The evening times. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1895-1902, 1898-03-26
ELECTRICITY In SHIPS.
Turrets. Gums, and Ammunition
Ipoists Controlled by IL.

When the news reached England that
the United States cruiser Brooklyn was
equipped with a plant for the electrical
operation of her big guns and turrets,
in place of the usual hydraulic system,
ii created curiosity and interest which
eliminated in the British admiralty
sending over accredited representatives
TO examine the system with view to
adapting IL to the use OF the English ma
Wy. Since then electricity has been more
and moro used in the United States Ma
Wy, until today America leads the world
in it's use of electricity on board ship.
In the United States Navy electricity
is now used for nearly every purpose
except tho actual propulsion of the ship
and there are those who predict that
the day when steam will be superseded
for even that purpose is not very far
of. Electric lighting began the thing.
as far as the warships are concerned.
Then. in natural sequence. came the
searchlight. followed quickly by electri-
cal signal devices and arrangements for
providing diver with submarine FLU
mination. Afterward there came aboard
humble little electric ammunition
hoist, which worked so smoothly and so
I regularly that IT gained favor enough to
be able to introduce its cousin a motor
for operating the ventilating fans
Once aboard, the subtle power spread
over the ship. Even the little ships boats
now have their dynamos, their search
lights and their electric lights. No long
er has the sailor to climb sixty feet in
air on a cold night to attend to the mast
head light. The touch of button lights
the truck lantern, and If it goes out an
electrical annunciator lets the whole ship
know II. A regularly equipped telephone
plant. with an efficient Central" ena-
bles the officer on the bridge or the cap
tain in his cabin. to communicate with
every part OF the ship at any moment
and under any conditions. Electrical ire
alarms are installed on several OF the
warships, and an electrical device, de-
signed to give timely warning of any
/ threatened combustion i'm the vessels coal
/ bunkers, is in general use. An electrical
steering plant is already in use i'm place
Of the old steam arrangement, and a ma
val genius has already proposed TO APP
/ ply electricity to direct the ships rud-
der.
The man who has to sound the ships
bell OF attend 10 the siren when there is
fog on the sea generally objects to his
task. In most of the vessels of the Uni
ted States Navy the ubiquitous cleo
I tricity rings the bell. and can be set to
work TO automatically turn on the siren
/ al the desired intervals The captain :
gig on the cruiser New York is run by
electric storage batteries.
From these things to the handling OF
I the Brooklyn's S-inch guns and their
! turrets was a long. brave step. but cleo
. tricity took il safely. The thing that
made the problem the more difficult was
that the tuTrets of this cruiser have no
I arrangement to counterbalance the ships
list. II is, therefore. occasionally neCes-
I sary for electricity TO lift the immense
weight of the guns and turrets straight
uphill. IL takes an immense amount Of
/ power. but the current has never failed.
I and because Of its proved efficiency is TO
/ be applied to other ships.
All but the machine guns on a man-of-
/ war are now fired by electricity, and on
many Of the cruisers the aiming is done
by the same power. Ash-lifts. logs and
+ deep-sea leads, all have electrical attach
ments nowadays. and in some ships even
the anchor is let so by a touch Of the
I button.