St. Tammany farmer. [volume] (Covington, La.) 1874-current, 1906-06-30
MODELS FOR SHIP STUDY.

MODELS FOR SHIP STUDY.
|Replicas Of Battleships and Other
Craft Made by Navy Depart
~. ment Draughtsman.
One of the chief aids to naval con-
struction and transportation recog-
nized by all modern war schools anu
navy departments is the model ana ING
half-model. By means OF these skill
fully constructed replicas OF the real
battleship, cruiser, army transport OF
Yacht. officers are instructed IN many
details of naval architecture, such as
the exact loaction Of watertight bulk
heads, the allotment of space for en-
gines. boilers and auxiliary engines,
the double bottoms, the protective
deck, the armor, the electric system
the location of the main and secondary
batteries, the tnrrets, and other de-
tails of construction and operation.
A most important branch OF the
modern shipbuilding yard, whether OF
merchant or war ships, is the practice
of trying out" the model In spec1ai
tanks made for the purpose, before
proceeding with the construction OF the
full-size vessel. By. this means the
faults in design are discovered and
remedied.
It Is understood to be the ambition
of the quartermaster general OF the
United States army, G. F. Humphrey,
to make its transport service not only
equal to that Of any other modern
world power, but also to be able truth
fully TO assert any detail OF Its equip
ment faithfully represents the highest
development in that particular line.
The service that these models render
especially the longitudinal section
is ~ a physic-historical record, GA
physic-educational example and (3) q
means of instant visual comparison.
The model, in other words, presents
a practical method of teaching and Of
recording naval construction and
equipment processes, and of enabling
the department to compare what 1t has
already installed with what is offered
it. It is now conceded that the faith
fully designed model offers to the stu
dent of naval architecture a better
practical illustration of the hull and
equipment of the vessel shown than
the lines of the same vessel on paper.
Model making in the United States
that is of warships and army trans
ports-is in its infancy. Those that
were furnished the war and the navy
departments prior to 1903 were made
abroad. In that year several were
made by Horace E. Boucher, a
draughtsman in the navy department
at Washington. He was sent to st.
Louis to erect the navy department ex-
hibit at the worlds fair, which consist
ed of a model of a battleship complete
in every detail.
Realizing that one of the best object
lessons for the guidance and instruc-
ton of the heads of the various de-
partments and for the officers is the
model and half model, the war depart
ment last year, through Gen. Hum
phrey, ordered one of each made OF the
United States transport Sherman at q
cost of some $4,000, the model to be
one-forty-eighth the size Of the ship.
Some idea of the size of the Sherman
may be gathered when 1t is known that
her chief dimensions are 465 feet over
all, ~ feet beam, "a feet depth and 26
feet draught She will carry 1,776 SOL
diers, and 5000 tons of cargo without
troops. Her bunker capacity is 1000
tons and her tanks will hold 1900 tons
OF water. She is four-masted. twin
screw steel steamship of 1850 gross
tons. The full model and the half
model Of the Sherman, just completed
by Horace E. Boucher, is soon to be
sent as permanent exhibit to the
state, war and navy department build
ing at Washington.
These are the first models Of .
transport ever made In America, and
naval architects anu others who nave
inspected them declare that they excel
in point Of detail any models made
abroad. This is especially true of the
half model, or longitudinal section, for
this miniature reproduction of the
great ship, sliced in half, as it were,
longitudinally, shows at glance not
only every frame, plate, deck and bulk
head, but also every piece of ma
chinery, the furniture, hunks, and, in
fact, all the interior fittings required to
properly house the troops. The store
rooms and holds filled with barrels Of
provisions are shown, also the main
saloon with its tables and chairs, the
staterooms, the magazines, the boilers
and perfect little engine made abso-
lutely to scale, each working part be-
ing made to fit the other with mechan-
ical exactness.
MEMBER FROM CRIMSON GULCH