Daily Kennebec journal., 1898-05-27
CABLE LAYING IN WAR TIME.
A New Device Tor Putting the Wires Down az
Twenty Knot Speed.

An invention has lately been SUBJ
mitted to the British naval authorities
which, if accepted, will undoup'euiy
prove an important factor In future
naval warfare. The designers are
Lieut.. Crutchley of the Royal navy
reserve and Mr.. Smell. an engineer.
who have devised an improved metilod
of laying submarine cables at much
increased rate of speed. BY means VI
this invention a warship or trans~At-
lantic liner can be used to lay cable
of special design at n rate of 20 KNOTS
an hour. 1t requires very little altera-
ton to adapt these vessels to the puf-
pose.
Many experiments have been mace
with a view to telegraphy without
wires, but so far unsucceSsfully at any
but the shortest distances, and Eng
lands only present comfort in such
difficulties has been that she is in pos
sion of nearly all the special cable
laying and repairing vessels. Now
Messrs. Smell and Crutchley step IN
with a scheme, which would seem TO
lay at rest the veXcd question of the
transmission of orders, even If the
enemy has succeeded in cutting exist
ing cables.
The differences between the present
and the new system of laying subma-
rine cables are many and varied. TO
start with, the new cable is much light
and less expensive than the ponderous
affair used for spanning the Atlantic.
Three hundred knots weigh only loo
tons while the price averages onlH
$500 a knot. Coiled on a large drum.
these 500 knots, ready for use, can ne
slowed away in a tank or hold about
| the size Of a large double boiler. 50
that Il good sized ship. such as a crui-
| ser or a liner. could easily lind room
| for two such drums, one in the aft and
| the other in the fore hold. Here would
| be 100 miles Of cable, weighing only
| 800 tons, slowed away ready for imme-
| date use Another plan is to carry
| the cable on small drums holding hut
40 knots each and joined together;
! these drums possess the merit Of being
! light and portable and also easily put
! away.
The paying out of the cable is A.
| ccmplished very simply, engines of -"
| horse power being utilized To reVolNe
the large carrying drum and giving
| delivery speed of over - knots an houF
| Now it is necessary, in laying a cable.
| that a certain amount OF slack should
| be available. so that the cable can az
| commodate itself to the frequent m
| cqualities of the ocean bed and not he
come tightly stretched from one proml-
| nenre to another, thus throwing an
| excessive strain on the paying -out
| machinery. Accordingly. for a length
Of 800 knots, q blight or slack Of 2oJo
| feet is allowed. and is carried on pair
! Of drums which the stationed midway
| between the stern and the main drum
! The cable passes from these hobhins ID
! a revolving pulley at the ships stern.
! which literally elects the wire ut 4
| speed which can, if necessary. he made
greater that the rate Of delivery at the
| tank. \ controlling apparatus Is al
tachtd to the slack-carrying drums To
prevent the using up of the blight too
suddenly until the strain becomes suili-
cient to overcome this resistance.
| Before the 2n00 feet haV- hecu absorbed
in this way it is evident that the ship ;
speed can be diminished a little, 50 that
the excess rate of delivery will soon
! again accumulate slack.
The results attained by this system
| in actual work are said to be marvel
l1ous: Of course there is nothing out IF
the way in the entire design. but
usually these simple ideas. though bril-
liant in theory. seem to collapse when
put to thorough test in practice. TIL
| Smell -Crutchley invention, however.
does not appear to belong TO this class.
| and the inventors have demonstrated
| satisfactorily that a ship able to make
| % knots can easily pay out y knots Of
cable. the extra knot being compensa-
ton for the uneven floor Of the sea.
\ simple calculation shows that COM
| munication can be estimated by these
means between points 700 miles distant
within a space of 30 hours. and the
cable, once laid. would be permanent.
at least as cables so. Nothing un-
usual is visible to a passing ship save
perhaps what would look like a taut
rope trailing astern. and even that
| could be concealed without difficulty.
The work can be as Well done at night
as in the daytime, requiring little
| supervision.