Ships and the Sea

Evening Post, Volume CVII, Issue 150, 29 June 1929, Page 32

Ships and the Sea

G-iant' Submarine. ...'.. ; Germany, towards the close of the war, was building a submarine of enormous size and power, spec'hilly designed to attack shipping in distant oceans. This striking disclosure is made by Herr Kasenack, a German naval constructor, in the current issue of a Berlin technical organ, states tho London "Daily Telegraph.' ' The submarine cruiser in question was laid down at Kiel dockyard, but owing to the termination of hostilities was never-finished. The vessel had a surf aeegisplacemerit of 3500 tons, and would thus have been larger than any submarine in existence at that time or designed since the war. Its dimensions exceeded those of the French boat Surcouf—now on the stocks at Cherbourg, the American V.-4, and the British-XL, which .are, in that sequence, the largest undersea craft in the world. This giant .German submarine cruiser, it is understood, would have had a speed of 19 knots and a cruising endurance of 20,000, nautical, miles; Sho was to have mounted 'three 6in guns, besides lighter guns and torpedo tubes. Her upper deck and conriing-tower would have been heavily armour-plated. A submarine raider of this typo might have proved a most formidable menace, since she could have engaged, and probably sunk by gunfire alone, the armed escort ships" which accompanied the

Allies* ocean cpnvoys. Moreover, her great radius of 'action would have rendered her independent of shore bases for weeks, if not months, at a time. Herr Rasenack, who was engaged in submarine' construction throughout the waT, divulges many other new facts about German submarine building policy. In the final year of the war a large number of U-boats of a special type were under construction, known as the "F," or "Flanders" class. Although displacing but 360 tons, they wo re considered to bo jdeal for operations in the North Sea and tho English Channel and its approaches, since they incorporated all tho lessons suggested by throo.years of experience, and wero specially planned with a view to preventing British anti-submarine methods. No boat of this new class was completed before the Armistice. , Cost of Motor-sMps. There is a good deal of misapprehension concerning tho cost of motorships, writes the "Motor Ship." Such .vessels are generally considered expensive' when compared with steamers, ;for j.'th'e *ieaspn .that.Diesel machinery is ,'khpwn. 'to cost i more, -than steam plant. .'Butwhea comparing motor- 1 ships, and- steamers, ■ designed to carry, out the Isaine sefyieeV; it is .'often* found that'the''difference.is almost negligible^ especially,,, in-^passenger liners.'. !With cargo ships; provided they #re of reasonably good specification, tho price of; ; the sy>il-engme,d craft—again for thet same- work—is not noticeably different from, say, a , geared turbine high steamer.' In fact, Mr: Sterry B. Freeman, superintendentengineer, of the Blue Funnel Line, remarked recently that of good cargo liners there are at present several sister-ships—turbine and single-acting' Diesel-engined— where the cost of the two types was within 3 per cent, of each other. "When there is so small a difference it is hardly accurate to speak of expensive motor-ships. . Mr. Freeman exposed another fallacy fln the same occasion when he remarked that, whilst the cost of repairs on ships necessarily depended on the engines and the men in charge, when comparing several sifter-ships—turbine and dil-anginea vessels in the same trade—tKero' was, if anything, "a balance in favour of the oil engine." Mr. Freeman is responsible for one of the inpst up-to-date fleets of _ cargo liners, oil-engined and steam-driven, in the country, so that his comments are based upon experience, and the iuter-nal-com'bustiqn' engines arc, for the most'l part, ■of the single-acting fourstroke design. Some Historic Models. Sir James Caird.has rendered the nation another conspicuous service by purchasing, for £30,000, the unique collection of; old ships' models belonging to the Nautical Training Ship Mercury, stationed-on Hamble River (states the "Shipping World"). It will ,be recalled that, .'a.'.short time ago, the trustees and committee of management considered the formation of an endowment fund for- the training ship, and decided to sell the collection. Offers were received from .America, but the committee desired-that the,/colleetion should not pass from this country. ' Sir James CaiTd's generosity has solved the double problem—the collection has been secured for all time, and the Mercury has its endowment fund. '■ This' is the second time Sir James has come to the rescue, for it is how known that he was the anonymous donor who contributed over £.100,000, towards securing for the nation'the . Macpbcrson collection of maritime prints, and towards the restoration-, of .the Victory, and Implacable. Wealth used in this way can excite no bitter < feelings, even in the heart of a Communist. Such donors may not have the satisfaction of giving full expression to the acquisitive instincts of the human race, but they have the gratification of knowing that they will be romembored by succeeding generations with, gratitude.

New Australian Motor-Ship. The Adelaide Steamship Company's now, motor passenger vessel Manunda, which has been specially built for the Australian trade, arrived at Sydney last month from Glasgow, via Suez Canal, Adelaide, and Melbourne. The Man* unda has a gross tonnage of 9000 tons, length 450 feet,-and a beam of 60 feet, depth 29 feet 6 inches. She has fiye: decks—boat deck, promenade deck, shelter deck, upper deck, and main deck. Luxurious accommodation has been provided for 312 first arid secondclass passengers on the shelter and promenade decks. The Manunda has the latest model wireless apparatus, and is fitted with direction and range finders. Another scientific instrument is the electrical record, r fitted on the navigating bridge, which shows the speed of the'ship and distance travelled. She has the highest power in electrical equipment for any vessel of her size in the world. Her main engines, which were built by Messrs. Harland ana Wolff, of Glasgow, under license from Messrs. Burmeister and Wain, Ltd., of Copenhagen, consist of two sets of .the latest typo, of 8-cylinder Diesels,. with supercharging and electric auxiliaries, and will give the vessel a service speed of at least 16 knots. The public rooms are spacious and tastefully decorated in modern- design. The dining-rooms are

placed on the main deck, with seating accommodation for the full complement Of passengers.' The Manunda's lifeboats are specially constructed of seamlosa steel, and arp operated on i -.the M'Lachlan principle, enabling ono man to place a' boajr in the water in a few seconds. Two, of the lifeboats are'mechanically propelled. In addition to boats for all on board, there is an additional 25 per cent, of buoyancy apparatus in the shape of life rafts. It is estimated that the new ship, which is tho most luxurious engaged in the Australian coastal trade, has east about £500,000, Expense of Stowaways. , , A certain: amount of romance < is usually . associated . with';' "stowing away" in aii ocean-going; vessel; but the average person is unaware of the inconvenience and expense" to the ship oWner that Is caused ,by those who chance a free passage, for. their own good' or. the of their country. The captain of; the' Clanv:MTaeihnes has:recently ■ had an ! unfortunate experience wijth stowaways. While lying alongside the wharf; at Delagoa Bay two deserters from the steamer Eadsfjord crept aboard at night unperceived by the watchman. 'The men were discovered when .the vessel was well out from the land, and as.the Clan Macinnes': was bound to Beira -it was. decided to' put them ashore at that port if possible, but the Portuguese -authorities detained _them. during the ship's' stay in port, and put them back, on board when she sailed. The vessel-went back to Delagoa Bay,to load, but the authorities would have nothing to do withlthe two stowaways. The Clan Macinnes eventually arrived at Cape Town/ and the'two. men were placed in the dock cells at the master's request. The Clan liner is bound to the Barbadoes, so that fhey cannot-proceed in that vessel, therefore they will bo,detained nntil the departure of the -Hyacinthus on 26th May when- they, will be put on board and taken to' Liverpool, from which port they will be sen* to their-native Latvia; It is understood-that the charges at Beira amounted to about £18, and the charges for detention at Cape Town mil be 7s 6d a day. Over and above all this will bo the cost of food and the railway fares and other incidental expenses. It is possible that Bruno Dornoroviteh and Peter Zvirbulis mil cost little short of £100 before they reach their destination. Another Clan liner was troubled with stowaways some time ago, when the Clan Macintosh left the West Indies with seven in the hold. They were brought to Cape Town, bat no steamer was available to take thVm back until the Macintosh returned from discharging her cargo up tho coast; and meanwhile the ship owner had to pay their expenses for over 70 days One of the worst instances occurred when a vessel left Melbourne with a stowaway who developed smallpox,, the ship being placed in quarantine for a considerable period, involving the 'ship owner m heavy losses. ' ' ■■ Oil Resources. ' '-.'' Much has been written in the' past regarding the possible exhaustion of vthe oil supplies of the world, but little has been heard since a report was published officially in the United States.a year or two ago, and upon which such ridicule was heaped, indicating-■'' that we were coming to the end of . the world's oil resources. Since that time the whole aim of the oil producers has been to limit production, and'the position in regard to the world's oil supply was never stronger than it is at tho ..present time, when, simultaneouslyy the demand is greater thsn it has ever been. The fact of the matter is, as recorded in the Statistical Survey of the World's Power Conference, published under tho title of "Power Resources of the World Potential and Developed,""the wholo matter (of oil' resources) belongs more to speculation than, to exact science."!