OIL ENGINES IN THE NAVY.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1379, 4 March 1912, Page 5

OIL ENGINES IN THE NAVY.

BRITISH EXPERIMENTS. By Tclcaraph-Presa Association—Copyright London, March 1. Mr. Winston Churchill, First Lord of Hie Admiralty, is maturing a plan for an experiment with the Diesel oil engine on one of the British cruisers.

GERMAN ACTIVITY. A London dispatch (o the San Francisco "Chronicle," under date of February 5, states:—The British Admiralty has received news from a reliable source that a type of internal combustion engine has been brought well toward completion by German experts which, if it fulfills the expectations of its designers, should give the German navy an immense advantage in its raco for supremacy against the British, as well as the navies of the world. A prominent engineer who has learned the main details of this engine—which its designers have endeavoured to keep secret —said to the Associated Press:— "I can conceive that a vessel may bo designed using these engines, which would make the latest Dreadnoughts obsolete, and it looks as if the revolution were imminent. For such a vessel the radius of steaming might be multiplied by three or four, or the thickness of armour it would carry greatly increased, or the vulnerability much diminished." In one of the principal works in Germany a marine plant has been completed, after exhaustive studies and expensive experiments by a most able and confidential staff, which' can bo destined only for use of the navy. It is of 18,000 horse-power, consisting 'of three engines of GOOO horsepower each, one to each propeller. Each engine has three cylinders producing 2000 horse-power each, the cylinders being double acting, the explosion occurring on both sides of the pistons. The incorporation of such an installa-, tiou in a vessel means the abolition of boilers and smoke-stacks, also the saving of the space occupied by bunkers, as tho engines would require less than one-half pound per horse-power hour, which would mean 100 tons of oil per twenty-four hours for full power, full speed. Any grade of crudo or refined petroleum may be used. During the last three or four years si great revolution has been in progress in perfecting tho reliability, performance of duty and economy of this type of engine. The principal problems have been to obtain perfect combustion, to enlargo the cylinder units, to make tho explosion transpire on both sides of the piston. Germany has led in the study and evolution of this engine, and is far in advance of other countries. The internal details of such on engine are easily kept secret, and the perfection of a successful co.unter-design by any other nation would necessarily require a long period of experiments. It appears to tho scientific men who know of this work l>v the German engineers, concludes the "Chronicle's" dispatch, that the German navy may. have a profound advantage over its rival? in this engine, which nrmarently is nrarly readv for use. No other navy, it is believed, has advanced nearly so far in work upon internal combustion engines.