Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1917-01-29
uncle SANS new WARSHIPS TO
HAVE NO RIVALS in ANY Ocean


| pedo tubes. The latest type Of de
stroyer to be put in hand displaces
1850 tons and mounts four 4-inct
\ quick-firers In association with -four
twin 21-inch torpedo tubes. In spite
OF the increase In displacement the
speed, II is anticipated. will not ex
coed about 80 knots. In other words
while there has been a marked de
velopment OF speed in other nayies OF
the world, the Americans have stood
outside the movement
The war has worked a conversion
on the other side Of the Atlantic. The
new battle cruisers are to attain a
| speed OF IS knots, and the destroyers
are to be as swift The bureau OF
steam engineering has suddenly been
called upon to advance in one stage
| beyond the point which other navies-
50 far as published information goes
have reached by gradual progress.
II speaks well for the technical ad.
yisers Of the navy department that
they regard the outlook without dis
may. although they are now required
to produce marine engines of about
eight times the power of those re.
Gently installed In the battleship Penn
sylvania. Consultations have been
held with the bureau of construction,
and IL has been decided to be essen.
tial to have hull with fine lines and
q length approximating to that of the
most recent transatlantic liners.
Oil 40 the Fuel
with q courage characteristic of
American naval officers. II has been
determined to adopt in these long and
speedy ships the electric drive and to
use oil fuel instead of coal In explain.
alton of the latter decision, Engineer
In Chief Robert s. Griffin has explain
ed that the coal required to drive
one Of these cruisers at full speed
for a day would drive battleship
across the Atlantic and back. If full
speed can be maintained steadily for
three days and seven hours, 1t will
take one from New York to Liverpool,
but, as that would require 1900 tons
OF coal, It Is certain such run will
never be attempted on coal fuel The
chief of the Bureau of Steam Engin-
eering has explained that 100 tons Of
oil can give the same power as can
be obtained from about $50 tons Of
coal, apart from the many advantages
associated with liquid fuel. Ameri-
can opinion. in short now confirms
the decision taken by the British ma
val authorities many years ago, when
1t was decided to adopt oil in place
Of coal. II has been calculated that
with oil fuel ard turbines operating
on electric generators the speed Of
the new American cruisers will jump
from Is knots 20 the maximum in a
few minutes-no mean military adj
vantage.
when these battle cruisers are
completed the American fleet will OBJ
tain group Of six large armored
ships with a speed go to 20 per cent
greater than the mean speed of the
latest battleship squadron. The new
est scouts are to possess similar
rate Of steaming and the so destroy
ers included in the new program will
at any rate not be slower than the
battle cruisers end scouts. In other
words, IN the light of the lessons
which this war has conveyed, the
American naval authorities have de-
termined ON q new departure of policy
which will probably have far-reaching
results Once the fleet has been pro-
vided with six battle cruisers, 10
scouts, and so dcstroyers, with a speed
Of about IS knots. Il is probable that
steps Will be taken considerably to
increase the speed of the latter bat.
tleships to be put in hand. It may
be assumed that the new chief of
naval operations will devote himself
to the studya strategical and tacti-
cal problems with view to reaching
definite conclusions as to the value OF
speed, and that his views will react
on the navy department and Con-
gress. As soon as he turns to the new
naval program he will be struck by
the possibilities which the accession
OF so many swift ships will open up.
He will find himself confronted with
naval conditions of some embarrass.
ment. On the one hand will be the
existing navy with only three ships
with sea speed exceeding 81 knots.
while on the other there viii be three
important groups of ships. embracing
So units. with speeds of 50 knots or
more Whatever may be the engine
power installed in the 10 battleships
which have just been authorized, It
may be anticipated that the effect of
the scout cruisers and destroyers Of
such high speed will tend to push back
into early obsolescencc no small pro-
portion of the ships in the existing
fleet. That is the inevitable tenden-
cy Of such a revolutionary movement
as the American authorities have now
decided upon. The price viii be a.
heavy one. The appropriation act
just passed carries sum Of $315. 000,-
600, and everything suggests that this
figure marks not the limit of naval
expenditure In the United States but
a starting point"
aAaaNS AAAeAA