The Detroit times., 1909-04-02
Gas BIC FACTOR
IN BATTLEsH|PS
Huge Smoke Clouds Are Done Away
with-Warships of Future Are
To Be Different.

| WASHINGTON. April "A totally
different battleship--this is the battle
ship OF the future.
II will be long and rakish and low
"a many thousand horsepower launch
of 10000 or 10000 or 10000 tons dis
placement
| Six revolving turrets, carrying the
heaviest guns, and arranged In steps.
highest. in the middie--these will be
the only parts OF the new warship
visible above the gunwaie.
So rapid Is the transformation now
going on that even naval experts have
TO catch their breath and look twice
to believe their eyes.
What will surprise most people is
the news that the smokestacks are "a
go overheard. Already our navy mas
done away with the old-time fighting
nasts. as they we're called, and the
plans OF our naval experts contem-
plate the rapid substitution OF light
wire-woven towers, which in their ap.
pearance suggest an inverted waste
basket. These have been tried and
found adequate for oil uses served by
HBHllIlk iODr ih''N''
whose small caliber guns were shown
In the Japanese-Russian war TO DE en-.
,irely useless and whose heavy metai
work were so much more taget TOT
the missiles OF the enemy. The al.
mirai's bridge and the WOODWORK or
the pilot house have also been colt
demned as superfiuities.
Installation Of Gas Engine.
The great stride ahead which has
been adopted by Grent Britain is the
Installation in their newest type or
Dreadnaught OF what amounts 10
gas engine. This type OF engine. per
fected In the United States, has been
adopted by foreign countries for their
torpedo boats and small destroyers.
So backward. however. are we IN our
naval construction that we have not
even kept pace with foerign nations
in this improvement. II comes, now,
ever. as a surprise to all the Woriu
or IL will when IL Is heard-thet the
enormous 26,000-ton Dreadnaught Dat
tleships of Great Britain are TO nave
engines OF this sort
According TO the well authenticated
information here coal is still the fuei
of the British Dreadnaught. but In
stead OF heating steam for engines or
the ordinary type. the coal itself is
heated and the gas produced Is run
into cylinders. where ii Is exploded,
lust as the gas from gasoline by It's
explosion furnishes power to run the
automobile. In a word. the principle
NJ the engine and the perfected pow
or which has come into general use
with the development OF our automo-
bile. Is to be applied on an enormous
scale to the latest engines Of naval
war.
The advantages ore obvious. The
huge smoke clouds are done away
with. The looming tunnels are abol-
ished. With smoke stacks gone there
is not only less target for the enemy
and less destruction wrought by the
striking missile, but more room re-
mains for the operation OF the guns,
Now the turrets swing and shoot In
all directions without let or hind
rance.
ship Has SIX Turrets.
The modern Dreadnaught is a ship
with six turrets built in terrace fash
ion. That is to say. No. l tu'ret az
the bow is enough lower than No. ,
turret so that No. can swing its guns
and shoot over No. ]. No. can shoot
over No. .. No. is high enough 10
shoot over No. 5 and No > can train
its guns and shoot over No. 6. The
higher turrets are in the center OF
the ship and they slope down at either
end.
The only question which remains