Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1927-06-19

! III y
! neer of the Coast Guard, has
come to harbor after more
Il than half a century of faithful
| service as naval cruiser and
! ice patrol cutter. Her duties have
| been taken over by a modern pioneer
| the Northand. which left Washington
| recently on her first cruise through
| the ice-filled waters of the north.
| AS the Bear blazed it's trails in navi-
gation-the first cruiser to police the
Arctic--so the Northland will pioneer
in the field of engineering the first
Government vessel, with the excep-
ton of underwater craft, to be pro-
PEELED by electrically driven motor
power, and the first ship to sail the
| seas with a magnetic clutch as the
| connecting link between the propeller
and motor.
Many features mark the Northland
her special construction to with.
stand the pressure of ice drifts and
the fury of the waves in heavy storms,
her complete equipment Of intricate
instruments for determining the depth
of the water, the position of the ship
with relation to adjacent craft, the APP
proach Of submarines or any inyis.
IDLE body, the exact course the ship
has taken and her exact location with
i.
etc; but no features are SO distinctive
as the propelling machinery, which, If
1t proves as successful in actual serv-
ice as It has in tests, will greatly en-
nance the value of the ship for any
duty in isolated waters.
X X u X
THOSE who are little versed in en-
cheering may not fully grasp the
significance of the fact that the North.
land possesses two 4-cycle air-injection
Mcintosh & Seymour Diesel engines,
driving two electric generators which
operate the main motor of the ship,
connected with single four-blade
propeller, protected against damage
by a magnetic clutch, but none can
fail to appreciate the fact that the
Northland with it's ultra modern mo-
tor power is pioneer, setting forth
TO meet the test of experience, which
alone can prove the advantages or dis
advantages of its equipment.
According to engineering author.
tiles, the electrically driven motor
power OF the Northland should have
great advantages over the Diesel di-
rect drive generally in use, especially
in the isolated waters where the ship
VIII spend eight months Of every year.
Whlle me clutch provides a safeguard
never before dreamed of by marine en-
gineers. The chief advantage of the
Northland's system Of motor power
lies in the ease with which the shin
can be naVigated on half power. or as
one OF the engineers on board put it,
the greater fiexibility OF maneuVer-
ing winch l6 obtained by the various
combinations of dynamos, engines and
motors which can be utilized, an in.
valuable asset in the performance of
the duties to which this ship has been
assigned in district far removed
from repair stations"
Explaining further, the engineer
pointed out that the Northland is
equipped with two Diesel engines
driving two direct current generators
which In turn drive the double arm
allure motor connected with a single
propeller, the engines and generator
being so arranged that one combina-
ton can drive the motor IL the other
ls out OF order with very little loss of
speed and no accompanying difficulu-
ties IN navigation, whereas in the di-
rect DIESEL drive the engines are con.
nected directly with two propellers,
both of which are necessary to the
easy navigation Of the vessel If
either engine becomes disabled. in the
latter arrangement, the progress of the
ship is slowed considerably and no
little difficulty is experienced in
steering due to the one-sided propel-
ling force
All of the auxiliary machinery of
the Northland is electrically driven
In fact. electricity is used for every
thing except the heating of the rooms.
Sufficient spare parts are carried
aboard to repair the main machinery
while the ship Is under way.
The dynamo system consists OF two