Tulsa daily world. [volume] (Tulsa, Indian Territory [Okla.]) 1905-1919, 1918-05-26
Our Speed in Shipbuilding
Due to Standardized Parts

eliminate the lost time and lost mo-
ton involved In fitting the steel to-
gether on the ways by drawing the
patterns for each part accurately
beforehand And this way Of going
about II, 10 distinguish from the old
method OF fitting on the ways. came
20 be known In the shipyhrds as
'fabricating" long before the gem
eral public had heard OF the word.
At first the Ahipynrds only at
tempted to fabricate the mldship
sections Of ships. leaving the fine
curves OF 3hc bow and stern to be
nodded by the skilled ship thilorS
on the ways, But little by little
! shipyard men all oyer tho country
were pushing the fabrication idea
n bit further forward and further
aft along their ships hulF. untll
| presently fully %, and In some cases
go. per cent OF the ship came from
the shop ready TO m together. The
gain In speed OF construction and
the saving in cost were tremendous.
The next step to the American
trained naval architect and engineer
was 40 obvious. that II is not sure.
even now, Just who took II FIRST Az
nearly as the writer has been able
TO ascertain, II was g. T.. NJ, jack
now consulting engineer for the
Chester Shipbuiliing company and
the Merchants Shipbuilding cOrpO-
ration, which operates the new
l'rlstol fabrlcAting yard. who fir9l
| put into practice the Idea Of build
Ing fabricated ships In wholesale
lots, and ordering his plates and
frames made for him In steel mills
miles away from the yard Itself
whore they were to be assembled.
Mr.. Jacks first effort was a line
OF standardized tank steamers. They
proved successful but the Chester
plant-=it was originally the ola
John Roach shIpyard one or the
most famous In the United states
navy were built. proved made
duately equipped for tho fun de
velopment OF the standardized ship
Idea. Soon after the United States
declared war, and the immense
fabrication program was worked
out by the Emergency Fleet corpo-
ration, tho yard came into the con-
| troll OF w. Averlll Hartman, who
has since made considerable add
tions to It and installed much new
equipment so that 1t 10 now turning
and tank steamers
This may he by way Of digression
but IL is necessary to make clear
that the idea OF constructing ships
In wholesale lots In rolling mills
thousands Of miles from blue water
and shipping the parts by rail 10 be
assembled at the coast, noA matter
how wildly II has captured the
| u
new nor so important, in the minds
of shipbuilders as II has been made
to appear. And as far as standard
piled In the so-called "old-fash-
ioned" shipyards as completely as
In the big new yards The sole
difference Ia that in one case the
fabricating shop. that is.' the plato
and angle shop and bending floor
are within bowshot of the ways, and
In the other they are many miles
away.
Each OF the big new fabrlcatlng
yards, or Assembling yards az they
are better called. must have It's plate
and angle shop and bending floor.
not only to work on the bow and
stern plates and frames which have
stlll to be carefully fitted in tho old
way, hut to rectIfy plates or frames
| bent In transit
''InterDnI standardization"
Not less important In the progress
of the shipbuiiding industry, AL
though almost unheard Of, is what
might be called "internal standard
Observation-Disclosures. that Is. OF
plS.e and frame and column and
deck beam sizes and shapes, so that
they may be ordered wholesale. al
though used In ships OF different
sizes and types instead OF being
turned out carefully and individual
ly This particular kind OF stand
ardi2ation, moreover, will he In
creasingly important as our, new
! fabricated ships go to sea. because