The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-04-17
A WAR SHIPS LIGHTS.
SyvitchbOards That Control Masthead
and Magazine.


New York Commercial Advertiser.
The best electrical installation to be found
anywhere is aboard the modern battle snip.
There the work is constantly unoer the
severest tests the specifications prepared
by the Navy Department, under which the
work is done, cover every possible detail;
the highest grade of material and workman
ship is required throughout, and the work is
done under rigid inspection On older yes
sells the electrical equipment was practlcally
confined to lighting circuits, but one after
another various details of work performed
by auxiliary engines have been transferred
to electric motors, until now little but the
The Kearsarge and Kentucky. recently
launched at Newport News, mark the latest
advance. In these ships the turrets and
ammunition hoists, for the flrst time III our
navy. will be worked by electric motors.
The main business of electricity on board
a war ship is still the lighting. The Ameri-
haustive article by r. "; Countlss . on
Naval Marine Electric Lighting, with
fifty Illustrations. from which the present
is exerted to secure the largest amount OF
illumination from the least number of lamps
and SO make the weight as little as possible;
The plant of the Texas. which operates 5S3
lights, weighs about forty tons, large
item where every hundred weight and al
most every pound is figured out. Formerly
it was the practice to inclose the wires in
iron tubes. thereby adding much to the
weight of the equipment; but now the wires
are run in wooden holdings, much the same
as those in use in buildings on land.
The generators are wonderfully efficient.
Some of them have carried overloads or
100 to $50 per cent. without sparkling or
heating They are so designed that the mag
netic field is inappreciable at a distance or
fifteen feet. Usually there are three genera
tors connected into the switch board. so ar
ranged that they can be run either singly
or together to operate either one part or
all of the light equipment.
Although in itself complex the switch
board of a man-of-War is simple compared
with other switchhoards; An attempt has
been made to secure uniformity throughout
the navy so that man may go from one
vessel to another and yet know how to work
each board There are two main divisions
known respectively as the lighting ana
motor circuits. The lighting circuit is
again divided into six divisions. according
to the use required of them, called con,
tinual.' battle" general. sea, day
and special" Some of these are only sub
mains. branching from the trunk lines, and
each is controlled by a switch placed In
convenient location. Thus the lights or the
circuit for sea service, the lights for day
service are on a submain branching from
the main for general service, etc. The battle
service mains have their own feeder and
start at the switchboard. They carry cur
rent to the lamps lighting the magazines,
handling rooms, ammunition hoiStS, central
station, coming tower, and battle lanterns
at the guns, A signal circuit leads direct
Nv from the switchboard and serves to
light the blnnacleS, ana all running nSntS
and signals. The searchlights have an in
dependent main and are not connected with
any other circuit.
under the protective deck and are so con-
nected with feeders and covered and inter-
laced that even if most of the system
should be shot away what remains would
still be effective. In the most important
places, as the bridge and the magazines,
the system is double; in other places, as
the sidelights masthead and towing lights,
two lamps are provided so that il one fails
the other may be used. In the magazines
the lanterns are inclOSed in light boxes.
provided with heavy bull S-eye lenses. The
lanterns also have candies, that in case
the plant is totally disabled the men in tins
magazines can still serve out ammunition
On some ships, on the Texas, large, mar
row spaces built between the magazines
supply the place of the boxes and lanterns
placed in these illuminate several magazines
at one time.
One of the most important items in the
equipment of a battle ship is the search
light. The standard sizes are eighteen
twenty-four and thirty inches, the size Civ
en- being the diameter of the rejecting mir
ror at the back of the are. The movement
of the light can be controlled either by
hand or by motors. The tendency recently
has been to the use of motors, because by
this system the light can be placed high up
in a commanding position, while the oper-
ator remains on deck or below. The con-
troller is a small box with a projecting
handle, so connected by wires with the
motors in the drum containing the nght
that by raising or lowering the handle the
beam Of light is raised or lowered turned
to the right or left as the handle is turned
in the same direction. The lights viii burn
six hours with one trimming, and an
eiS0teen-1lCn UEnI VIII IenutI Greatly NiGi-
bic a light-colored object 10x20 feet az q
distance of two and one-quarter miles. The
tEirty-inch light will show the same OBJ
ject at three and one-half miles.
The Ardois signal hoist, with which most
of the modern war ships are equipped, Is
composed of four double lanterns. similar
to the truck lights. Each half of each Ian
tern has a separate wire leading to the
keyboard, with general return wire form
ing the heart of the cable. AS the two
halves of the lantern are of different coll
ors thirty combinations can be made, each
one shown on the keyboard.