The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-05-22
SECURITY At SEA,
The value Of the Buoy Deck System
In Case Of Accident.

Tne VaIue Of the Buoy Deck System
In Case Of Accident.
To NJ EDITOR OF THE suN--sr. Had
the Lusitania been provided with the
mezzanine buoy deck system she would
have foated and would have kept one
or two decks well above water. without
list" and on an even keel. II she had
been cut in pieces finally the pieces
would have foated. There 10 no patent
and the cost Of installation Ia insignif-
cant. A weeks time and a few thousand
dollars for materials and labor would
have served the purpose.
On each and every deck. at least
above the waterline. the uppermost un-
used n really useless spaces from end
TO end and from side to side. two to four
feet In depth or height, are filled with
cheap, light. watertight cases Of sheet
iron, wood or other material able to
stand a pressure OF from half an at
mosphere on the highest deck up to three
or four atmospheres on the lowest, all
separated from each other by a few
Inches. II II IL desired. these may bs
screened on by an u%nsubstantial ceiling.
AS the ship flls and settles each OF these
buoy decks. on becoming immersed, de-
velops a floating power nearly equal 20
Na' "NAbh VI NV WaNtI IL ildS HoN ulN-
placed. the weight OF the ships struc.
ture diminishing greatly In the mean.
while by the immerslng. As soon as that
deck comes below water upon which the
architect has fixed for the limit of her
sinking. she brings up" In a posture
for lowering the boats. unless the people
prefer to stay on board TO await a tow
Ing Into port. To repeat upon her the
torpedoing could Mt any rate do little
toward sinking her. In view OF the
honeycomb character of her buoyant
spaces.
We have here no door closing nor
non-closing no boxed In stairways to
a lofty deck. and no constant climbing
OF them in order to pass from one part
Of n deck to another part Human arti-
flee. in some event unavoidably a fail
ure. does not here enter. Nature does
all. and she does II at a time determined
automatically. Simply the weight OF
the water that surrounds land Is shut
out FROM the successfully immersed
iotation chamber, now operates to up
hold her. and II merely replaces the
weight Of the water thai has buoyed
her faithfully because 1t was then shut
out OF the hotation chamber constituted
by her hold.
No other system can defy the effects
OF collision. much less defy the torpedo
and the mine, A double skin, Q system
OF vertical bulkheads. whether longitud-
inal or athwartship. often very service
able, these will sometimes have merely
trifed with the lives OF passengers. NY
system scarcely deserves TO be called an
Invention. since It could not fail TO sug-
gest itself TO any naval architect who
Is at the same time a thorough sea
there may. however. he few or none such
craftsmen. II has received high praise
from civil engineers and from experts
in various navies. The greatest perhaps
OF naval architects gave II his written
approval a few months before his death.
In a letter 10 me published In THE SrS
OF May 30, 1912, the suf'iciency Of these
buoy decks was approved by Captain
w. s. Sims OF our navy. well known
as an expert also he showed that the
real responsibility for their not being
adopted would be with the various Gov
ernments In whose power II stood 10
require them.
The German Kaisers foresight fur
nished me incidentally in the same year,
over the signature OF Commander Boyd
OF the Imperial Gernan navy. with a
recommendation the strength OF which
has only OF late become apparent. and
which reads as follows: referring to
our favor OF August 20. I beg to In
form you that the Navy Department OF
my country answered me the other day
that your proposals for the construction
OF an unsuitable ship have no practical
value for us"
II In almo~ certain that nothing but
the submarine car bring about safety
from drowning. or hasten the time when
II will seem well nigh unbelievable that
In the twentieth century any vessel
which possibly could be sunk had FOR a
while been free 90 go to sea with pas
sengers on board her. Tho submarine
will cause the same reform In the con-
s'ruct,on OF the battleship and the
rather sad spectacle OF war fleets re-
framing from an attack upon each other
Will pass away forever. The submarine
is as yet an infant. When grown y
Will enforce tho construction OF war
ships Of expanded secondary fotation
capacity. whose defensive armor viii
he confined to the u compartments.
the magazines. &c, the communications
between these, ard Incidentally some
portions OF the machinery, which armor
can consequently be made heavier. Re
yond this armor will he discarded, a.
the coat OF mail was discarded after the
coming In OF Eunpowder. A warship
can then be disabled. IL il true, from
chasing but she can night as long as a
guns crew and their servers car be got
together. MAesroN NILES.
TopsuAA Ma Mo-, on