Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial., 1919-01-10
EAGLE BOATS UNTESTED
BUT STAY IN NAVY
Henry Ford's Wedge Shaped u
Boat Foe to be Part Of Our
Warship Fleet.

| Detroit, Jan. s.---A long, narrow wedge
with steel-cncaacd nose Of solid concrete
tapered to knife-like edge, fonnn,
considerable part OF it's total length o
44 feet and dccl nrcd TO he capable o
crushing any submarine such is ths
j Fagle, built by Henry Ford and designed
originally to help rid the seas Of the menace
OF the German U-boats.
Contrary to popular belief the Eagle Is
not motor boat. but au oil-butning
| steam turbinc-drivcn craft, with q cruising
| radius of 5000 miles The Eagle ia not
thing of beauty: beauty was not con-
| templated in its construction. II IS q
| long, ga,nt weapon of war, oi all-steel
| construction with the exception OF the
| concrete nose.
Another popular impression that has
! been shattered in An idea that the Eagle
boat Is equipped with torpedo tubes.
| The submarine chaser waa not intended
| to combat the ma Ior instrument of German
ruthlessuess with its own weapons, TWAS
designed TO depend rather upon IFS man.
nuvring qualities its powerful light guns,
and new American invention Tor direct
iny i,s Gre ~ unseen objects.
Its crew incl udlng operating and fight
ing cor plcmcnt number approximately
so men.
To the observer. the first impression
of the Eagle boat IL one OF wonder that
craft 80 marrow can possess buoyancy
sufficient 20 keep it upright IN heavy seas.
Despite its length of more than an average
citv Llock. TIE craft has beam of only %
feet and draws when fully equipped less
than ten feet nl water
It's Sca-worihin>s has been demon
stiated IN the official trails, according 10
reports to the Navy Department
While II Is admitted the Eagle does not
make the speed of the average DESTROYER.
il s claimed that Il can outdistancc most
submarines and the ra2or-like edge Of the
bow silently. hut eloquently tells what
would have haDnoncd hnd II come III con-
trct with the German undcrSca prntc.
Bull, with utility rs It's prime purpose,
seemingly not M N Of space IS wasted IN
the fitting Of the vessel and not m ounce
OF supertiuous weight enter It's construction
When dropped INTO tho water ready for
the installation of its engines, guns, Ctc.,
less than 200 tons of material have been
riveted together to shape the Eagle boat.
The plates that form the shell of the
suhmarinc-c -chasers vary in thickness from
IL 70 IS inch, and not single forging
or rolled beam enters thcir make up
Everything IS pressed from sheet metal.
cold bv means 81 machinery that cuts
every piccc to IN exact pattern. punches
rivct holes and bends the interior part to
required shape.
Anidshlps riscs the dock-heusc topped
by the plot-housc. with radio quarters,
and above all the CO ining tower with the
crow : nest At the highest point. Except
for this superstructure, tho deck Of the
Eagle carries always the stripped for
acton' appearance.
The first Eagle boat was launched
July IL, 1918, and when the armi-tlcc end
cd hostiltics, early in November eight
had been completed and tWcnty-one
others were under construction ~ various
stage, of completion Some OF these
have arrived at Atlantic coa>t ports
Although the sudden cessation al hos +
ilitles deprived the Eagle boats Of aniSp- i
)orttnlty I D test their prowcss against the
,crmau undcrsca terror they arc never
hric-~ 10 become part 81 the tmCrlcan
Navy, the government having announced
Is intention to usc them as gun-boats IN
'oas, patrol work, and possibly N lnsular
waters. i
rac contract for the construction OF /
he Faca boats which the government
las announced WI. ba carried ont, calls
or 100 ol the peSe. II fer tac nitcd states
government, and twelve for the French
navy.