Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1926-08-03
SHIP BOARD TESTS
DIESEL ENGINES
Use for Idle Fleet Seen if Yes
sells Can Be Speeded to
12-Knot Rate.
BY j. c. ROYLE.
Special Dispatch to The Star.


NEW YORK, August 3.--The YES
sells of the United States Shipping
Board lying in the estuaries of the
country are deteriorating. But they
are not deteriorating as fast as YES
sells of similar character In COM
mission onS the seven seas. That
was the opinion expressed today by
a man high in the shipping industry.
He believes In consequence that soon
err or later there will be a tremendous
demand for shipping requirements
which will make the Shipping Board
vessels available.
other shipping men and marine
architects agree that it is probably
this fact which induced the board to
authorize Admiral w. S. Benson,
Admiral d. w. Taylor and William +.
Gibbs, marine architect, to make prac-
teal tests of changes suggested for
the physical improvement of the Gov
eminent owned vessels.
Speed Prime Factor.
A good part Of the Shipping Board
fleet is little more than oblong boxes.
They were designed and built for war
purposes and finished as soon as pos
sible. Many of them have no lines"
those graceful curves which lessen
resistance Of the water and promote
speed. In order to move them at IL
knots an hour or more, it would be
necessary to install engines SO power
full that the vessels could not be
economically operated because of high
fuel consumption.
The day has gone by when speed is
not a prime factor in the transfer of
ocean-horne freight. Shippers now
not only want marine freight trans
ported cheaply but speedily, and they
must know within an hour or two
just when a shipment will reach
certain port. The problem the COM
mittee appointed by the board has to
solve, therefore, is to change the hulls
of the Government cargo carriers so
that they can be forced through the
water at IL knots an hour or more
by Diesel engines of not more than
5000 horsepower.
Even if they succeed, the Shipping
Board vessels will never take the place
of ships now being operated on the
main trade routes Of the world. Such
vessels are now being built to travel
at IA knots or better. But the recon
structed Dieselized vessels would be
in splendid demand on the smaller
routes, replacing vessels now in the
Mediterranean, Levant, South Seas,
China and Far Eastern trade. Then.
TOO, the development of both east and
west coasts of South America will
provide new trade routes for them.
Plans Exhaustive Test.
The Government right now is pre-
pairing to make exhaustive tests of
various types of Diesel engines.
Fourteen cargo ships of approx
mately $500 tons each are to be con-
verted to motor ships by engines de-
veloping 5000 horsepower at 95 rev.
olutions a minute.
The first two of these ships, the
Unicoi and the Tampa, are now hav-
ing Worthington two-cycle double
acting Diesels installed at Newport
News. The other vessels will try out
the four-cycle esingle-acting Diesel,
which requires four strokes of the
piston to complete a cycle of COM
bustion, comprising exhaust of burn
ed gases injection, compression and
combustion, delivering power on
two strokes out of four. The en-
zines going into the Uniconi and
Tampa deliver power on every pis-
ton stroke.
All the types noted are admitted
TO be economical in the use of fuel
The main effort of recent expert
mentation has been to cut down their
weight. The exhaustive trials of the
various Diesel engine types should
give the board a definite idea Of
which type shall go into the vessels
which may be redesigned under sug-
gestion Of Admirals Benson and Tay-
lor and Mr.. Gibbs.