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eal paras MARINE REVIEW [December 28, SUBMARINE WARFARE. WASHINGTON IS STIRRED UP ON THE SUBJECT BY THE VISIT OF THE HOLLAND BOAT--INTEREST IN THE COMING TRIALS OF THE VESSEL--GOVERNMENT WILL DEVELOP ITS OWN APPARATUS FOR WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. Wasuinero' Orrick Marine Review, 1345 PENNSYLVANIA et WASHINGTON, Dec. 27, 1899. Sometime during the present week the inspection test of the submarine torpedo boat Holland will take place over a course in the channel of the Potomac river abreast Fort Washington. This course was selected by Lieut. Maxwell of the president's yacht Sylph and Mr. F. A. Verdu of the Holland Submarine Torpedo Boat Co., and it offers every facility for tests of both the submarine and the surface characteristic of the boat. Since the arrival of the Holland at the navy yard crowds have thronged the wharf at which she lies in the hope of getting a good view of the vessel, whose invention promises to revolutionize naval warfare, but no one is allowed to board. The exterior of this strange craft seems, however, to furnish a spec- tacle that sight seers deem worthy of attention, for certainly an oppor- tunity has never before been given them of viewing anything more out of the ordinary. Only about 40 feet of the boat's 54 feet of length is visible above the surface and as she lies at the dock little is to be seen except the flagstaffs and the cylindrical structure which serves both as a conning tower and as a means of ingress and egress. This miniature hatchway is of bronze 1 inch thick and 18 inches in diameter and extends well above the plane of the false deck, which is the only portion of the boat visible above the surface. In order that this raised entrance may also serve as a conning tower, it is provided with a number of heavy glass bull's eyes around its circumference near the top and these give the navigator a view . in every direction without exposing his head above the top of the tower. When the; Holland is under. way-on the surface she is directed from _ the conning tower, her navigator standing on.a raised platform that is provided for the purpose, but when under water the steering has. to be done entirely by compass. The arrangement of this compass is a subject that caused no little trouble and experimentation.,. It. is well known that the needle of the compass placed in a steel globe will not point to the north. It will, in fact, have no directive power, so it was seen to be im- possible to place the compass of the submarine boat anywhere in her interior where the needle would not be deflected by the steel that would completely surround it. This difficulty was overcome by placing the com- pass in the upper part of the conning tower and so arranging a set of mirrors that the reflection of the compass card is thrown down to the position of the navigator who takes a station in the body of the boat when -she is submerged. One of the first things to be noted about the interior of the Holland is the little room that is not filled with machinery, the only clear space being just forward of the ladder leading from the upper deck. This has been left open to permit the loading and operating of the 8 and 18-inch aerial guns and the 18-inch torpedo tube, the breech of the larger of the aerial guns, which is fired through an opening in the bow 8 feet below the water line, being directly above that of the torpedo tube. One torpedo is carried in the tube and compartments are provided for two more in the open space at the breech, several more being stowed in carriers in the bow of the boat. Whitehead torpedoes are to be used, and owing to the fact of their being discharged below water they attain a speed and a velocity impossible in those fired from above the surface. The Holland's tube is capable of pro- ' pelling a torpedo a distance of about a mile, while the Whitehead torpedo itself has a range of about half a mile at a velocity of 30 knots an hour. Another advantage of the submarine tubes is that the torpedo is not sub- jected to the deflection caused by striking the surface of the water. Smoke- less powder and compressed air are the means used for discharging projec- tiles, the air used for this purpose being stored in two tanks. Along the sides of the boat are six other tanks containing about 30 cubic feet of air at a pressure of 2,000 pounds to the square inch, the contents of these tanks keeping the beat supplied with fresh air when submerged. The principal machinery of the Holland is in the after part of the boat, the engine that controls the pneumatic steering gear being just abaft of the turret and secured to the lower side of the upper deck, while the engine that controls the diving apparatus is near it and ina similar position. This diving engine is provided with means for keeping the boat at a desired depth--a pendulum device for maintaining a horizontal position and an automatic device for bringing her from an inclined or diving position at a predetermined depth. Still further aft is the engine room, the center of which is occupied by the gasoline engine by means of which the boat is propelled when on the surface. Nearly all of the remaining engine space is taken up by three dynamos, the larger of which is of 45 horse power. -This engine furnishes power for propelling the boat when submerged. One dynamo of 10 horse power is used for compressing air, and another of 1%4 horse power is used for lighting and for providing ventilation. The speed of the boat when propelled by electricity is controlled by a lever similar to the one used on electric cars and this gives the engineer perfect control of the power to be applied. -.__ As a-safeguard in case of accident to the dynamos the Holland is pro- ovided with storage batteries capable of producing a power of nearly 170 , volts, these. being stored just above the keel, The submerged tanks are arranged along the sides. and. bottom of-the boat and are filled:or emptied - by the movement of one or two levers at which.a man-is kept stationed. Near the position occupied by the navigator is a pressure gauge which in- dicates the depth to: which the boat has descended 'and-whether or not she is still sinking. On his port side are wheels governing the steering gear and on the starboard side are other wheels which control the driving eee He Pe a the surface the helmsman can do : ratin e diving r i i Ree inte santa, g g rudders or more quickly by emptying ie The Holland is nearly cylindrical in cross section and is 11 feet in ee draws 8% feet of water, weighs 63 tons and has a displace- Pg akeee tons. The sides of the boat are steel plates from 3 to %4 inch ickness and these are supported by circular 'steel frames arranged mare about a foot apart. Above the real body is a false deck, which forms a flat superstructure upon which it is possible to walk. The vessel has an ordinary three-bladed propeller at the stern, and besides the directing rudder, which is in the usual place, there are two horizontal diving rudders near it. ety: Should the test be a success there is no doubt that the government will purchase both the boat and the right to the invention. Mr. E. B. Frost, president of the Holland company, in speaking of the Holland said: "The Holland will revolutionize naval warfare. This vessel can sink below the surface of the water in eighteen seconds, fully a minute before a gunner could even get his sights trained. Heretofore no submarine boat has ever been constructed that could sink within fifteen minutes. Therefore this craft js almost safe from shells. Then this vessel carries enough air to allow the crew to remain under water for twenty-four hours, so that a cruiser would have a hard time locating her. I think she is one of the most wonderful inventions of a century of progress." GOVERNMENT TO DEVELOP ITS OWN WIRELESS TELEGRAPHY. Rear Admiral Bradford has asked authority from the navy department to establish a bureau at the naval training station at Newport for the de- velopment of a naval system of wireless telegraphy. It is proposéd to detail several officers, having high electrical knowledge, at this station and to furnish facilities for study and experiment in the belief that something: better than Marconi's apparatus may be devised. The project to secure the Marconi system for the navy has been practically abandoned. In the first place its range was found to be exceedingly limited, especially when vessels were rolling in a seaway and their topmasts were varied in height. above the water. Then there was the insuperable objection of interference, two stations being unable to hold intelligent communication when a third station within their circle of sensitiveness undertook to send a message to either point. This defect destroyed the value of the system where more than two ships cruised in squadron or where an enemy chose to send dis- turbing messages. Finally Marconi's terms of $20,000 for the first year and ,.$10,000 annually thereafter were, regarded as exorbitant for the use of his half-developed invention. He declined absolutely to modify his proposition, which compelled the navy to take twenty. sets of apparatus or more and to pay $500 outright for each set and $500 each year as royalty for their use. He refused to send two or three sets for experimental pur- poses and gave American naval officers to understand that he did not care to. do business on a small scale when European navies were fighting for the exclusive use of his coherer.and other essential features in spite of the system's radical shortcomings as discovered on this side of the Atlantic. Marconi's attitude toward the army was scarcely different and the signal corps is going ahead on a system of its own which avoids the Italian patents and already is said to be producing better results. Rear Admiral Bradford believes that some of the electrical experts of the naval equipment bureau, if the opportunity is given to them, will produce appara- tus to meet the peculiar conditions of the navy without appreciable ex- penditure and in all probability the experiments he desires will be ordered. One station will be located at the training station and the other at the terpedo school on islands about a mile apart, and as progress is made other stations can be set up at various points in Newport harbor, where torpedo boats are always available for experiments with vessels in motion or for miniature fleet evolutions. Several forms of apparatus from Ameri- can inventors have already been submitted for test and doubtless others will be received when the work is actually started. In sending in the nomination of George W. Melville, chief of the bureau of steam engineering, to be a rear admiral the day before the senate tcok its holiday recess it was the desire of Secretary Long that the promo- tion should come to Melville as a Christmas present. Senator Pettigrew, however, objected, and under the rules of the senate the nomination had to go over for one day. There being no session the next day the nomination was therefore forced over until after the recess. There is no doubt what- ever but that the nomination will be confirmed as soon as the senate re- assembles. Commander Emery thus wires the navy department regarding the trial off Boston harbor of the training ship Chesapeake, the first sailing vessel built for the navy in more than forty years: "Trial completed and Chesa- peake returned to navy yard. Under way Monday in light airs under all sail. Under way Tuesday under all plain sail to top sails, in strong breeze with fresh squalls both days. Vessel maneuvered well today. Her steady heel under topsails by the wind was ten degrees, increasing to sixteen in ieeeh squalls." The navy officials regard the performance as most satis- actory. ' Satisfaction is felt in official circles over the reparts received by Rear Admiral Hichborn, chief of the bureau of construction, showing the com- plete stability of the protected cruiser Albany. It is expected that her official preliminary trial will occur next month in English. waters. The navy department has been informed that the Bath Iron Works proposes to clean the bottom of the torpedo boat Craven, which, on her official preliminary trial, made only 29.5 knots when her contract require- ments call for,30.5 knots. It.is expected that the pitch of the screw 'will also be changed, which may necessitate-a restandardization. Not oneofficer of high rank in the navy.,will retire for age.during the coming year. - Usually from one to. four rearadmirals are retired annually, but the highest ranking officer who. will give up active service under the age requirement.in 1900 is W. C. Gibson, a.captain. . Two former engineers will go out. They are Capts. P. A. Rearick and Je Lowe. The first rear admiral to retire will be Rear Admiral MeNair, superintendent of the naval academy, who will give up active service Jan. 18, 1901, and later in the same year Admiral Schley will retire. An advance in wages that will affect nearly 14,000 men has been an- nounced by the Carnegie Steel Co. the past week. Common labor is advanced to $1.50 a day.