The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1915-11-27

WASHINGTON Nov. 2T.-some
idea of the size and power OF the Ssii:
per battlecruisers proposed as part of
the new naval program may be gained
from the fact that each one would
be 800 feet long more than twice as
long as any battleship which partici:
pated in the y Spanish: American war,
more than 200 feet longer than any
battleship now atloat and ten feet
longer than was the Lusitania.
Tests Of hull models for the giant
cruisers are proceeding at the model
basin In the Washington navy yard
to determine lust how much horse:
power will be required to drive them
S35 knots an hour, the speed fixed by.
the navy general board. II, will take
six separate sets OF steam turbines, IL
Is understood, operating six propel.
lers to attain that pace and the hull
designs of the models show a 5huge,
square cross section amidshipst In or.
der to accommodate the mass of ma.
'chinery. ).
There is no longer any doubt about
the amount Of horsepower required
to drive ship OF known design at
any desired speed. The model basin
has done away with speculation on
that point. 1t is huge tank several
hundred feet long and thirty feet
wide, above which runs a travelling
bridge arrangement carrying the com.
plicated mechanism to measure there
sistance offered by a model hull towed
through the water. The average bat.
tleship model Is twenty feet long and
is in exact proportion to the ship 1t
Is planned to construct. 1T has been
established as a law Of physics that
the power required to pull a model
through the water at six knots, for In.
stance, will show exactly the force
necessary to drive the ship herself
at predetermined rate. The effect
of any minor change in hull construc.
ton is instantly shown by the re.
,cording instruments. An eighteen
knot speed can be reached in the
tank. ID!
Indefinite Information has reached
navy officers that England is building
a swift vessel as an experiment which
may reach IS knots an hour and which
will carry heavy guns and no armor
whatever. She will be a new type
of scout cruiser rather than battle.
craft, 1t is understood, and have less
endurance than battlecruisers.
2 The navy, model basin is now
equipped with a wave.making deyicce
with which the rolling qualities of a
ship design can be tested and also her
ability to. sustain high speed in rough
water 1t consists Of a motor driven
fan under water. which stirs the con-
tents of the tank into wave motions
of any desired frequency or size. At
the opposite end Of the tank is "a
bach over which the waves runSto
be trapped in the space behind, pre-.
venting their return up the tank to
interfere with experiments More &C.
Icurate data on ship construction has
been given out from the navy plant
than from all other similar tanks in
the world combined. It. has a capac-
ity OF testing $50 or. more models. an
;nually as compared to So In ? the
British Admiralty tank. ~
: Nearly 1000 models have been test.
ed at the navy yard and the results
carefully tabulated. In slack periods
a regular series of test models is pro.
duced and the results noted ingorder
that the&wholet scientific 4 field may: be
covered. The officer In charge pre-.
sents sthe new data gathered before, a
scientific society each year and pri.
yate designers can now work out the
hull ofsa merchant ship on the for.
mulasf gathered by the government.
About a fifth Of the work now done
in the basin is. for private shipbuild-
ers who send plans OF proposed ships
to the navy yard where models are
constructed and tested. The plant
soon will have a capacity Of producing
and testing one model every twenty
four hours sr -.