The Bridgeport times and evening farmer. (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1918-1924, 1922-05-25
Implements Being Made From
Uncle Sans Strapped Ships

Few ships ecape the junk pile.
Once in a while someone sees the
possibility of utilizing the huHs for
peaceful purposes and purchases one
or two. The DESTROYER Stewart which
sank a U-boat off the Brest coast
during the war. for which it was
awarded a metal star. is being con-
verified into a banana boat for coast
wise fruit trade in the Caribbean
Sea
From the din1inutive submarine
Al. also known as the Plunger, one
of Hollands original craft, to the
every type are on hand awaiting de-
stTuction or conversion
Victims of the Disarmament Con-
ference the old warsf1ips represent
in MANY dnstnaces epoch making
stages in the development OF the
fighting craft of to-day The Mis-
souri, and the Wisconsin are exam
arrmor and shell proof deckplates
which proved of value to other ma
vies in the battles of Jutland and Hell
goland Blight
Columbia at Anchor
Alongside the cruiser Columbia.
once the fastest ship afloat, swings
at anchor. a forerunner of the battle
cruisers of today. although she would
not last three minutes in an engage
ment with one Of her descendants.
ern cruiser submarine could win an
easy victory over her.
Not all the enormous weight Of
armor on the battleships IS allowed
to go to the iunkpile. Much of it is
regained by the government for use
in ba1listic tests of modern ordnance
and for the study of bomb dropping
from airplanes. But the guns of the
battleshipS and other crafts are being
distempered and sawn into fgnots to
return to the stool mills which gave
them birth for use again in peace
full industries
a. o,of1 i,orr - poa&4 Ie5
curious to watch. The hull of the
average monster weighs about 5000
tons, the armor over 5000 and the
propellng machinery and accessories
5000. The arm orplate is torn off in
chunks weighing from Is to 30 tons.
The pieces are held up right by pow
erfu1 cranes in the wrecking yard
and cut into billets. two by six feet,
them for shipment to the open
hearth furnaces. The ntckel-steel
armorplate is especially valuable, as.
when melted down, it finds ready sale
to the autom obile industry.
After the armorbe1ts have been
disma ntled the machinery which
once operated the turrets. ammuni-
ton hoists and refrigerating system
is attacked by 100-ton pile drivers,
which break it up into small pieces
readily handled.
Make Machinery From HuIIs
The bulk of this material finds it's
way to the gray iron foundries.
where it is utilized in the manufao.
ture of castings for agricultural mae
chinery, engine bases and other pro-
ducts where tensile strength is not
a requisite.
The curious navy metal" q COM
position of SO per cent. copper, % per
cent. tin and 2 per cent. zinc, with
tensile strength of 10000 pounds to
the square inch, is greatly priced.
Other precious metals, viewed from
present-day shortage conditions. are
copper, gunmetal, manganese bronze.
lead, zinc and navy brass, which all
find their way into the melting pot,
after being separated and graded.
Memories of other gigantic wreck
ing jobs hover about the slaughter
house of navies. Odd bits of wreck
which failed to build the Panama
Canal. relics of Brooklyn's first ele-
waited railway and old guns and can,
non balls from Civil War forts are
found In out corners.
Down the Delaware. at the Phila-
defphia Navy Yard. Lies more pro-
spective food for the torch. shears
full of fighting craft, RELOCATED to
the discard by the treaties, awaiting
purchasers. Two of the first Ameri-
can dreadnoughts-the South Caro-
lima and the Michigan-are in the
lot. The total value of the back
channel navy when new was we'll
over S30,000,000.
One hundred and nine little de-
stroyers. tied up out Of commission
near. by. are thanking the stars on
their funDels that they have escaped
such a fate. They are "held in re-
serve against possible future emer-
gencies.''