Daily press. [volume] (Newport News, Va.) 1896-current, 1899-11-28
turning machinery, all Of which are

turning machinery, all Of which are
| operated by electric motors. and the
auxiliary machinery connected with the
main propellins engines, such as air.
I reed and circulating pumps. forced
! draft blowers, ash HOSTS, etc. which
on these ships are still driven by small
steam engines. Further exceptions to
| me complete use Of electricity for the
ships auxiliary machinery are the
wlndlass and steering engines, which
are also driven by steam. The electric
plants Of the kearsarge ana Kentucky
can. therefore. only be regarded as an
intermediate step between the complete
SIAM drive for auxiliary machinery, SO
largely used i'm the past, and the prac-
tically complete electric drive for ali
auxiliary machinery OF every Kind
! whatsoever. whose adoption appears to
be a possibility of the near future. In
deed, the most serious present limita-
ton to the extent to which the electric
| drive for auxiliary machinery may be
adopted for service in warships is the
time necessary for the officers OF the
| naval service charged with the care of
such plants to organize and train the
, necessary personnel for the care of the
dynamOS and motors, and to gain that
confidence in their power to maintain
the plant in 4 constantly efficient condi-
ton which is necessary to overcome
apt to be felt in Il new appliance or
method adopted for service on board
ship. For, more than in any other
branch of engineering work. it IS i'm
portant that power appliances placed
on board ship and especially on men
| of-war, shall be capable not only of
working satisfactorily when installed
but that their maintenance in an etI1-
, Gent condition can be readily accom-
pished by the ships force available
for the purpose. ". -
while a more extended use mas been
made Of electrically driven auxiliares
on the kearsarge and the Kentucky
than on any other vessels of the navy
up to the present time. attention should
be called to the fact that The various
types of electrically driven auxiliary
machinery used on these vessels are
the logical developments Of generally
similar types previously installed by
the bureau Of construction and repair
on other vessels Of the navy. Thus.
! for example. the turrrt-turning ma
, chlnery may be considered q develop
ment Of that which worked in SO sat
! isfactory Il manner on the Rrookyns
S-nch gun turrets during the late war
With Spain: the chain ammunition
hcists are the same in general princi-
pie as those used on the Puritan and
many other vessels: and the extensive
systems Of blowers and cNha listers useI
| in the ships ventilation are similar in
| character to those placed on the gun
| boats Nashville and Wilmington Two
years ago. and which today are Civ
ing eminently satisfactory results, both
! from the point Of View Of thorough
ventilation Of these vessels and case
! of maintenance OF the ventilation plant
/ in an efficient condition. These in
stances Of the satisfactory working in
service of electrical machinery INSTALL
cd ON vessels of our navy may not I'M
! q IA ho
! ton as to the possible doubt of main
tanning in a constant state Of high eff
ficiancy such an electric plant as that
installed on the kearsarge and the
Kentucky. And it is to be hoped that
the results obtained in service with the
electric plants of these vessels may be
such aus TO definitely lay the ghost OF
| this doubt once and for all. For one
! OF the most marked advantages claim
ed for the electric drive, namely. its
| economy in coal consumption. will in
crease with the size OF the engines en-
| rloyed to drive the electric generators
used and the larger the number and
collective power of the electric motors
! operated, the greater will be the op-
portunity to obtain such economy in
coal consumtion. AS an illustra ton. on
! a batttleShip and an armored cruiser
| now building in this country for a for
eign navy the electric drive is used for
practically all auxiliary machinery. not
, only for the general service of the yes
sci. but for auxiliaries of the propelling
machinery as Well With the result that
| the generating units are OF such size
as TO permit Of their being driven by
! triple expansion engines of the most
efficient marine type, whose economy
! or steam consumption will unquestion-
ably approach closely that Of the main
! propelllnE engines. ".
| Briefly stated, the electric plants Of
the kearsarge and Kentucky perform
the following duties: The ship is light
! ed under peace and battle conditions:
| for search lights are operated; the Ar
dois signal set is operated for night sig
! mailing and also various means of in
terror communication within the Ship
such as battle and range order indi-
| GATORS. electric propelling and steering
engine telegraphs, revolution and helm
angie indicators, etc: truck lights and
the ships running lights are operated
and also the portable driving lanterns
The two turrets containing the S-inch
and 13-inch guns are rotated, the l3-
inch guns elevated. ammunition hoist
cd for both S-inch and 13-inch guns,
hammers OF 13-inch guns operated. and
special ventilation provided to blow out
gases out of bore of S-inch and ]3-inch
guns. The endless chain ammunition
holsrs are operated. eight OF them sup
/ plying the 5-inch broadside guns, and
, two supplying 6-pounder and 1-pounder
guns on upper deck. Two winch type
or holsts are operated. supplying am
munltion to the 6-pounder guns in the
after cabins. Six deck vinches are op-
erated-four winches of a simple gear
ed type with friction drum suitable for
| Quick thoists of moderate loads as in
coaling ship, and two winches of a
compound Seared type permitting eth
er the quick hosting of light loads or
heavy pulls at low speeds. The simple
geared winchcs are especially desif,n-