Wausau pilot. [volume] (Wausau, Wis.) 1896-1940, 1912-05-28
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.


battleship North Carolina, now lying
In the Portsmouth navy yard, is being
ntted with a few simple devices
which, according to her commander.
Capt c. c. Marsh, will permit her to
nit as big an iceberg as did the Ill
lated Titanic, to hit it just as hard
and yet to stay af1oat 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 new inven-
ton, but Of the new application of
wellknown 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 one of them-flrst 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 ever and they set out on a
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
| filled compartments below, and, in the
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 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 one 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 snip, an iceberg, or {,
derelict, and 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
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, tb' 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 lie sucked out
and the ship proceed to repair dock
Expense Is Not areat.
AS has been said, tie 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 a COM
/ pressed air equipment which would be
! powerful enough and widely enough
distributed to be able to fill any bulk
head on great steel vessel with COM
/ pressed air at 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 1t:
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
4 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.
i 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
within a day or two and with mis- re-
tirement the last general officer of
| TOO RICH FOR HIS TABLE