Evening star., 1915-03-28

With the almost general adoption OF
oil as fuel for the new ships Of the
United States. American
Petroleum as officers are watching
with keen interest the
war ruei. part that oil is playing
In the European war. While making
no comment, because 1t would be a
breach of neutrality, they have been
thinking deeply about the claim OF the
English that their recent success In
the North sea in which the Germans
lost the Bluecher was due to the great
er speed of the English ships in OIL
fired boilers over the German coal
burning vessels.
Since 1907 all torpedo-boat destroyers
contracted for by the American navy,
Of which there are twenty-nine have
burned oil exclusively, and the battleships
Wyoming, Arkansas. Texas and New
York, contracted for during this period.
are fitted to burn oil as auxiliary to
coal, each of these vessels carrying
about 400 tons of the liquid fuel. to be
burned at full power after the coal
fires become dirty. or when 1t becomes
difficult to trim coal from the bunkers
into the f1rerooms.
In referring to this use Of oil by
the battleships, Commander H. I. Cone,
former chief of the steam engineering
bureau of the navy, has said: "In the
case Of these battleships the advan-
tages Of the oil have SO appealed to
the personnel that oil alone is burned
to a great extent in port, and to some
stallation of the oil-burning equip
ment did not contemplate these uses"
Still further discussing the use of oil
by the navy. Commander Cone said:
The Nevada and Oklahoma, the two
battleships which have recently been
contracted for. will burn oil exclusive
ly. This is perhaps the most radical
development in naval engineering since
the advent of the turbine. 1t has per-
mitted, in the case Of these vessels, a
made possible the use of heavier armor
than has hitherto been employed. The
reduction in length of boiler compart-
ments has permitted the grouping of
all boilers under one smoke pipe.
which course clears the upper deck
considerably and permits more extern
sive arcs of fire for the turrets
I ASIDE from the use of oil as fuel
under steam boilers, 1t now seems prob
able that within comparatively few
years oil will furnish the principal fuel
for all naval vessels. This is in con-
sequence of the recent remarkable de-
velopment of heavy oil engines of the
Diesel type in Europe. Hitherto oil en-
gines have not merited much consid-
Grafton for large naval vessels on ac-
count Of the limited power that could
be developed in a single cylinder. Now,
however. we are credibly informed that
1000 horsepower has been developed in
a cylinder about thirty-three inches in
diameter. with a forty-inch stroke. at
$50 revolutions per minute. in a two
cycle marine type readily reversible en-
gine.
I'm the United States Navy heavy oil
limited to a number Of submarine
vessels and to mother ships for sub
marines. The former develop 1000 horse
power, distributed between two shafts. the
latter 900 horsepower on one shaft. Gas
oline is used as fuel for all Of our earlier
submarines and for a large number
Of small power boats carried by war
ships. It's use is likely to be discon-
tinued entirely as soon as suitable
heavy oil motors for the small power
boats are developed. Heavy oil en-
gines are already supplanting gaso-
line engines in submarines.
"All of our experiments have con-
frmed our belief in the considerable
military advantages which will accrue
from the use of oil as fuel, but until
recently it has been impracticable to
use it extensively on account of the
uncertainty as to the adequacy of the
supply and the suff1ciency of it's dis
tribution among the seaports OF the
world. We are now assured. how
ever. as regards the supply. that there
is sufficient oil on the public lands
of the state of California alone to sup
ply all probable naval demands for
100 years.
Commander Cones reasons for the
preference Of Oil in the navy are as
follows: High volatile Goals are usual
ly very smoky in navy boilers. Smoke
not only reveals the location of the
fleet. but might fatally interfere with
accuracy of gunfire. The advantages
of oil as compared with coal are: An
evaporation per pound of fuel in the
ratio of about fourteen to nine. and per
square foot of heating surface in about
the ratio of ten to eight. Oil fuel can
be taken aboard more rapidly without
manual labor, and without interruption
to the routine of the ship. The prob
lem of fueling at sea is solved. Steam
for full power can be maintained as
readily as for low power. A vessel
burning oil Is capable of runs at full
speed limited in duration only by the
supply of fuel. There is no reduction
in speed due to dirty fires or to diff
Guilty in trimming coal from remote
bunkers, or to exhaustion of the fire.
room force. There are no cinders, and
the amount of smoke can be controlled
A considerable reduction in personnel
is possible