will be divided into 50-milewide airlanes, connecting 196 scheduled traffic stops. Each of these “trunk highways of the air” will operate on a stop-and-go system, suggestive of automobile highway control.
Every airplane in operation, whether commercial, private, stunt, or military, will be required to carry approved 2-way radio equipment.
All pilots operating at night or during bad weather must be fully qualified for “blind flying.”
The time is not far off, Fagg said, when all flying will be done entirely by instruments instead of relying on landmarks and dead reckoning. Such close supervision would mean disqualification of a big majority of the 14,000 persons holding private licenses, it was believed.
In addition, pilots will be required to:
- Chart in advance of departure a complete plan of flight with time of departure, expected arrival at destination, and when he expects to pass over ground markers.
- Dispatch to control stations along the route the flight plan which must be adhered to except in event of emergency.
- Report promptly by radio any causes for change in plans, with request that permission be granted to deviate from original flight schedule.
- Give immediate and accurate reports of times and altitudes over' the designated “fixes” and markers along the airway.
- Remain in the air in vicinity of destination or intermediate stop until permission to land is given by the airport traffic control dispatcher.
Boeing Bomber
U. S. Air Services, May.—The Army Air Corps revealed last month that it soon will receive for tests a new Boeing bombardment airplane, weighing about 40,000 lb., which promises to be one of the greatest weight-carrying airplanes in the world. Tearing aside a veil of secrecy, which has surrounded the project for nearly three years, the War Department on April 16 announced that there is nearing completion under government contract, at the Plant of the Boeing Airplane Co., Seattle, Washington, this latest experimental bombardment airplane. It comes as a natural successor to the YB-17, popularly labeled the Flying Fortress.
The new plane embodies further developments of the YB-17, which itself ranks among the foremost bombardment airplanes in the world. It was developed as part of the Air Corps’ program in answering a long standing question: What form shall the bombardment airplane take—a comparatively small, fast, light weight-carrying craft; a larger, maximum weight-carrying machine, or a compromise of the two? The official classification reads as follows:
The Air Corps now has examples of two of the three types: the twin-engine Martin Bombers, representing the smaller, light weight-carrying craft, and the YB-17's, the compromise type. Completion of the new bomber, representing the maximum weight-carrying machine, will afford the Air Corps the opportunity to compare all three, with a view to determining which type is most desirable from engineering, tactical, and operating standpoints.
This latest vehicle of National Defense is a 4-engined, all-metal, mid-wing type monoplane, similar to the YB-17, although somewhat larger because of its additional weight-carrying capacity.
The plane is powered with four Pratt & Whitley Twin Wasp Sr. engines, each giving 1,000 hp. for take-off, and is provided with the most modern of safety devices, including elaborate radio equipment, automatic pilot, de-icing installations, apparatus for fire protection, wing flaps to reduce its landing speed, and complete heating and ventilating system and sound-proofing throughout.
In addition, it is fitted with air-operated wheel brakes similar to the YB-17 bomber, both the landing gear and tail wheel being retractable. The first military plane ever built with living accommodations aboard, it contains sleeping quarters, spacious working quarters for personnel, lavatory, kitchenette with electric hot plate, percolator, soup heater, and dry-ice box.
The new bomber will exceed the 16-ton weight of the Flying Fortress by about 3 or 4 tons, the War Department explained. Its electrical generating system will be comparable in size to that of a small factory. No other airplane has been equipped with more than a 12-volt direct-current system. The electric generator will be driven by two auxiliary gasoline power plants.
Thus the Army Air Corps, which in the past, in co-operation with commercial organizations, pioneered in projects later adopted by commercial aviation, has again made its contribution to the progress of civil aviation. This is evidenced when it is realized that although this airplane was designed to adapt its large weight-carrying capacity to the carrying of military personnel or equipment, it naturally points the way to larger commercial transport planes.—U. S. Air Services.
Eckener Testifies
Star, Washington.—A spark from the sky and a broken brace wire—these two things, Dr. Hugo Eckener said today—were the probable causes of the flaming disaster which overtook the majestic Hindenburg on May 6.
The veteran German Zeppelin master acknowledged that his theory called for the coincidence of two extremely remote possibilities to account for the holocaust in which 36 died, but he told the Commerce Department Investigation Board:
“Since the whole occurrence is extremely mysterious, we must proceed along these lines.”
It was the consensus of eyewitnesses, he pointed out, that the first fire broke out in the stern of the ship. “From this we conclude that there must have been free gas in the rear section of the ship,” he said.
The only likely explanation for this free gas, he went on, was that a brace wire had snapped a few minutes before, puncturing an aft gas cell and causing a sudden leak. The sharp turn the Hindenburg had just made in her landing maneuvers would have created a sharp structural tension, especially near the stern wires, he said.
The gas leak, he indicated, probably occurred only a short time before flames enveloped the ship, for otherwise the loss of buoyancy would have been so great it would have been noticed in the control car, and it would have been “quite impossible” to operate the ship in such bad trim for any length of time, he said.
The spark of static electricity that probably ignited the free, highly inflammable hydrogen came at this moment, Dr. Eckener said he believed likely, from the air masses overhead.
It was his opinion, he explained, that the thunderstorm which delayed the Hindenburg1 s landing May 6 was followed by a “tail” which probably went unnoticed at the landing field where all attention was focused on the approaching ship.
This storm tail, he theorized further, generated a steeper potential gradient, that is, increased the voltages in the atmospheric layer between the ship and the air masses above it. When the difference of voltage between the ship and the more highly charged masses overhead became too great, he said, the fatal spark could have resulted.
It was also possible, he said, that the discharge of the Zeppelin’s static to the ground by landing ropes could have further increased the differential between the ship and the charged air masses overhead.
The tall, stooped doctor, who is regarded as the world’s leading authority on lighter- than-air craft, dismissed all other theories on how the gas could be ignited as either “impossible” or “improbable.”
The question of sabotage was put to him, and he answered with a shrug that there were no definite clues to support such a belief and he could regard it only as a theoretical possibility.
It took Dr. Eckener more than two hours to tell the committee of the deductions he had made from the evidence given during the last two weeks. When he concluded his testimony, he said he would go to Washington tomorrow, apparently to open negotiations for obtaining noninflammable helium for future use in German commercial dirigibles. The hearing adjourned until Monday.—Lakehurst, N. J., May 22.
Various Notes
The Navy Department announced today that Rear Admiral Charles A. Blakely, U. S. Navy, Commandant of the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, has been ordered to command Carrier Division Two, Aircraft, Battle Force, which will be composed of the new aircraft carriers Yorktown and Enterprise and their aircraft squadrons.
Captain William F. Halsey, U. S. Navy, now commanding the aircraft carrier Saratoga will relieve Rear Admiral Blakely as Commandant of the Pensacola Naval Air Station on June 30.
Rear Admiral Blakely will assume his new command early in August. The Yorktown, which has been assigned as Flagship of Carrier Division Two, is scheduled for commissioning during the summer, and according to reports from the Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock Co., the Enterprise will be completed about September 9, 1937. Both vessels will join the United States Fleet after the completion of their shakedown cruises.
Aircraft squadrons of the Yorktown started assembling at the Naval Air Station, Norfolk, Virginia, in April and those of the Enterprise will be assembled there soon. The squadrons will be based at that station for training until they are embarked in the carriers.—Press Release, May 5.
Present plans envisage doubling the numerical strength of the Fleet Air Arm, while the substitution of modern airplanes for the older craft now in service will mean a much more than proportionate increase in power and efficiency. Present establishment of first-line aircraft in British warships is 217, of which about 160 are borne in aircraft carriers, 32 in catapult-equipped battleships and cruisers, and the remainder at shore Nations. Excluding the Argus, which is used for training and artillery practice with radio-controlled target planes, the 5 British carriers now in service have a total capacity of 165 airplanes.
Monoplanes are likely soon to supplant many of the biplanes in service with the Fleet Air Arm. Up to the present the biplane has been favored for naval use because of its smaller overall dimensions, and the ease with which its wings may be folded makes for quick and simple handling and compact stowage in the confined spaces of an aircraft carrier’s hangars.
Quite recently successful preliminary trial flights have been accomplished by a new monoplane of which large numbers may go to the Fleet Air Arm. This is a Blackburn machine, embodying many of the structural features of the Shark biplane—one of the standard fleet spotting, reconnaissance, and torpedo-launching airplanes now in service and built entirely in metal. In its present form the machine is described officially as a “dive bomber-fighter,” a new category of British military aircraft.
Dive-bombing at the tremendous speeds attained by finely-streamlined monoplanes, which in terminal velocity dives may exceed 500 m.p.h., Places immense stresses on the structure, and the new Blackburn monoplane is extremely strong. It derives power from a Bristol Mercury radial poppet-valved engine, or, alternatively, it may be fitted with one of the new Perseus sleeve-valved engines.—United Services Review.
Appointment of Grover Loening, of New York, as aeronautical adviser of the United Mates Maritime Commission, was announced yesterday by Chairman Joseph P. Kennedy.
Loening will be in charge of the commission’s studies of the possibilities of the use of aircraft—both heavier and lighter-than-air—in foreign and domestic water-borne commerce in conjunction with the American Merchant Marine.— Herald, Washington, May 12.
The National Advisory Committee for aeronautics demonstrated for the first time today an engine covering which technicians said will incase the speed and efficiency of airplanes 10 to 15 per cent.
The doughnut-shaped device consists of a movable metal ring which can be adjusted to carry away air sucked in to cool the engine.
Dr. George W. Lewis, technical director of the committee’s vast aviation laboratories here, declared the covering, known as the “nose-slot cowling,” marks an important step in further improving the power output and reliability of radial air-cooled engines. The engineers also heard that planes as now designed will not be able to fly faster than 325 m.p.h.
The engineers also said that the day may not be far distant when catapults similar to those used to launch planes at sea will be required to get the huge transport ships of the future off the ground.
These planes would require runways 3,500 ft. long for take-off, it was said, and few airports are large enough to accommodate them.
The committee’s research staff also exhibited for the first time a new “gust” wind tunnel designed to measure the forces to which a large plane is subjected when struck by sudden gusts of air.—Sun, Baltimore. Langley Field, Va., May 18.
Henry T. (Dick) Merrill and Jack Lambie, completing the first round-trip non-stop airplane crossing of the Atlantic, between England and the United States, landed at 4:35:25 p.m. yesterday at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, after flying blind for 24 hours through fog and rain from Southport, England. They had gone to London and returned in 5 days, to the minute, and the trip was unmarred by any mishap. It was Merrill’s second round-trip crossing of the Atlantic since last September.—Herald Tribune, N. Y., May 15.
North American Aviation, late in March, reported the sale of thirty 2-seater military general purpose aircraft to Argentina for a price of approximately $800,000. Both North American and Northrop have announced that they are bidding on an additional Argentine order for approximately $1,000,000—Aviation, May.
Collegiate flyers take to the air here Saturday for feats of aviation skill in the first Midwestern intercollegiate flying meet.
Six schools will have entries, with Kenyon’s experienced airmen expected to cop top honors. Flyers also will come from Ohio State, Akron, Harvard, Pennsylvania, and Purdue.
Competition will range from dropping bombs made up of flour bags to “paper-strafing,” which is the art of dropping a roll of paper from the sky and cutting it with the wings of a plane.
“This meet has two fundamental purposes,” said Donald M. Gretzer, head of the Kenyon School of Aeronautics. “First of all it is like any other intercollegiate game, fascinating sport for the participants; secondly, it develops a skill in flying which contributes to the safety of flying.
“It is also designed to stimulate interest in flying among other colleges.”
Leading Kenyon’s flyers, who defeated Pennsylvania in a recent meet, are Rodney Boren of Dayton and William Lieurance of La Jolla, Calif.
The bomb-dropping test, Gretzer said, is designed to test precision flying. There also will be a spot-landing event, where the pilot is required to land within limits resembling a forced set- down. Cups will be awarded the winning school and the individual high scorer.—Star, Washington. Gambier, Ohio, May 21.
Delivery of a fleet of six Eleclra transports to Polish Air Lines (LOT) is now under way, the first having been taken last month and the balance due this month.—Aero Digest, May 1.
Commander Armando Revoredo Iglesias of the Peru Air Force made the first non-stop solo flight between Lima and Buenos Aires, flying the 2,000 miles, part of it over the Andes, in 13 hr. 51 min.—Aero Digest, March 27.
Gradual liquidation of the once extensive lighter-than-air section of the Army Air Corps was disclosed by Army spokesmen yesterday.
One high-ranking officer predicted the two semirigid airships, 22 free spherical type balloons and 7 captive (sausage type) balloons still in service would be pulled out of the skies and placed in storage within 2 years.
Decision to substitute autogiros for balloons and airships in artillery observation and reconnaissance was disclosed by the Air Corps chief Major General Oscar Westover, in secret testimony on the Army supply bill.
Officers said the decision was made long in advance of and had no relation to the Hindenburg disaster.
It was based primarily on a rider the House Appropriations Committee attached to the last two supply bills requiring that no part of the 50-to-60-million dollar Air Corps appropriations be used for maintenance of lighter-than-air craft.
In conformance therewith, General Westover, who began his air career as a balloon pilot, has ordered the decommissioning by June 30 of the airship LC-13, stationed at Moffett Field, Sunnyvale, California.—Herald, Washington, May 12.
Bids for contracts to supply the Army Air Corps with pursuit planes were opened at Wright Field on April 2.
Low bidder was Seversky Aircraft Corp. which quoted $18,500 each, exclusive of engines, in lots of 25, or $15,900 in lots of 250. The Curtiss Aeroplane Div. of the Curtiss-Wright Corp. offered planes at $41,630 each in lots of 25, and $18,720 each if 250 were ordered.—Aero Digest.
Trial flights between the United States and Bermuda, first leg of transatlantic air transport service, will start tomorrow, Federal officials were notified today.
The Bermuda Clipper, trail-blazing 4-engined flying boat of Pan-American Airways, is to take off from Port Washington, New York, tomorrow morning to explore a tentative course between New York and Hamilton Harbor, Bermuda, a distance of 773 miles across to open Atlantic. At the same time a British plane is expected to leave Bermuda.
It is expected the flight will require about 6 hours, the actual ocean jump starting from about the vicinity of Atlantic City, N. J. The Clipper will spend all day Wednesday while a check is made of the base facilities provided there by the Bermuda and British governments.
The return flight is expected to begin Thursday morning. It is expected the Clipper will lay a direct course to Charleston, S. C., one of the alternative United States bases, and will fly up the coast to New York. There is another alternative base under construction at Baltimore.—Star, Washington, May 24.
There were 15,865 pilots and 7,629 aircraft holding active Department of Commerce licenses on April 1, 1937, according to the Bureau of AW Commerce. On April 1, 1936, there were 14,806 licensed pilots and 7,205 licensed aircraft.
Total number of aircraft, licensed and unlicensed, of which the Department had record on April 1, 1937, was 9,326, while this number on the corresponding day of last year was 8,887. Unlicensed aircraft (bearing identification numbers only) totaled 1,697 on the first of April, 1937.
Among the 15,865 persons holding pilots licenses as of April 1, 1937, were 7,178 transport, 860 limited commercial, 7,144 private and 683 amateur.—Aero Digest.
An international air weather bureau of “inestimable value” to American aviation, will be established at the north pole, U. S. Air Commerce officials declared last night.
Air Commerce Director Fred Fagg asserted the bureau stands ready to join with Russia in erecting a “polar laboratory” at once.
Highest praise was given by Fagg and other bureau officials to the 11 intrepid Russians who landed at the north pole and pitched a permanent camp.
Arrangements will be made at once to obtain all air weather data from the polar camp to be compared with air weather conditions in the United States, it was stated.-—Herald, Washingon May 23.
The Daniel Guggenheim medal for 1937 will be awarded to Dr. Hugo Eckener, German Zeppelin builder and navigator, it was announced here today.
The gold medal, awarded annually to the man considered to have rendered the greatest service to aviation science, will be awarded to Dr. Eckener at New York next December 17, because of “his ability to continue to make the airship one of the great factors in world air transport,” the committee said.
Selection of Dr. Eckener was made many months before the crash of the Hindenburg, Germany’s great airship, the committee disclosed.
The award committee, consisting of nine directors designated by engineering and aeronautical Societies in 8 countries, re-affirmed its faith in the future of airships as a medium of transoceanic travel.—Herald Tribune, N. Y. Washington, May 17 (UP).
Miscellaneous
The Coal-Dust Diesel Engine
The Shipbuilder and Marine Engineer, May.-—Ignoring the well-known experiments of Diesel himself, who early abandoned coal in favor of oil, the first successful attempts to burn solid fuel in an internal-combustion engine were those of Pawlikowski, a former assistant of Diesel. His engines, or “Rupamotors,” described in some detail in Engineering for September 28, 1928, and elsewhere, were claimed to deal with a wide range of powdered fuels varying from coke to rice husks and were somewhat complicated, being fitted, among other details, with rather elaborate apparatus for preheating and feeding the fuel, cleaning the valves with compressed air, and for sweeping with air the space between the piston and the cylinder.
Since then, active experimental work has been carried out continuously, not only by Pawlikowski’s firm at Gorlitz, but also by at least two other Continental organizations, and this work has been intensified during recent years. The experiments have proceeded on parallel lines, with a tendency toward simplification. Thus, the valve and cylinder-cleaning devices have disappeared, and the present engines are similar to normal Diesel engines, apart from the means provided in the cylinder head for feeding and igniting the fuel.
There is no doubt that the difficult problems associated with feeding and igniting the fuel have been solved. Good ignition and combustion can be obtained without the use of a pilot fuel, and governing and power output are satisfactory. The fineness to which the fuel is ground is, of course, important, but this need not be greatly superior to that commonly used in boiler-firing.
The results obtained so far have been confined to large slow-speed engines of a size and speed suitable for marine work. It is difficult to visualize their application to small high-speed plant; but, with recent developments in transport work before one, who dare say what is or is not impossible?
At the present moment, the major problem associated with the coal-dust Diesel is definitely that of cylinder-liner wear. All coals, even when cleaned, contain some ash, and no means has yet been found of preventing this ash-—possibly accompanied by partially-burned solids made under conditions favorable to the production of a particularly abrasive type of coke—from passing between the piston and the liner. This naturally results in severe wear, and also in the contamination of the lubricating oil, particularly with the trunk pistons favored on the Continent.
Attempts have been made to produce a suitable ash-free fuel, but without great success. This may, however, form a fruitful subject for future research. Endeavors have also been made to remove the ash particles from the lubricating oil; but, owing to the extreme fineness of the particles, this has not yet been found to be commercially possible. Obviously the use of a crosshead piston offers advantages in this connection.
The fuels used on the Continent with the coal-dust engine have been mainly brown coals and lignites, and better results have been obtained with these than with Continental bituminous coals. On the other hand, there is evidence to show that some at least of our many British bituminous coals are quite as suitable as brown coals for the purpose. With regard to ash content, they can be commercially cleaned to compare favorably with the brown coals already used.
The method of reducing wear, which is receiving most attention at the moment, is the use of special hard cylinder liners. It is claimed that very marked reductions have been obtained using liners having a Brinell hardness of from 500 to 800, but even with these the wear compares unfavorably with British marine-engine practice. On the other hand, it has been reduced to an extent where the possibility of using liners specially designed for rapid renewal becomes a matter for serious consideration.
The present tendency of coal-dust engine design may best be illustrated by a brief mention of the special features of a recent research engine. This develops 150 hp. from a single cylinder of 550-mm. bore with a compression pressure of 20-25 atmos. To reduce liner wear it is fitted with a hard liner, 700-800 Brinell, cooled by water forced under pressure along an upward spiral path round the liner. The piston is of the crosshead type, specially designed to take hard and rather brittle rings. The crosshead is lubricated by oil, which does not come into contact with ash; but the piston itself is lubricated by a much cheaper lubricant—water—which can be sent to waste as it becomes contaminated.
The method of feeding the fuel is very much simpler than in the early Rupamotor. Compressed air is not necessarily used, but the fuel is “fluffed up” by air drawn through it by engine suction. It then passes through a special stream lined valve into an ignition chamber, which is in direct communication with the cylinder. The fuel enters the ignition chamber near the end of the induction stroke; and, owing to the lag in pressure between the ignition chamber and the cylinder, there is a slight flow from the cylinder to the ignition chamber during the whole of the time the coal is in the latter. Hence, there is no need for a valve between the two. At a certain time near the end of the compression stroke (depending upon critical design details), the fuel, which has been gradually heating, ignites with the limited amount of air in the ignition chamber, giving rise to an explosion which ejects it into the cylinder at a high velocity. Complete combustion then takes place and the power stroke proceeds. No special provision is made for keeping the air inlet and the exhaust valves free from dust.
The results obtained with this engine are not available for publication; but, as indicated in the foregoing, there is every reason to believe that—provided the problems associated with excessive liner wear can be successfully overcome—the coal-dust engine is a technical possibility. Assuming this to be so, there is no doubt A will be the cheapest form of prime mover from the point of view of fuel costs. If must be borne in mind, however, that fuel cost is not always the deciding factor m power production, either from the national or the commercial aspect. Thus, even in the case of the marine engine, which is the most promising field of application for the coal-dust engine, when comparing coal with oil as a fuel, one must consider such details as bunkering facilities, varying costs, storage space, radius of action, fuel deterioration, and preparation costs. In short, every application will ultimately have to be considered on its own merits in the light of its own peculiar circumstances.