of the Cleveland, Chattanooga, Denver, and Galveston. New watertube boilers were installed in the Mayflower and Montgomery, the Scotch boilers of those vessels having been practically worn out. The machinery of a number of the older torpedo-boat destroyers was thoroughly overhauled, including in one case the renewal of boilers. At the end of the fiscal year the steam machinery of the Florida was practically completed in the shops and its installation well advanced. Final completion of the machinery as a whole has been delayed by failure of the electric generators on test to meet the requirements of the specifications, and the consequent necessity of obtaining others to replace those originally contracted for. At the date of this report the installation of these generators is proceeding, the ship is in commission, and will be ready to leave the New York Navy Yard about the 15th of November. The preparation and examination of plans for repairs and alterations to machinery of vessels in commission and those fitting out at navy yards and for the construction of new machinery and boilers building at navy yards and by contract have been carried on during the year. In addition to this, plans, specifications, and estimates for the machinery of battleships No. 34 and No. 35, New York and Texas, and torpedo-boat destroyers No. 37 to No. 42, inclusive, and destroyers No. 43 to No. 50, inclusive, have been completed and the contracts for these vessels awarded. Plans, specifications, and estimates for machinery of battleships No. 36 and No. 37 have been well advanced. Considerable work of this character has also been done on the submarine tender and the gunboat authorized by the last Congress. The machinery for battleships No. 36 and No. 37 marks a distinct advance over any previously designed for this or any other Government. A reorganization has been effected in the drafting room which promises to improve the capacity and the quality of the work of the design division. A computing section has Eeen formed, the effect of which will be to establish a greater continuity of method in machinery design, and to collaborate to a greater degree than heretofore data useful in design. In the face of an almost universal adoption of the turbine for battleship propelling machinery by the nations of the world, the bureau has in the recent battleships, beginning with the New York and Texas, abandoned the turbine in favor of reciprocating engines for such vessels. This decision was arrived at after an extensive investigation, including the comparative trials of the two types of machinery in the scout cruisers Birmingham, Chester, and Salem, and in the battleships Delaware and North Dakota, which render available more exact data on the subject than are available to any other GovernIt is found that the reciprocating engine is about 30 per cent more economical at cruising speed than the turbine and has about the same economy at high speeds. The steam turbine as now installed in high-speed vessels, notably destroyers and scouts, has greatly extended the range of speed at which these vessels may be safely and continuously driven. It was found difficult to maintain the Niclausse boilers of the Colorado and Pennsylvania in efficient condition because of the inability to obtain special parts for these boilers at reasonable prices and without great delay. Eight boilers in each ship have been con verted to a boiler resembling the Babcock and Wilcox in construction, at practically little expense, the foundations, furnaces, and many of the pressure parts of the original boilers having been used. It is intended to extend this process to the other boilers of these vessels as rapidly as their condition warrants it. The success which has attended the use of fuel oil in the recent torpedo-boat destroyers indicates a probable increase in the extent of the use of this fuel for naval purposes generally. Preparations are being made at the navy yard, Philadelphia, to instruct firemen and water tenders in the methods of burning oil. A lack of such a place of instruction has greatly hindered the development of the art of oil burning in the Navy. The system of forced lubrication of the bearings of main engines has been installed on several battleships and armored cruisers, and will be installed on the others as opportunity offers. This system greatly extends the life of the engine, eliminates bearing troubles, and reduces the quantity of oil required for lubrication. Turbine-driven blowers, which have proved so successful in the recent destroyers for supplying air to the fire rooms, are being installed on those older destroyers whose condition warrants it, thus eliminating the principal element of weakness in these vessels. Small foundries capable of handling about 100 pounds of metal have been installed in the battleships, increasing their ability of selfmaintenance and reducing cost of repairs. There is a continual improvement in the economy of coal consumption in the vessels of the service, due principally to the steaming competition. In the direction of this economy the evaporators of many of the vessels have been converted to double effect. There has also been a development of systematic firing induced by analyses of smoke-pipe gases. Most of the largest ships have been equipped with an apparatus for sampling this gas and determining the proportion of CO2 therein. The result of these analyses has pointed the way to improved economic conditions. The bureau, in conjunction with the Bureau of Supplies and Accounts, has been conducting a series of tests of coal mined in the western part of the United States and in British Columbia. These tests have been carried on whenever suitable vessels have been available. During the first series, tests of three different kinds of State of Washington coal (two tests of one kind being made) were conducted, eastern coal being burned at the same time on a sister ship and under the same conditions, in order to obtain an accurate basis of comparison. Later, three more kinds of State of Washington coals and three kinds of British Columbia coals were tested. These tests were carried out in a most thorough and systematic manner with a view to determining the relative suitability of the coals compared one with another and also as compared with eastern coals. During the tests the bureaus had the hearty and efficient cooperation of the Bureau of Mines of the Interior Department. Further tests of other coals will be carried out as ships become available. Results of tests when completed will be reported to the department. Under the spur of the steaming competition propellers which are more efficient at the cruising speeds have been fitted on the Kansas and North Carolina and are to be installed on the Mississippi and Vermont. As soon as accurate data of the efficiency of existing propellers under service conditions can be obtained it is intended further to improve the efficiency of the fleet as a whole by replacing those propellers which are least efficient at cruising speeds. On account of the lack of economy of the turbine when driven at the slow speeds compatible with propeller efficiency it has been found necessary to investigate the problem of coupling a high-speed turbine to a slowly revolving propeller shaft, thus conserving both propeller and turbine efficiencies. The collier Neptune, recently constructed, has been fitted with reduction-gear machinery intended to accomplish this end, and a similar vessel, the Jupiter, which is being constructed at the Mare Island Navy Yard, will be equipped with electric propelling machinery, in which a dynamo and motors are interposed between the turbine and propeller shafts, both without additional cost to the Government. In the destroyer Henley a combination of reciprocating engines and turbines is being installed for the purpose of improving the economy at cruising speeds. The extensive development of heavy oil engines of the Diesel type that has taken place abroad within the past few years leads to the hope that eventually this type of engine will be available for use in large vessels of the Navy. Progress in this country has not been so marked as abroad, but American firms are now taking up the development of this type of engine. The submarines recently contracted for will be propelled by reversible two-cycle heavy oil engines of the Diesel type, developing up to 600 horsepower each. It is hoped that satisfactory proposals can be obtained for the installation of engines of this type in the submarine tender authorized by the last Congress. The existing stage of development does not warrant taking up the engine for installation in larger vessels at this time, but it is hoped that progress in the near future will be such as to warrant this step. During the year the fitting of sailing launches, dories, and other service types of boats with gasoline engines has been proceeded with. The collective horsepower of these boat installations now exceeds 4,250, exclusive of installations in submarine boats. The manufacture of a service design of gasoline motor has been undertaken at the navy yard, Norfolk, with a view of standardizing all installations. The substitution of oil engines for gasoline engines is very desirable, but thus far it has been impossible to obtain these in small units suitable for boat installations. Three types of motors suitable for aeronautical work have been purchased and will be tested during the coming year. Continued efforts are made to improve the economy of electric installations, and tests of recent turbogenerating sets show a marked improvement over those first purchased, especially at points below full load. It has also been possible to reduce the cost of installation in new ships by increasing the number of distribution centers for lighting, thereby reducing the number of feeders piercing the protective deck. The number of lights carried by a single fuse has also been increased, with resultant decrease in the number of branch outlets. Modifications are being made in the design of searchlight bases and controlling apparatus which will permit either electrical or mechanical control, as may appear desirable. The machinery data of United States naval vessels heretofore published as a part of this bureau's report, and the data on generat ing sets, etc., heretofore published as a part of the report of the Bureau of Equipment, is now omitted and is embodied in a publication entitled "Ships' Data, United States Naval Vessels" to be issued by the department. WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. The range and efficiency of wireless installations, afloat and ashore, have steadily increased, and considerable advance has been made toward modernizing ship and shore installations. This wor was greatly delayed by failure of contractors to make deliveries on time, but a number of sets for ships and shore stations are now available for installation, and the next year should see a more rapid improvement. The work of the coastal stations has been satisfactory as a whole, and the number of messages handled, official and commercial, is increasing. Time signals, hydrographic information, weather reports, and storm warnings are sent broadcast for the benefit of shipping. A site has been obtained for the high-powered station for Washington on the Fort Myer Military Reservation, and contracts have been let for the towers and buildings. It is expected that the station will be in operation by July 1, 1912. The experiments to be carried out with the Washington station are expected to add very considerably to the world's knowledge of wireless telegraphy. At the same time the Government will have direct communication with many distant points and with ships at considerable distances at sea, which would be of vast importance in time of war. The necessity for stations on outlying islands in Alaska, principally for the business of the Department of Commerce and Labor, the Department of Agriculture, and the Treasury Department, being apparent, material for three new stations was assembled at Mare Island and embarked on the Buffalo, with a working party from the navy yard. At the close of the fiscal year a temporary station at Kodiak had been completed, and a temporary station at St. Paul, Pribilofs, and a permanent one at Unalaska were in course of erection. These stations will not only handle business for all departments of the Government, but will be of great assistance to commercial interests in transmitting commercial business to stations on the line of the Washington and Alaskan military cable. Steps were taken to select sites for important stations in Porto Rico, on the Island of Tutuila, Samoa, and at the naval station, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. The bureau has been carrying on experiments between the torpedo boats Stringham and Bailey, operating from the engineering experimental station, Annapolis. The results of these experiments have been valuable in that systematic quantitative measurements of energy sent and received by vessels communicating under various conditions. were made. In addition several new devices were tested and preparations are now being made for further experiments to ascertain the value of kites as supports for aerials of ships for temporary longdistance communication. Advances have been made in determining the most suitable sending wave lengths for the various types of ships and in the reduction of interference. A set of instructions for the use of standard calling wave lengths and other arrangements for reducing interference have been prepared, and this information is ready for issue. These instructions, revised from time to time as may be necessary, are expected to eventually increase the possibilities of wireless communication in a given area threefold. The quantitative tests of apparatus at the Bureau of Standards have been of value, not only to the bureau, but to science. Thorough tests of new receivers, detectors, amplifones, wave meters, and various types of condensers have been made, and their suitability for the service determined. Anticipating the time when all seagoing vessels, however small, will carry wireless apparatus, and the need for wireless communication for submarines, aeroplanes, landing parties, and in special circumstances between a ship and her boats, and recognizing the need for a low-power limited-range fog-signal wireless installation for all ships, wireless stations, lighthouses, and lightships, special attention is being paid to portable apparatus. Several types have been tested, and it is hoped that a satisfactory, practicable set for each of the purposes mentioned will be developed. Satisfactory portable sets for battle purposes have not yet been obtained, but an improved type is being made up for further tests. CONDITION OF MACHINERY OF VESSELS CONSTRUCTED OR UNDER CONSTRUCTION AT PRIVATE SHIPYARDS JULY 1, 1911. The following vessels have been tried during the year: Torpedo-boat destroyer No. 22, Paulding (Bath Iron Works): Knots. 33.06 Speed on 4-hour full-speed trial.. 32.80 Torpedo-boat destroyer No. 23, Drayton (Bath Iron Works): Speed on standardization trial.. 32. 74 Speed on 4-hour full-speed trial. 30.83 Speed on standardization trial.. Torpedo-boat destroyer No. 24, Roe (Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry 31.43 Speed on 4-hour full-speed trial. Speed on standardization trial. Torpedo-boat destroyer No. 25, Terry (Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry 29.60 30.27 Speed on 4-hour full-speed trial. 30.24 Torpedo-boat destroyer No. 26, Perkins (Fore River Shipbuilding Co.): Speed on standardization trial.. 31.01 Speed on 4-hour full-speed trial. 29.76 Torpedo-boat destroyer No. 27, Sterett (Fore River Shipbuilding Co.): Speed on standardization trial.. 31.63 Speed on 4-hour full-speed trial. 30.37 Torpedo-boat destroyer No. 28, McCall (New York Shipbuilding Co.): Speed on standardization trial.. 31.90 Speed on 4-hour full-speed trial. 30.66 Torpedo-boat destroyer No. 29, Burrow's (New York Shipbuilding Co.): Speed on standardization trial.. 31.57 Speed on 4-hour full-speed trial.. 30.67 Torpedo-boat destroyer No. 30, Warrington (William Cramp & Sons): Speed on standardization trial. 31.31 Speed on 4-hour full-speed trial. 30.12 Torpedo-boat destroyer No. 31, Mayrant (William Cramp & Sons): Speed on standardization trial.. 32.21 Speed on 4-hour full-speed trial. 30.22 Torpedo-boat destroyer No. 32, Monaghan (Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Speed on standardization trial. Speed on 4-hour full-speed trial. 32.02 30.45 |