Evening star., 1930-03-30
u. S. to Build Two New
Monster Ocean Liners
ny HARDEN CoLFAx,

tCopyright, 1880, by the Consolidated Press)
American shipyards within the next
few weeks will be engaged in the con-
struction of at least two great modern
high speed liners. The building of these
vessels and others like them has been
spurred in the last few days by the
breaking of the Atlantic speed record
by the liner Europa and the estab-
lishment of a working agreement be-
tween the North German Lloyd and the
Hamburg American Lines.
The United States Navy finally
has certified to the Shipping
Board its approval of the plans
and specifications for the two
new "super-Leviathans," construction of
which is proposed by the United States
Lines, Inc, for operation in conjunction
with the Leviatl1an. The Shipping
Board is expected to approve the plans
in the very near future and to sanction
a loan to the P. w. Chapman Co., which
controls the United States Lines, for
three-quarters of the construction cost
of the vessels. The two new ships are
estimated to cost $4,000, 900 each.
The building of these new vessels and
others like them is regarded here as of
extreme Importance from the view
point of international ornaments as well
as in a trade sense. The London Naval
Conference has shown that the trend
is away from the great battleShip con-
struction program. All of the nations
are turning their attention to the build
ing of vessels which might be converted
into naval auxiliaries under stress Of
necessity.
The United States is woefully behind
In this matter. william Francis Gibbs,
naval architect, who reconditioned the
LeViathan, points out that that nation
controls the sea which has the great
est number of vessels upon it, whether
they are canoes or battleShipS of tre-
mendouS size.
Germany has centered her entire
naval program on the construction of
merchant marine vessels since the sign
ing of the Versailles treaty. Under
the terms of that treaty, Germany can
not build more than six 10000 ton war
ships, but there Is no limit to the mer-
chant tonnage she can construct. This
tonnage Is being built under plans
which will accommodate guns Of a
maximum caliber Of 8 inches. Eng
land is far ahead of all other countries
in the matter of merchant tonnage.
France is planning the construction Of
the "Super-Leviathan," or Bremen and
Europa and so Is Italy. England now
has under way vessels which she hopes
viii regain the speed record Of the At
lantic.
The entire foreign trade Of the United
States is involved because Of the mail
contracts which are to be awarded. The
mails must be carried at q certain
speed and vessels capable Of that speed
must be built, since there are not
enough now for the purpose.
It Is admitted that ships Of the
Bremen, Oceanic and Leviathan types
are not ideal auxiliaries from q naval
standpoint. The Navy itself certainly
would not have constructed vessels Of
this type for use as auxiliarieS. They
are built for speed and do not have the
rugged, substantial lines required in
time of war. Their huge size renders
them difficult to maneuver, but their
value would lie in the transportation Of
men and materials in time Of war. This
Is the type Of service which the Le-
viathan performed in the World War.
The new vessels might be converted
into aircraft carriers, but the American
Navy is not enthusiastic over carriers
Of such great tonnage. In fact, the
pEcoChb dApld1kC AllOOA1CAoAAAktoB tAAC LIZA
ington and Saratoga, which carry near
ly 100 airplanes each, have been some
what Of q disappointment because Of
their size. They are Of $4,000 tons
and are too heavy to maneuver handily
and present . too vulnerable target for
aircraft.
The two new American merchant YES
sells to be built in the near future will
be In excess of $4,000 gross tons and
have a length Of 962 feet and a beam
of LOT feet inches. They Will have
q sustained sea speed of 28h knots.
The United States has the greatest
tanker tonnage of any nation. This
has reduced the importance of coaling
stations for the Navy in far-fung quar-
ters of the world, since American ships
readily could be refueled from the tank
er fleets. 1t has nullifled to some ex-
tent the advantage held by Great Brit
ain, Germany and France IN foreign
coaling stations and naval bases.
In the last 10 years approximately
$4,000, 100000 year in American for
eign trade has been carried In American
ships. This is only about 35 per cent
of the total. Expansion in foreign trade
has shown a substantial increase and
the addition of further merchant ma
rine tonnage is expected to produce still
greater growth in exports and imports,
as we'll as provide outlets for materials
and manufactured products and give
employment for many thousands OF
workers.
Copyright i93ol