South Bend news-times. (South Bend, Ind.) 1913-1938, 1922-06-04
IMPLEMENTS now
BEING MADE FROM
SCRAPPED VESSELS
Former Prides Of L. S. War
Fleet Finally Go to
Marine Graveyard.

n PHILADELPHIA. June 5-A
Unarine graveyard surprising i1 ca
pacity any IN the world with the
possible exception of the sarga 1850
Sea. has sprung into being on the
banks Of the Delaware river, a.
Bridesburg. Pa. where battleships,
cruisers and destrOyers OF the
United States navy. once the last
~ ord in naval construction, are os-
ing cut 20 pieces for junk. or re-
converted into prosalc merchant
men
odd squat monitors and tiny sub
marines. reminiscent OF the days
when underwater craft were a now
city. are slowly disappearing oader
the crunch OF huge crocodile shears
and the incis.ve cut Of the acytelene
torch. which bites through eleven
irch nickel steel armOrp1ate as
though 10 were paper. a number OF
old British troopshiDs also are there,
OF immense junk value because Of
their huIls OF pure wrought iron.
Few ships escape the Junkpile.
Once in while someone sees the
possibility OF utilizing the hulls for
peaceful purposes and purchases one
or two. The destroyer Stewart,
which sank U-boat or the Brest
rOast during the war. for which 10
was awarded a metal star. IS being
converted into a banana boat for
coastwise fruit trade In the Carib-
bean Sea.
E--or, 4Lo Il t,,- ID ,r,+f--e e., t.,,- "a 90, a
Al. also known as the PlunEer, one
% Hollands original craft. 20 the
re dreadnought Maine, ships Of
Every type are on hand awaiting de-
structlon or conversion.
Victims Of the disarmament con-
ference. the old warshlps represent
in many instances epoch-making
stages ia the development Of the
lighting craft OF today The Mis-
souri, and the Wisconsin are exam
pies Of the first use OF full side
armor and shell proof deckplates
which proved Of value 70 other nav
les in the battles OF JutIand and
HelgOIand Blight
Columbia at Anchor
Alongside the cruiser Columbia
once the fastest ship afoat. swings
at anchor. a forerunner Of battle
cruisers OF today although she
would not last three minutes IN an
engagement with one Of her de-
scendents. So obsolete Is she now
that the modern cruiser-submarine
could win an easy victory over her.
Not all the enormous weight OF
armor on the battIeships is allowed
20 60 20 the junkpile. Much of it is
retained bv the government for use
in baI1istic tests OF modern ord
nance and for the study OF bomb
dropping from airplanes. But the
guns OF the battleships and other
crafts are being distempered and
sawn into ingots TO return 10 the
steel mills which gave them birth
for use again in peaceful industries.
The dismantnng OF a battleship is
curious TO watch The hull or the
Naverage monster we ghts about 5000
Fons. the armor over 5000 and the
propelling machinery and accessor-
les 5000 1he armorplate Is torn
of in chunks Weighing from twenty
five to forty tons The pieces are
held upright by powerful cranes I'm
the wrecking yard and cut into bill
let's two by six feet. with the acety-
1ene torch TO prepare them for ship
ment 10 the open-hearth furnaces.
The nickel-steel armorplate IS es-
pecially valuable. as. when melted
down. 30 finds ready sale to the au-
tomobile industry.
After the armorhelts have been
dismantled the machinery which
once operated the turrets. ammuni-
ton hoists and refrigerating sys-
TEN is attacked by 100-ton pile driv-
ers which break IL up into small
pieces readily handled
Make Machinery from HulIs
The bulk of this material finds its
way 10 the gray iron foundries.
where it is utilized in the manufac-
ture Of castings for agricultural ma
chinery. engine bases and other
products where tensile strength is
not a requisite
The curious navy metal" a COM
position OF IS per cent copper. 10
per cent tin and per cent zinc.
with a tensile strength of 10000
pounds 20 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
Ainto the melting pot after being
Yseparsted and grade1
Memories Of other gigantic wreck
ms jobs hover about the slaughter
house OF navies Odd bits of wreck
age from the French machinery
which failed 10 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-of-the-way corners.
Down the Delaware, at the Phila-
delphia Navy Yard. lies more pro-
spective food for the torch. shears
ard piledriver. The back channel Is
fuu OF fEhtinE craft. releEated 70
the discard by the treaties. awaiting
purchasers Two OF the FIRST Ameri-
can dreadnouEhts-the South Caro-
Ina and the Michi gan-are I'm the
lot The total value OF the back
chanael navy" when new was wen
over $30.O00.0oo.
one hundred and nine little de-
stroy ers. tied up "out or commits
sion" near by are thanking the
stars on their tunnels that they have
escaped such fate They are held
in reserve against possible future
en,ergencies
HupnObile Makes Record
IN CroSS-Country Trip