Los Angeles herald., 1910-08-07
AUSTRIA-HUNGARY .
EXPANDING NAVY
Plan to Increase Fleet Receives
Support of the Thrones
Heir Apparent
KRUPPS PROVIDING THE GUNS
One Dreadnaught Is in Course of
Construction and Others
Are Planned
PROVIDING THE GUNS

progress IN Ine uudl llOidlClly Ipl 'i4S
expansion of the fleet and the adoption
of a shipbuilding program, and which
derives much assistance from the ac-
tive support of Prince Ferdinand, the
heir apparent to the throne, has
direct and necessary relation TO the
DEVELOPMENT of shipbuilding resources.
Such was the case in England in an
ticipation of the naval defense act and
in Germany of the navy law, and the
effect is manifested not only in ship
building yards and engineering works,
but in a multitude of factories in Vari-
Gus industrial centers.
A great deal has been heard of the
Stabilimento Tecnico at Trieste, which
has anticipated government supplies
by laying down one Dreadnaught at
its own risk, and is about to lay down
another, and of the arrangements for
the building of other Dreadnaughts at
the government dock yards at PoIa
and a private yard near Fiume. The
Trieste shipbuilding and engineering
establishment has built all the more
important Austro- Hungarian warships,
including the immediate pre-Dread-
naughts, and has latterly been greatly
expanded with an enlarged area,
heightened building berths, powerful
new or reconstructed cranes and much
new plant, partly in association with
the Austrian Lloyd. 1t is really Ger
man company under an Italian name,
and recently its shares stood at four
times their nominal value. The Pola
yard is a large government establish
ment, the headquarters of the AuStrO-
Hungarian fleet, and it ras several
building berths, one at least capable or
taking a Dreadnaught, besides docks,
coaling facilities and all the REQUIRE
ments of a large dock yard. The yard
at Bergudi, near Fiume, is owned by
Herren Schomschen and Hartmann of
Budapest 1t lies adjacent to the
Whitehead torpedo works, and on that
side additional land has been acquired
and building facilities are being in
creased, so that 1t should be possible
soon to begin work upon big ship
Hitherto the Bergudi works have been
occupied in small shipbuilding. mostly
for the mercantile marine.
Guns and arms are furnished by the
Skoda works at Pilsen, in which the
Krupps are believed to have consid'
erable interest. These works have pro-
duced a 45-caliber 12-inch gun for the
ships of the Dadetsky class and have
also a 50-caliber gun, While one or
larger caliber is experimental. The
latest types are still under trial. The
claim is made for these guns that they
have great longitudinal and circum-
ferential strength, owing to the system
of construction adopted, and to the
homogeniety of the steel employed,
which has a high elastic limit and
great breaking strain. The Skoda es-
tablshment also produces armor plat
ing, as do the Poldihutte works near
Prague. The latter have been increased
ii capacity, though little Is known con-
cerning them
More important are the armor plate
establishments of the Witowitzer Berg
ION l0lf a
WitkoWitz in Moravia, which have
grown enormously since 1898, when
they were developed out of works of
lesser Importance. The advances made
in the production of ingots and armor
plate have been met by additions to
plant and resources, and now the
buildings have a roof area of about
36,500 square yards, and include three
departrments-for steel production, for
rolling ingots and for shaping. bending,
tempering, drilling and finishing plates.
In the steel works there are two
Siemens-M Martin furnaces of 35 tons
capacity and six of 10 tons, capable of
producing together 10000 tons of ingots
for armor-plates every year. raw ma
terial is transported by hlghspeed
five-ton travelling crane with a span of
20 feet to the 35-ton furnaces, into
which 1t is charged with great rapidity,
the hot ingots being dealt with by
means of electric cranes ana special
wagons of so tons and 80 tons capa-
city, besides others of lesser power.
The gas-heated 35-ton furnaces are
supplied by four revolving generators
on the Kerpely system, and the 15-ton
furnaces from central generating sta
ton with large equipment OF kerpely
and other generators.
The rolling mills and presses are in
a building 2s5 feet long, divided into
three bays about 20 feet wide. Here
are re-heating furnaces supplied with
gas by Kerpely generators, and the
plant is of great power for dealing
with the heaviest and largest ingots
and plates. Travelling cranes OF 80 and
As tons capacity, besides others small
er, are provided. To this department
the hot ingots are brought in special
cupola carriages of 80, 49, 90, and S0
tons capacity. Both hydraulic and
electric power are employed FOR the
working Of the heavy machinery; the
pumping plant is of the most modern
type, and the total horsepower required
for the rolling mills is about 11,OOO.
After the ingots have been rolled to the
required thickness they are carried in
special carriages into the nelgnDOrlng
armor-plate works.
The latter are upon a very large
scale, and are located in II different
shops with a roof area of nearly 1000
square feet. The department Is fur
nished with IL Siemens gas-heated
furnaces, in which plates are prepared
for the several hardening and cement
ing processes, the gas for heating being
supplied from the central station al
ready alluded to- For transporting the
plates here are in one shop cranes of
so, 80, and % tons, and in another
three cranes ranging uup to lifting
power of so tons. Two reinforced con-
crete tanks have respectively capacity
of 1870 and 81 tons of OIL The plant
for oil and water hardening is on
large scale, the latter being worked
by eight centrifugal pumps
For the bending of armor-plates the
works are equipped with three hy
draulic presses respectively of 10000,
5000. and 1000 tons power. rhey are
of the most modern and efficient type,
and are in relation to electric cranes
adequate for dealing with the heaviest
weights required The smallest is
forging press by Messrs. Tannett and
Walker, of Leeds. Plates are re-heated
in the Siemens furnaces referred to.
The other plant i'm the armor-plate de-
partment includes shaping, trimming.
boring. and other machinery employed
in finishing plates. The works are
equipped with all modern apparatus for