Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1918-08-20
BuiI4lsr ,Easle Desta.,

~
when. one Has seen warships' taking
form like cucumbers In Q dollhouse, he
no longer wonders whether or not Amer
ioa's industrial preparedness has been
estimated oonservatively.
There 10 ono place In the world where
such . dramatic spectacle 10 being en-
acted. II 10 within IN enormous glass
solarium on bank Of the River Rouge
ct Detroit, whore the navy 'snew "Eagle''
boats are being built.
When Henry Ford early this year
agreed TO build Eagle boats ct Detroit,
the plans and specifications were yet to
be prepared by the Navy Department, .
model remained to be built and tested,
the present shipyard ct the River Rouge
was, dream, methods OF hiRh-speed
production were unformulated, impor.
taut machinery demanded inventors,
and special tools awaited designers.
In normal times capable contractor
might have spent year In erecting the
assembly plant, steel and glass .struc.
tpSe 100 It. long, $50 fl wide, and
about 90 #. high, but not only was IL
finished In II weeks but finished In
every detail.
From start to finish the Eagle boat ID
precedent. It Ia being built entirely
Of sheet steel. No one ever heard Of
such thing before. There 10 not 9
rolled beam from stem to stern, or keel
to bridge. Every part is fashioned from
fiat steel plates. Bulkhead angles, deck
beams, channels, and other structural
members are bent into shape; some,
like tho first entioned, manually, Others
oold-pressed by powerful machines.
In an extensive "lumberyard" are 10.
Vulnerable stacks Of thin steel plates.
Except for the shape of some of them,
they look as II they were composed Of
trimmed and orderly arranged layers OF
ust-colored sole leather. And when
one of the plates 10 lifted and swung
through the air by crane, or dragged
from stack by . small army Of husky
laborers, 1t bends and swsys In leather.
ish fashion, and the similarity 10 all the
more striking.
What then IL being doneP Sheets oil
steel are entering at one end of long
building and Eagle boats are being
launched at the other end!
Each Eagle boat is built on long fiat
car, supported on - standard trucks and
stationed on one of the shipways. The
cars are 1877 #. over all, and suggest to
one tremendous black centipedes. Or
each of the three shipwsy tracks there
is room for seven Of these cars. Thus
there is place in the plant for the stimuli.
taneous assembling of 81 ships.
From the laying of the keel to ths
mounting OF the rudder and propeller, 9
boat progressively occupies seven differ
emit positions along Its way. That means
that the assembling is divided into sever
distinct operations executed by sever
different crews of workmen. When tht
first operation is completed, the Cal
bearing the embryo boat is moved to tht
second position, and new Car ia brought
into the vacant berth ready for the kee
of another vessel to be laid. Before ,
boat can be transferred from the fra
to the second position, every other boal
along the way must advance one station
This means that each Of the seven opera
tions on seven different boats must b,
completed on time to the minute By
seven distinct crews of workmen. Wher
the first crew Is ready to lay another
keel, the last crew must be ready to
launch boat. Not an inch Of space ha,
been provided for flexibility In the even
of unavoidable delays." No room hal
been left for failure September Popu
lar Mechanics Magazine.