Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 260, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 28 October 1919 — U.S.S. NEW MEXICO: First Electrified Battleship [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

U.S.S. NEW MEXICO: First Electrified Battleship

W »NCLE Snn.’s superdrendnaughf New ■ I Mexico is very much in the yes of ■ the world, these days for the special .'reason that this battleship is the first of any nation to be propelled by yTfr fqaJf elect riety. Moreover, electric drive ATT has been to successful and its flght- - w Ing advantages have become so gen--5 erally recognized that the navy de- | partinent htTsMecrdetT'ho equip nil of JU Us new capital ships with electric propulsion apparatus. The New Mexico is a most impressive fighting machine. She was built at the Brook* Jyn navy yard and launched in the sunliner of 1917. jKhe Is G 24 feet over alt; She AVeTghs (displaces) - 32,000 tons. She draws 30 feet of water. She has !97 -feet 4*4 inches be;du at the Waterline;- At- full (speed she can make, slightly In - 4nn hour, propulsion. Her crew numbers nearly 1,200 men. 2She burns oil instead of coal as ftier and has a total fuel capacity of about 1,000,000 gallons. It's not an easy thing nowadays to get permtsfcion to examine a bat tleship from stem to. stern and to take photographs of her interior.? But representatives of one of the big concerns which had a‘hand in making the New Mexico what she ts was recently allowed the privileges—which has been exceedingly rare since the beginning of the Igreat war. The following- account of an inspection of the superdread naught at drydock in the navy yard is the result. Lieut. Com. P. L. Carroll, chief engineer, turns ns over to one of the junior engineers We start •with the navigating bridge and examine the variious pieces of apparatus for transmitting signals ko the engine room for the control of tpe vessel, and to half a dozen other parts of the ship, each of which has a particular and important function to perform. Next we begin a systematic survey of the ship, and-to begin as far down intp <the vitals of the vessel as possible we are led through circuitous routes, down steep hatchways, through narrow alleys, and down-mote ladders, — (through deck after <k»ek until we have lost all knowledge of time and space.

We find ourselves nt last tm the vepr bottom of the strip, directly behind the rudder. A complicated mass of machinery, pistons, rods, valves, dials and electric motors, combine to make up the steering gear engine. This machinery is operated and controlled directly from the navigating bridge by a control device. This is only one of five different methods of steering the ship. In a water-tight compartment directly aft is what* is known as the auxiliary steering gear. And here see four large wheels connected to a shaft *vhich when occasion demands, can be used to ’piove the rudder by hand —which takes eight men. 14ut this shaift is. also connected- to an . electric,. " jnotoryrrid by the simpleUrrTiot d switch” can be" ; operated electrically. electrical uhit£_ control and if all steering methods fail, a “jury” rudder may be rlgged-off-the stern. Going forward along the bottom of the ship we come presently to the propeller shafts—four in number —each operating an immense propeller. ’These shafts extend from the motors which operate them back through the ship and out at the stern, through what are known respectively as the starboard outboard shaft alley, starboard inboard, port inboard and port outboard alleys. Following forward along the inboard shaft we go through several more water-tight compartments. drop '•down a hatchway and find ourselves in the propelling motor room. This is the section of the ehip which actually drives the propellers; The tremendous motor which meets our gaze “eierv This motor stands 12 feet high from the floor innd is 12 feet wide. It generates 7,000 horsepower. Like the rest, it is inclosed in a water-tight compartment, protected by bulkheads, and if anything isbould happen to It, the current may be cut off mt once and directed to rhe operation of the other three propellers. To see how the motor is controlled, reversed, started, stopped, etc., we follow the wire cables further forward, still almost on the bottom of theship until we come to what the engineers call the icenter engine room. Here spread out before us Hies a switchboard containing levers, dials, telephones, indicators, and instruments for measuring electrical currents. It is the main control station of the ship containing the arteries through which courses the life blood of the ves- , «el. the electrical current In fact, it is often icalled the heart of the vessel. Here in'this compartment the electrical current Hm received, measured i» nd passed on to the motors which we have just left. From this station the propellers may be made to reverse, or to go at •full speed ahead; two''? repellers may be reversed while the other two are driven ahead. Here also any combination of control may be made up. The ‘flexibility of control made possible by this central control station constitutes one of the advantages of the system of Electric drive. The captain <of the ship communicates directly to this station •and gives instructions concerning the control of the vessel. Having seen bow the ship is propelled, and controlled, we are naturally curious to see the spuree from which «he tremendous energy comes. The cables from the switchboard lead us forward Into

another compartment where we view.the machine which genera tes the electrical current which turns Aho propellers.- ——- ——- This is the turbo-generator section. There are two turbo-generators consisting of a steam turbine direct, connected to a powerful generator. This generator is operated by the steam turbine and produces the current we have been seeking. Each of the turbo-generators produces 14.000 horsepower. In technical language this spot within the shlp is known as the power plant. The turbine is an essential part of this plant. Tt Illustrates another advantage of the electric drive. A steam turbine to operate at its maximum efficiency must revolve at a relatively high speed, say 2,000 revolutions per minute. On the other . hand, the propeller to be most efficient, must revolve with comparative slowness, say 200 revolutions per minute. This is because if the propellers revolved at high speed they would merely churn up the water and fail to drive the vessel ahead. Now electricity acts as a connecting link between this highspeed .urbine.and the low-speed motor which drives the propellers. Mechanical gears, which in the turbine driven vessel have been used to reduce the turbine speed down to a suitable propeller speed, are entirely eliminated, -and =thenecessary^retluctlcm-ace^npHshed pie electrical means. .Moreover the operating urate'wntvf tight’ compartments; Inirddirronthe" machinery is grouped very close to the center of ~tlie~Shlp us lar as possible away from- the oideg. ‘The possibility of sd grouping the machinery,” says an officer, ‘‘means a greater protection of the apparatus from shell fire, grounding and collision. We might say that this feature, plus the flexibility of control and the ability to cut off defective or damaged apparatus, constitutes one of the essential superiorities of electric drive.” To follow the power route to its source, we must go still -further- forward to a point- amidships. Here are nine huge steuin boilers, arranged’ three in a compartment. They store up the steam under a pressure of 250 pounds to the square inch and deliver it to the turbines. The New Mexico burns oil Instead of coal. New Mexico niffy -be briefly summarized as follows : Nine steam boilers deliver steam to two turbines. The two turbines operate two generators. The two generators produce electricar current. The electrical current is led through popper cables to a control station where it is distributed and passed on to four big motors. Each of the four motors turns a propeller and thus the ship is driven through the water. The current which the two turbo-generators produce is used entirely in the actual propulsion of the vessel. The New Mexico must have additional electrical energy with which to operate scores of auxiliary apparatus. For instance, electric motors operate the 12Iheh and 14-inch guns, blowers which supply the ventilation of the ship, electric fans, telephones, heaters, pumps, refrigeratiag machinery, wireless apparatus, kitchen appliances, laundry equipment, etc., to say nothing of the lighting system. Mo(or-driven machinery also operates the boat cranes and the-anchor windlass. There are'scores of storage batteries which stand ready to keep the electric lights going should the main lighting system fail. It has been estimated that there are aboard the New Mexico no less than 50 Electric motors. “Where does the current come from to operate them?” we ask. It comes from six auxiliary turbo-generator sets and we find two Of them well up toward the -bow of the vessel. stiH on the same level as the boiler room from which we have Just emerged. This turbo-generator, and the others similar to it, are responsible for the wonderful applications of electricity which we will make the acquaintance of as we go upward through the New Mexico. There are four separate decks

between the bottom of the’ ship and the main deck. . —— AU the baking is done electrically—electric motors the dough mixers, and dough kneaders, while the loaves are baked in electrically heated ovens. Next we vjsit the electric laundry with its many ingenious machines electrically 'driven. Electricity also plays its part in other places, such T as the crew’s library, reading room and recreation quarters; the barber shop; the sick bay, with its up-to-date operating room; Capt. A. L. Willard's quarters, the officers’ wardrooms, etc. The New Mexico has 12 14-Inch guns and many of smaller caliber. Including a battery of anti-aircraft guns. The larger caliber guns, three ~in each of four turrets, are operated by electricity. The turrets are revolved and the guns elevated by ejectric motors. Ammunition hoists run electrically and there are electricNgun loaders, while even the big guns are fired by electrical means, but the smaller caliber guns are generally oprated by hand. In examining into the control of these great batteries of destruction, we come to one of the most interesting spots on the ship—the conning tower. Navy regulations designed to withhold .important matters of military .dfesijgy forbid ua from obtaining a picture of the conning tower. -But it. Is permlssib l e fn tt briefly The conn Ing tower is a well-shaped’ shaft extending perpendicularly through the ship from top to bottom with bidders running un and down the sides and convenient methods of transmitting instructions by means of indicators and telephones. During an action the vessel’s commanding officer usually stations himself in this tower which is also known as one of several fire-control stations and transmits instructions. • Up on one of the masts we encounter one of the big “eyes” of the ship—an electrical eye which can see for miles in inky darkness, The current for the operation of the searchlight comes from one of the turbo-generators heretofore described. Is the electrical propulsion- of marine vessels opening up an entirely new era of scientific ad-vancement-and will the day come when the seven onr own navy is concerned. Secretary Daniels expressed the essence of the idea when he said: “I think this country has cause to be proud of this achievement in engineering, not alone because of the pronounced success in this particular instance (referring to the New Mexico), but because of the assurance it gives us of the superiority of, our capital ships to those of foreign countries.” “The New Mexico is the first and only dreadnaught of any nation to have electrically operated propelling machinery,” continued Secretary Daniels. “On this account she has been an object of surpassing interest to the officers of our own navy and to those-of foreign navies as well, and to electrical engineers in general. “The result was satisfactory from every point of view and corifirmed the judgment of all-who were in any way concerned in its design and adoption. There was not the slightest mishap with any part of It, everything worked to perfection, arid the crew Was as enthusiastic over the performance of the machinery as is the department proud in the possession of such an efficient dreadnaught. “When we entered into contract for the ma- ‘ chinery we stipulated that, In addition to being capable of developing the maximum power, she should also give an economy at cruising speed very much superior to that with the turbine installations previously used. This stringent requirement was also met. As a matter of dactl the New Mexico will steam at ten knots on less fuel Than the best turbine-driven ship that preceded her” Anyway, electrical engineers are now turning their attention to the adoption of similar principles to the driving of merchant ships and to large passenger vessels.