West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946, 1885-11-20
SUBMARINE NAVIGATION.
The Nordentelt Submarine Boat and \,
Conatrurtlnn

construction.
The Nordenfelt boat. the FIRST of its
class, was built at Stockholm about two
years ago, The boat is cigar shaped.
with coiiin-likc projection on the top
amidships, formed by vertical comb
ings supporting glass dome, or con-
ming tower. one foot high. which en-
ableS the commander TO see his way
The dome, with its iron protecting
cover. stands on horizontal lid. which
can be swung aside to allow the crew
OF three men TO get in or out without
difficulty The length OF the hull il 6
feet and the central diameter feet
IL Is built of Swedish mild steel plates
! inch thick at the center tapered to /
inch at the ends, supported on angle
IRON framing. 3 inches by 3 inche, 6y
men Ihe arrangements for sinking
the boat are of special nature. for
winch the inventor claims important
advantages. Practically, such a boat
can be sunk in throe ways. >ngly or
taken IN combination. ID my bo forced
down by power applied from with
IN Weighted down by taking i'm
sea water sufficient TO destroy the
ouoyancy, or IL may be stccrcd down
oN the application of Its ordinary mo-
1--WE power modified 10y horizontal
rudder Mr.. Nordenfclt ha. adoptcd
the FORMER arrangement placing Spon-
sons ON each side of the hont amid
ships, in which are wells for tho YER
ucal propcllerS capable of WORKING the
boat up or down. In order 10 prcnorc
Tor action, enough seawatcr is taken i'm
To reduce the buoyancy to one hundrel
weight which suilices To- keep tho con.
nlng tower we'll above the surface. I'm
order to sink the boat further the ycr-
t'cai propeilers are set in motion, and.
py theIr action, IL is held at the re-
CURED depth. Thus. to come TO the
surface again, IL is merely necessary to-
stop the vertical propcllcrs, In which
case tho reserve of buoyancy at once
comes into play. This principle is
r'ghtly regarded IA important, even if
not essent al, in n safe submarine boat.
a breakdown in the engines does not
entail danger, since the reserve of
buoyancy is never lost for n moment
AS q still further safeguard, however.
MT Nordentelt has provided an auto
matte check on the downward motion
a lever, with weight which can be
ADJUSTED so as TO counterbalance any
desired head OF water is connected
with throttle valve supplying steam
TO the engine working the vertical pro-
pellers. Thus directly the desired
depth IS exceeded. the increased head
OF outside water ovcrcomes the weight
ana the vertical propelcrs are stopped
me motive power is steam alone.
generated In boiler of the ordinary
marine type with a forced draught. So
long rs the boat runs on the surface.
TINS boiler can be stocked and n con.
stant head OF steam maintained. The
smoke Is driven out through two chan.
heIs winch pass partly round the hull
anu point ait. For submarine work. no
stoklng Is, of course. possible. aud the
hrcboN has TO be- sealed IL is therefore
necessary to store the requisite power
beforehand, and this is done by heating
the water in two tanks placed fore and
AT and connected by circulating tubes
with the boiler, till pressure OF about
lOO pounds per square inch is obtained
WIN ABOUT this initial pressure, il il
stated that the boat has been driven for
10 miles NJ speed OF three knots. The
greatest surface speed attained is n little
over eight knots and the boat has been
run Tor 100 miles without recoaliuo
winch drives the propeller, an ordinary
four-bladed screw feel in diameter
with pitch of Z feet inches. Tho
other engines drive the blower and the
horizontal prOpellers respectively.
One Of the principal difficulties of
submarine navigation is TO preserve An
even keel when under water SbouId
n boat turn downward when in motion
below the surface. it might easily strike
the bottom, or reach depth at which
u must collapse before its course could
De arrested. On the other hand. II tho
DOW took an upward turn under tho
same circumstances, the boat would
rapidly come TO the surface, and be OK
posed to view and TO projectiles. II il
evidently, therefore, of the utmost i'm.
portance TO provide ample steering
power in a vertical direction. In tho
Nordenfelt boat, two horizontal rudders
are placed one on each side near fbe
bows, and are acted upon by pendulum
inside the hull. This pendulum. comma,
INTO play the instant the boat keq a cant
IN either direction. actuates the borizon-
tai rudders and causes her Immediately
70 return TO an even keel. By this means
II Is claimed that the boat Is automatic
ally kept with her axis horizontal while
since the bow ruddcrs are entirely bc-
yond the control Of the crew there is mo-
danger Of accident due 10 neglect or
loss OF nerve. In the event of n break
down OF the above Arrangement H. IL
necessary 40 once 10 stop the boat and
let her return 70 the surface. No com
pressed air is carried. and the crew do.
pend, therefore, for existence ON tine
amount OF air sealed up in the hull
with this amount Of air only. four men
have remained for n period Of six hours
without any especial Inconvenience -
IogCLo,3 y,q,syr