The Richmond Virginian. (Richmond, Va.) 1910-1920, 1911-12-11
NAVAL CONSTRUCTOR TAYLOR Is
HELD IN HIGH ESTEEM FoR
HIS ABILITY
BROTHER IN RICHMOND
DISTINGUISHED OFFICER rs Ma
TIVE OF LOUISA AND COT
IN or MR. w1CKHAM.
OF G. AND q.

4
CONSTRUCTOR David Watson Taylor.
While the article is very complete
/ In Its recital Of the great accom-
! piishments OF Constructor Taylor. 1t
/, fails to state who Constructor Tay-
! Tor is or from where he comes.
| Mr.. Taylor In native Nirgtnian.
having been born In Louisa county
de is the son OF Henry Taylor, OF
! mat county, and Ia brother of
henry Taylor. Jr.. of Richmond. at
torney Tor the Chesapeake and Ohio
halfway and also . first cousin of
Henry I. Wickhan, vice preside Mt
and general counsel for the same
com pany.
Following Is the article as 1t APP
+, peared in the Boston Transcript. and
which WAS reproduced in the Army
and Navy Register, with the COM
ment; 1t Is not often the daily news
paper contains such merited appre-
I cation OF q naval officer:
/ Praise for Naval Constructor.
( Great Britain has paid high honor
to the United States In inviting Naval
constructor David Watson TAYLOR to
WISH England and appear as an ex-
/ pert witness In the case which Will
| TX the blame anad responsibility for
! the ramming of the Olympic. the
/ largest OF all ocean liners. by the
| British cruiser Hawke. Naval Con-
structor Taylor sailed a week ago.
The request that he be allowed an
/ opportunity to appear In this case
/ was transmitted to this government
| through the State Department 1t is
not only high com plimeut to Cap
tain Taylor himself. but 1t Is a recog-
milton by Great Britain Of the high
SKIN and learning OF the men who
design and build warships for this
/ country.
Naval Constructor Taylor is a spe-
cialist IN peculiar feature OF naval
construction and Is generally regard
ed as the one man In the world who
can be eIassed as an expert on the
subject He Is the man who expert
ments with ship models In the tank at
the washington navy yard. For sew
eral yeas he has been devotin1 h 3
time almost exclusively to this wors.
Incidental TO It he was led TO a study
or the attraction of one vessel for
another when they mass at close quar-
! ters, particularly In shallow wat sc.
he made some rather curious dis
coveries concerning the OBJECTS Of this
suction and has deducod from them
certain general principles, which are
OF high Importance. not only to the
naval, but to the maritime, world In
general. While It has been generally
recognized for a long time that ves-
sells In close proximity seem to ex-
ercise an attraction for each other
little was known concerning the phs
nomenon until Naval Constructo,
Taylor made an investigation of 4
through the use Of models In the tanl
at the Washington navy yard,
The results OF his experiments wer,
nrsi published In 1909, and were
considered so important to mariner
that they were printed on the bacl
Of the charts issued by the hydro
graphic Office. Since that time Nava
, Constructor Taylor had continued hi
, study Of the problem. He had al
ready achieved distinction as an ex
pert on tho models OF warships whe,
he graduated from Annapolis Acad
, envy back In the eighties he was tn
, honor student OF his class. Follow
ing that he studied abroad. where h
was again the honor student at tn
leading naval school in England. II
Is now in the prime of life Whe
the model tank was established a
the Washington navy yard about te
years ago Naval Constructor Taylo
WAS placed In charge OF the expert
mepts. They are conducted for tn
s models offer the least resistance whe
v propelled through the water and wha
( pes can, therefore. be driven wit
= ne greatest economy of power. HI
{ study OF the problem OF ship model
: has resulted In many important modi
I fca,ions OF naval hulls In -ecer
years. What was formerly more D
. less a matter OF guess work has 40,
I become n science. Naval Construc
= tor Taylor has experimental wit
: hundreds Of models.
The value OF his discoveries ca
= hast be judged from an Illustration
!, When the battleship Connecticut wa
designed the results Of his study Z
models were not available. The Con
necticut Is a, 16 ,0o0-ton shin. Whe
the battleship Michigan was lai
down three years later certain i'm
9 pcrtant discoveries had been mad
by Taylor. The Michigan Ia nf tn
same tonnage as the Connecticu
Owing to a difference in model. how
/. ever. she can be driven at an III
). knot speed with 1000 less horsepow
:. er than is required to propel tn
: Connecticut at the same rate q
. travel Such results have been ap
I piled In our newer vessels. not onl
I to battleships, but right down the I'm
q 4 small craft, even to torpedo boat
a They add very largely to the navy
! lower OF offense, because they roir
i the way for obtaining an equal re
: suit with less power
4 Two years ago Naval Construrto
q TavIor first began to give special at
a tentien to the matter Of suction be
: tween vessels. as disclosed In his tx
! poriments with the models q. tn
Was hington yard. The question Is
. | complicated one. All that was knew
concerning II was that there was ~
undcubted element Of attraction be
tween ships Tint were under way an
, close together. The ramn!ng OF tn
: Olympic is the latest example If thi
pjheonmenon Tn 1903 there was n
: accident IN New York harbor of
similar character, when tho steame
Fa,im was driven aground by
sudden swerve in her course as tn
: no. sr liner Princess Irene oegan t.
overlap her stern at close quarter,
Such suctions are recognized to b
: Of great power In shallow watei
which. as q iule, are the only place
. where accidents Of that kind happier
d Naval Constructor Tlv)>r bcga
8 his experiments by the use OF fou
: rioeeIs each about 90 feet In hngtl
n and OF 5000 pounds displacement
Q Tkey were lowed in pairs. abreast o
: ono another. or at certain distance
D ahsad and astern. as well ~ at va
. riors distances apart The expert
ments established the fact that ther
wore points OF repaision as well a
attrs ction. Something analogous +
Us rysIl 81 "a M a tn,s re