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foundry will not only be a benefit to the gun factory but to private contractors as well in that type gun mounts can be perfected at the gun factory before contracts are let, thereby reducing losses by contractors due to failure and changes shown by experience to be necessary.

NAVAL PROVING GROUND.

Proof and experimental work have been conducted during the year to the full capacity of the equipment and personnel.

The following are the principal items of proof work completed:

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A large amount of experimental work has been carried on; the following are some of the most interesting of the many tests conducted:

Tests to determine the loss in velocity due to erosion, relative to number of rounds fired and weight of charge.

Erosion tests with graphite powder.
Erosion tests with ozokorite powder.
Tests of Davis torpedo gun.

Firings to determine underwater trajectory of 12-inch projectile.
Tests of high explosives in cartons.

Tests of Hadfield cast-steel shell.

Test of exploding high-explosive shell in tank of fuel oil.

In all cases where such action is possible routine proof work is combined with experimental work in order to reduce costs and to render possible experimental work and investigations for which there would otherwise be no opportunity.

A number of improvements have been made at this station which have contributed either directly or indirectly to the economical and expeditious performance of work.

One serious and deplorable accident occurred at the proving ground during the year in the premature explosion of the charge in a 5-inch 51-caliber gun which was undergoing proof. As a result of this accident Lieut. A. G. Caffee, United States Navy; J. L. Brown, battery foreman; J. J. Leary, ordnance man; and Nelson Jackson, battery attendant, lost their lives.

A court of inquiry convened by the department conducted a long and searching investigation, from which it appeared that the immediate cause of the accident was the slamming of the breech plug, which contained a firing pin the design of which was faulty in that it protruded from the face of the plug.

POWDER FACTORY.

The output of this plant for the past year has been nearly 2,000,000 pounds of new and reworked powder. The output of new powder was about 25 per cent greater than that of the preceding year, and a reduction of about 5 per cent in the cost per pound was effected by the introduction of improved appliances.

20986-NAVY 1911--15

There was a reduction of upward of 70,000 pounds in the quantity of powder reworked and a slight increase in cost per pound as compared with the previous fiscal year, owing to a portion of the reworking plant being out of service for about two months in consequence of an explosion of dry pyro which had accumulated under the bed plate of one of the mills.

The bureau's policy is to keep the reworking plant going at full capacity in order that it may be most economically operated and at the same time convert the reserve supply of powder, much of which was manufactured under the old specifications, to the latest standard containing a stabilizer.

Materials used in the production of powder, such as ether, nitric acid, and sulphuric acid, have been manufactured at the station in the quantities needed and at low cost.

One employee of the powder factory was killed by his clothing becoming entangled in machinery which he was climbing over while oiling it. The coroner's verdict was one of accidental death due to the action of the deceased.

MARINE RIFLE RANGE.

The rifle range at Winthrop, Md., on the Stump Neck part of the reservation, requires careful attention. The dwelling houses and barracks of this range are close to the line of fire of 12-inch guns and well inside the danger zone established by the board appointed by the department. Without hearty cooperation with the inspector and strict compliance with the regulations established by him the existence of the range is incompatible with the efficient and safe conduct of proving-ground work.

NAVAL TORPEDO STATION.

This station serves the double purpose of a torpedo factory and a torpedo experiment station. Having been originally founded for experimental work alone, force of circumstances brought about its expansion into a manufacturing plant. Its capacity for this work is small and it is not the bureau's policy or desire to increase this capacity.

All torpedoes furnished by contractors are delivered at this station and are held there for issue to the service. Damaged or otherwise unsatisfactory torpedoes from the fleet are sent there for examination, overhauling, and testing. With the increase in number of battleships in active commission and as a result of increased activity in torpedo exercises the amount of repair work demanded of the torpedo station has enormously increased, so that the material resources of the station are severely taxed.

A careful analysis of the work of the past year as compared with that of the previous year shows an increase of upward of 60 per cent. In order to develop a well-balanced manufacturing and repair plant, certain new shops are needed for which estimates have been submitted. There is also a considerable amount of paving to be done, as at present some of the shops are surrounded by unpaved roads, the dust from which is exceedingly harmful to tools and work in

progress.

The seaman-gunner school which is maintained at the torpedo station has had a total of 203 pupils during the year, of whom 82 were

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still in attendance on June 30. In addition to the regular classes, 48 enlisted men have been temporarily at the station for instruction.

NAVAL MAGAZINES.

HINGHAM, MASS.

The acquisition of land for this magazine and the construction of the buildings contemplated in the original plan were practically completed at the close of the fiscal year. There are still 10 parcels of land, aggregating 41.47 acres, to which title has not been acquired. The building of a new stable and installation of telephone system will exhaust the original appropriation, but owing to the excessively high price which had to be paid for certain tracts of land the construction of certain necessary buildings has not yet been undertaken. This magazine has been in operation as a working magazine since February 7, 1911, between which date and February 20 all ammunition formerly stored at the Chelsea magazine was transferred to Hingham, and the Chelsea reservation was turned over to the naval hospital on February 24.

Pursuant to an order of the War Department the State Legislature of Massachusetts has authorized and directed the construction of a new drawbridge across the Weymouth Back River through which tugs and barges pass in conveying ammunition to and from the magazine. The new draw will be wide enough to permit the passage of tugs and barges at all stages of the tide.

Further dredging of the channel off the magazine grounds is necessary to permit access to the wharf at all stages of the tide. An estimate for this work has been submitted.

NEW YORK DISTRICT.

Improvements during the year consisted mainly in completing buildings already under construction, extending some existing buildings, and installing improved appliances for surveillance of powder and assembling ammunition.

Aside from the routine work of assembling ammunition a considerable amount of work was performed at the Iona Island magazine in rebanding and otherwise modifying projectiles in stock.

FORT MIFFLIN, PA.

One new magazine building, a new storehouse, and necessary railroad tracks and trestles were constructed during the year. About 35 acres of lowlands on the Delaware River front were reclaimed in connection with dredging operations. The shore line is to be riprapped for protection against erosion by the river current and rain.

The most urgent need of the magazine at present is filling in of lowlands back from the river front. A great part of the area is now below the river level and is swampy and mosquito infested.

Owing to the proximity of this magazine to the Philadelphia Navy Yard, it has not been thought necessary to equip it with machine tools for any purposes not directly connected with preparation of ammunition.

ST. JULIENS CREEK, VA.

The most notable feature of the work at this magazine during the year is the systematization of methods of work, methods of cost keeping, and reduction of costs introduced and perfected by the inspector in charge.

MARE ISLAND, CAL.

The material improvements at this station have consisted of installation of air compressor for charging of locomotives, extension of telephone system, construction of new office building, increased facilities for testing powder, improvement of water supply, and installation of new and improved machines for use in preparation of ammunition.

Improvements have been made in methods of work and in the details of handling stores which have effected economies in the cost of work and increased its efficiency.

PUGET SOUND, WASH.

This magazine is under construction and is not completed, although a fair amount of work proper to a magazine has been carried on during the year.

BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON, D. C.

This is not a working magazine, but has been used during the past year for storing detonating compound for use at the Naval Gun Factory in loading fuses.

One magazine building was destroyed by fire on June 23, 1911, the fire being due to the autoignition of detonating compound stored in the building. This material had been submitted to certain treatment which was afterwards found to be of doubtful expediency and was under daily surveillance. Unusual atmospheric conditions probably induced rapid chemical changes in a small portion of the explosive and led to its spontaneous combustion; there was no explosion.

One building at this magazine has been partly fireproofed and is used for storage of old ordnance records, the destruction of which is forbidden by statute, but which are of little or no practical value.

PRIVATE MANUFACTURING ESTABLISHMENTS.

The material furnished by private establishments has been of numerous kinds, the most important items being:

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The material furnished has been with few exceptions of the highest quality, and delays in completion have been conspicuously few and short.

N. C. TWINING, Chief of the Bureau of Ordnance.

The SECRETARY OF THE NAVY.

REPORT OF THE CHIEF OF THE BUREAU OF CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR.

NAVY DEPARTMENT,

BUREAU OF CONSTRUCTION AND REPAIR,

Washington, D. C., October 24, 1911.

SIR: 1. In accordance with the department's instructions, contained in its letter No. 28193 of April 26, 1911, I respectfully submit the report of the bureau for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1911, together with estimates for appropriations required for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1913.

2. The estimates marked "A" for the salaries of the clerical employees of the bureau. These estimates show an increase of $3,040, or an increase of about 5 per cent, over the amount appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1911. The total number of clerks will remain the same, the changes desired being an increase in the number of higher-priced clerks. This was considered imperative in view of the number of resignations and transfers which are constantly occuring due to the lack of any reasonable prospect of advancement.

3. The estimates marked "B" are for the construction and repair of vessels at navy yards and on foreign stations; the purchase of stores, materials, machinery, and tools of all kinds; the construction and repair of yard craft; the pay of the clerical, drafting, inspection, and messenger service in navy yards, naval stations, and offices of superintending naval constructors; and the performance of all work for the Navy in the line of construction and repair. These estimates are practically identical with the actual appropriation made by Congress for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1912. In connection with these estimates the bureau submitted, in accordance with the department's instructions, revised estimates showing a total of $9,831,544, these estimates to be used in the event of the abolishment of the Bureau of Equipment, and permanent distribution of the duties of said bureau in accordance with the department's latest decision. It should be noted that these estimates, as revised show an increase of $1,352,400 over the Bureau of Construction and Repair's current appropriations, and this amount was fixed by the department to cover the additional items transferred to this bureau's regular appropriation, which items had previously come under the cognizance of the Bureau of Equipment under appropriation "Equipment of vessels."

4. The estimates marked "C" are for the provision of the necessary tools and equipment for the hull division shops of the Pearl Harbor Naval Station. As the necessary buildings were provided by the last naval appropriation act, it is imperative that the tools be at once provided to avoid the possibility of a repair plant without tools.

5. The estimates marked "D" cover the amounts required by the Bureaus of Construction and Repair and Steam Engineering under the appropriation "Increase of the Navy; construction and machinery" (including submarine torpedo boats and colliers) for work on new vessels already authorized by Congress. These estimates are

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