Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1918-03-15
|VF CONCRETE SHIP
IN PACIFIC
{rgest Craft of Kind in
4 World Christened the
Faith
APACITY OF 5000 TONS
A Pacific Port. March Is

/.
concrete ship, the largest Of its
III ever launched. which will solve
nations need for vessels II the
< 1qIes OF its builders are realized, is
f uCeting In the harbor here today. She
VIII have a Carrying capacity OF 5000
tons and when loaded will draw TWEEN.
ty-fbur feet.
This monster of concrete shipbuild.
my Is ten times as large as any other
unpIlar vessel ever. built and is 800
1eet between perpendiculars. She is
/ o4pable OF making ten or eleven knots
a. hour, with triple expansion engines
capable Of developing 1850 horsepower.
1vtry step in her construction has
besn closely watched by Government
emcials. She was christened the Faith.
Build Fifty.four More Ships
So successful was the launching that
the Faiths builders announced they
Immediately would begin construction
Of fifty-four similar ships of larger
size and expected that all would be
.completed within eighteen months.
6ix weeks from the day the concrete
vas poured into the forms the Faith
took the water. The huge hull, careen.
Ing sharply as 1t slid sidewse down
. steeply pitched incline, threw up a
huge wave In the narrow estuary, then
xiehted sharply and rode like buoy.
+ Meta hitch marred the operation and
engfneers declared themselves so sat
istied with the launching that it would
BE- unnecessary, in their opinion, to
give the Faith a trans.Pacific towing
tryout,, as intended. Engines will be
Installed at once and the Faith put into
commission as rapidly as she can be
ntted out, 1t was announced.
Experts who witnessed the launch
Ing predicted that concrete construc.
tion would mark new era in ship.
building. and that the speed with
which such ships could be turned out
undoubtedly would have an important
bearing on the allies successful prose.
cution of the war.
Utility rather than grace is ex-
pressed in the concrete ships lines.
She looks as if she might have been
carved out of rock. so massive is her
build.
The launching was from a broad
meadow. with none of the usual ap.
purtenances of commerce except q
spur track and couple of construc.
ton sheds. 1t Is the contention Of
the builders that concrete vessels can
be built with no greater preparation,
wherever land and water meet, and
that material always is at hand or
nearby.
Engineers for the company also said
that re-enforced concrete had, con-
trary to popular impression. notable
nexibility under strain and would,
therefore, be able to stand the stress
Of sea duty.
when the first steel vessels were
built people said they'd not float, or If
they did they would be too heavy to be
aervicable." said w. Leslie Comyn,
president Of the concern which built
the boat. Now they say the same
thing about concrete. But all the engi.
neers we have taken over this boat,
Including many who said it was an
ixppcssible undertaking, now agree
that II Is a success"
The floor of the vessel Is about four
and yoJle-half inches thick. the sides four
1Sfches, with a great steel shoe down
4 the bow. Imbedded in the concrete
are $40 tons of steel, a continuous
basketwork of welded steel mesh and
hundreds Of heavy iron bars, also
welded together.
"A watertight wood flooring resting
on the bottom beams constitutes the
double bottom of the vessel. No pro-
vision is made for water ballast, the
theory being that the vessel will travel
without ballast, riding safely with her
heavy bottom. Six concrete bulk.
heads divide the vessel. The main
deck Is wood laid on concrete string.
ers; the shelter deck is concrete. The
deadweight Is put at 600 tons more
than that of steel vessel OF like
capacity.