Vilas County news. [volume] (Eagle River, Vilas County, Wis.) 1896-1927, 1912-05-29
SAFETY FOR SHIPS
Collision Device Now Adopted In
United States Navy.
COMPRESSED AIR is SECRET
BY Its Use, When Existing Equipment
is Coupled Up, Water Is Expelled
From Damaged Compartments
and Is Kept Out.
BY GEORGE CLINTON.

Washington.-The United States
battleship North Carolina, now lying
In the Portsmouth navy yard, Is being
fitted with a few simple devices
which, according to her commander,
Capt G.. c. Marsh, Will permit her to
hit as big an iceberg as did the Ill
fated Titanic, to hit it just as hard
and yet to stay ahoat for perhaps
long enough to come into port under
her own steam-at any rate long
enough so that the crew could be
picked up and brought to safety. Two
words sum up the whole story-com-
pressed air.
1t is the story not Of a new inven-
ton, but of the new application of
well-known and well-tried method.
Perhaps the most vivid illustration Of
what the North Carolina expects to be
able to do is what actually was done
in the case Of the Yankee.
The engineers who tried to raise
that foundered ship-and Captain
Marsh was ore of them-first set the
pumps to going. Nothing happened
except the throb-throb Of the pumps.
The water refused to go down. The
engineers were astounded. They
thought it over and they set out on
new tack.
On top of the Golfer dam which
reached down to just above the water
line they built little air lock. Com
pressed air was forced into the water
&c nd in no
words OF Captain Marsh, "the water
went out like pushing a ball." The
workmen descended into the cavity
and found the leak-five small rivet
holes. Had there been compressed
air pumps on the Titanic a similar
miracle might have been worked.
Water Forced Out and Kept Out.
81 have SEEN" writes a man who
thinks that compressed air will be the
solution of many of the dangers which
threaten modern ocean-going liners,
Captain Marsh open the sea cocks,
food his forward trimming tanks, and
then, by turning on the compressed
air, force out the sea water in five
minutes, and by keeping on the COM
pressed air keep the water out, al
though all sea cocks remained open"
Every enc familiar with the wreck
ing operations of today will at once
comprehend the simple physical prin-
ciple involved. Your ship, let us say,
strikes another ship, an iceberg, or a
derelict, snd hole is stove in her.
The water rushes in. 1t finds itself
confined to a reasonably water-tight
chamber which can be shut off from
the rest of the vessel by doors. If
the walls of the bulkhead are strong
enough the ship can go ahead, carry
ing the extra burden of water. But
it is better, of course to remove the
water and close the hole, or at the
very least to strengthen the walls Of
the bulkhead so that they may with
stand the added pressure of the water
"a pressure which at depth of 80
feet below the surface of the sea
would amount to Is pounds per square
foot.
The proposition then is to turn COM
pressed air into the neighboring COM
partments, reinforcing them and pre-
venting water from leaking into them
either from the damaged one or from
a strained plate on the hull of the YES
sci. This accomplished. you have in
sured your ship from sinking for the
time being. The next step is to turn
the compressed air into the bulkhead
where the tear is, thus driving out the
water to the level of the bottom of
the tear. Conditions now are such that
workmen can patch up the rent more
or less effectually, after which the
rest of the water can be sucked out
and the ship proceed to repair dock.
Expense Is Not Great.
AS has been said, the North Caro-
lima is now being fitted up SO that she
can rescue herself after this fashion.
The new cruiser Utah is already pro-
vided with the necessary apparatus.
At first blush it sounds as if COM
pressed air equipment which would be
powerful enough and widely enough
distributed to be able to fill any bulk
head on a great steel vessel with COM
pressed air at a moments notice
would be prohibitively expensive. But
Captain Marsh's experience is quite
otherwise A few hundred dollars
certainly less than a thousand-will
cover the entire cost. Here is the
way of it:
The modern battleship already has
the two essential things-the com
pressed air pump and the system of
pipes running everywhere. The COM
pressed air apparatus is regularly
used for blowing smoke and gases out
of the big guns. the pipes are the
fire mains, the ventilator pipes-es-
pecially those from the coal bunkers
and the sounding tubes the YER
teal pipes which drop straight from
the deck into the hold, and through
which soundings of the bilge water
are taken. Your system. then, re-
quires only coupling up to be COM
plete.
That, in a word, is what is being
done on board the North Carolina.
General Brush Retired.
Today there are on the active list
of the regular army only three Off
GERS who saw service in the Civil war
Brig. Gen. Daniel H Brush has retired