The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1896-08-04
BUILT TO DESTROY
AMERICAN NAVY TO HAVE A WON
DERFUL VESSEL.

7
pedo Boat With Deep Irterest-PIenty
of subnersing Appartus-An Interest
Ing Description of the Unique Vessel
and its Powers of What
Boat Builders Say Of the Enterprise
Within few weeks the practicability
Of the submarine torpedo boat viii be
| definitely settled either in the affirma-
tive or negative. II the results are sat
| isfactory the defensive fighting strength
OF he United States navy VIII be increas-
| ed to a formidable degree and more
over the problem of defending 10000
| miles Of vulnerable sea coast viii be
solved. Naval etra tegists agree that
| one efficient submarine boat could hold
| at bay a whole feet of attacking bat
tleshtps and either send them TO the bot
| tom one after the other. or fHghten
them off II would not be considered
good warfare TO match S., 900. 900 bat
tleship against $50, 900 submarine boat
when the chances OF victory were all
| in favor OF the latter.
Last year a contract was awarded 70
a Baltimore concern by the government
calling for the construction OF a sub
marine torpedo boat Work has been
going on steadily on the boat for many
months and within a month or two the
craft viii be launched Then will come
the series of severe tests which will bs
made under government supervision II
the boat fails to fulfill the many stipula-
tons in the contract she viii be reject
ed II, on the other hand, she meets all
the requirements, the United States will
nave caused as great a revolution in ma
val warfare a 5 was marked by the Mon
itor more than a generation ago.
The naval experts Of the great Euro
pean powers ara awaiting with deep in
terest the completion Of this submarine
boat They are all familiar with the
plans of the craft and the opinion has
been freely expressed in the various
leading continental and British papers
that the new boat promises 20 make
submarine warfare reality. Although
Great Britain is the first naval power
Of the world she has never attempted
TO build a submarine boat France has
three vessels OF this type, but none OF
them are regarded as a success. Rus
STA has four or five, Brazil has two.
Greece has one. Turkey has two and
Italy has three. The four leading sub
marine boat architects of the world ara
Tuck, Goubet, Nordenfelt and Holland.
The Oatter "a the designer and builder OF
the American boat
DIMENSIONS OF THE BOAT.
The governmental reuuireruents OF the
boat now building ar Baltimore are in
Part as follows: Length, so feet; diam
eter, IL feet; displacement light, 1855
tons; Displacement at load line, or with
superstructure awasb, 1873 tons; total
displacement. 1855 tons: reserve buoy
ancy, running submerged or awash, IS
ton; reserve buoyancy when lying sub
merged 375 pounds; power for propul-
SION when afoat or awash, irwin Quadru-
PIE expansion engines; weight OF engines
two tons; power for propulsion while
submerged. 20 horse power motor and
storage batteries; speed when floating
light, 16 knots per hour; with superstruc-
ture awaIsh, feet of water covering
hull, Is knots per hour; submerged. s
knots per hour; endurance on surface,
10 hours at Is knots speed: submerged,
s hours at s knots; armament, propul-
sion tubes and automatic torpedoes
All these conditions are comparatively
easy TO meet, with the exception OF the
one which requires that the boat must
be capable OF staying under the water
six hours and covering a distance in
that time of IS nautical miles
METHOD OF CONSTRUCTION.
The construction of the submarine is
unique. The boat has a double steel
Shell, the inner extending aft from The
stem about three-quarters of her length
The space between the skins Is taken up
by water ballast tanks. fuel bunkers
upper surface of the hull, covering the
part which will be exposed when the
vessel is running light (on the surface)
is protected by plate armor one inch
thick. Slightly forward Of the center
rises an ormored coming tower, or Har-
veyized steel. eight inches thick Be
hind this. when the vessel Is running
under steam. there rises an armoTed
tube In which, arranged conoentrically
are the smoke stack and the air shaft,
which can be housed by electric power
when the craft is TO be submerged.
The boat is desisne dto run either light
awash or submerged. To give her an
easy passage under the water when
moving under any Of these conditions.
4 ShipShaped superstracture, forming
an entrance and a run, incloses her
coming tower and stock
HOW IT Is SUBMERGED.
The boat Will submerge herself by
three means-by admitting water 70 her
tanks. by vertical propellers and by hcr-
izontal rudders. Her ballast WI be so
arranged that when she is running sub
merged or awash she will have a re-
versed buoyancy or constant tendency
to rise amounting 10 an effort equal 10
Sc OF a ton. This viii be overcome by
the application Of force by means Of
horizontal rudders. When she IS lying
still submerged she Will have a reserved
buoyancy OF 33S pounds. which VIII be
overcome by the application OF force
through vertical screws. When she is
submerged the crew OF Il men which
viii operate the boat VIII receive con-
slant supply OF pure air from mangan-
ese-bronZe tubes, where il is TO be kept
stored at a pressure Of 1000 pounds TO
the square inch Air from these reser-
Vo-rs VII also be used IN the regula
ton OF The ballast. since the water viii
De expelled pneumatically.
ECONEMY OF SPACE o
The interior % the boat is simply ar
ranged The section between the
stem and the forward bulkhesi cor
tains a pair OF horizontal tubular spe-
- II h-Itf--SaNlen OF me EXPULSION
tubes. but of larger diameter. and a
transverse space Joining them into
which tAe covers % the explosion tubes
open. II also contains a vertical we'll.
which accommodates the bow vertical
screw. used for submerging.
Back OF this is a cha utser containing
two expulsion tubes. each eighteen
inches in diameter. and their operating
machinery. a ballast tank and an cleo
tric nosOr for operating the forward
,-art,..-sl s-.-a-z- a--s 1880 -, 80