El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-04-20
O4I4 ~ OL1I14
WARFARE WITH STONE BUILT SHIPS ,ooprht n1s By rrA
Sand and Cement Used Construction By United States and Giant Vessels
Are Being TUNED Out To Garry Food and Munitions France

planned was launched last month by the
san Francisco Shiphuilding company az
T California port. This IS q steamer 20
J De used in the transpacific service 10
T has a displacement Of 1900 tons and wiz
/ carry 5000 tons OF deadweiEht cargo. The
! ship Is $50 feet long, over 50 feet wide and
3 80 feet deep. When fully loaded il viii
I draw "a feet Of water. The snip is q
I monoiith or vessel OF continuous stone
Her floor is four and one-half inches
Z thick and the walls OF the hull are four
inches thick with great steel shoe down
I the bow Lmhedded in the concrete IS
baszetry Of steel mesh. consisting Of
heavy iron bars. which weighs altogether
more than 500 tons The boat will be
equipped with triple expansion engines II
more than 400 horsepower and e VIII be
moved through the water by q screw pro
peller al ten or Il knots per hour. ] have
photographs OF the exterior and interior
taken during the construction which show
the enormous size Of this huge boat Of
stone
II was with the photographs before me
that I talked with MI Wis. the chief
engineer Of the concrete snip buildins,
branch Of the Emergency Fleet corpora
ZION about the vessels which Uncle sam
ril construct. They viii be built atteF
much the same methods as those eu-
ployed in making the California steamer
and some or them viii be even greater
On size The largest ships viii be- about
$40 feet Ions. 81 feet beam and IS feet
in depth, and their draft viii be IS feet
and the vessels Be- is proposed 20 con
strucr viii range from that size down 20
5000 tons The ships VIII have recipro-
eating steam engines and each via be
moved By p cans Of a shaft and screw
propeIers- The largest ships viii be
equipped with steam turbines. and the
machinery all told viii be much the same
rs that Of the fabricated steel vessels or
wooden vessels now beng constructed
The walls OF the bulls viii range In
thickness from four 90 zen inches They
viii be- made. Of concrete and steel the
sreels being IN the form. Of bars from
ore-half inch 10 one inch and q haf
IN diameter The bars are arranged in
network so that each carries a certain
carefully estimated proportion Of the load
Nothing Left 70 Guessworl.
In the building Of "A ship like this
nothing is lefr TO EuessWork- There has
to be just so much concrete. mixture Of
gravel. sand and Portland cement. and
just so much steel. running here and
there through IT, held together By the
cement and this steel must be placed in
Just the right SPOT. for every bit OF Il
has its own work 70 do. The whole is
carefully planned By the naval architects Z
and designers and everything is done ac-
cordinE % the plans and specificatious-
The first thing that is done is the build /
ing % wooden mold Of the exact shape 4
and size % the outside Of the vessel Tbs D
steel bars are then laid in the exact ]
places set down IN the plans. They are 4
placed ia a crisscross or basket shaped I
network. and are tied IN place by small I
pieces OF wire, so that each bar stays j
where Il IS put.
After the whole network has been ac-
-Uratelv fixed an inside vail Of boards J
Is BUILT Up and the concrete poured in
IS hen 70 has hardened and the frames
taken of 90 leaves the walls q the bull
inside and out as smooth and clean as
The walls Of your parlor- The inside
framework including the partitions, the
Orders and beams, are an made Of rein
'0rced concrete The steel rods are nut 7
n bent 20 the shape the framework re-
lures. and box is made around thetn-
nro which the concrete is poured Tne
cement mortar begins 90 set almost as
soon as 30 IS in place. and within . short
line 10 IS as hard IS though the Whole
we're Of stone
An Frame Work OF Concrete.
There IS no structural steel in the ship
Every bit Of the frame work is of this
oncrate. reinforced with steel rods. and
mis- is true OF the bulEheadE. the dece-<
-hatever and the whole ship Is for all the
-orId one huge structure Of solid stone Z
With these steel bars running this way
nd that everywhere through It. As Z 3
loats on the ocean e looks just Ike one :
Z the steel steamers. ana e could hardly 2
e distinguished from the smaller grey
ounds OF the Atlantic
7 asked NJ Wig as 70 whether these
hips would not be very much heavier
han Other vessels OF the same size nov
q the ocean BE replied that the weight
vessel OF reinforced concrete AaA .
e from IS TO 20 per cent heavier than
ne Of the same tonnage constructed %
teel, but that the cost Of the concrete
hip VIII be only two-thirds or three Z
ourths as much as that Of the steel ships 8
6 viii take as long or longer 10 build
he concrete ships a. steel ships, but the 7
liant FOR erecting more quickly and 7
-iu be much less expensive A steel ship ,
gliding plant costs in the ueighborhcod =
$500 900 and upward. whereas one for
oncrete ships can be erected for $4,000 OF {
lss. q
May Be Built Almost Anywhere. :
Moreover" continued Ar wig. "the g
Materials used in making the concrete d,
'eet are such that shipbuilding plants /.
an be erected almost anywhere along q
W coast- All that we need IS some
'ortland cement. some steel rods and a {
ravel bank. or one might use q clay q
ank and kiln and make terra Gotta IN a
tead Of stone. They are now using e
rushed terra Gotta in the concrete ves-
Els being built In san Francisco. The Z