THE ATOMIC BOMB

Evening Star, Issue 25700, 25 January 1946, Page 5

THE ATOMIC BOMB

TO BE TRIED AGAINST WARSHIPS AMERICA PREPARING " GUINEA-PIG " FLEET WASHINGTON, January 24. "Atomic bomb tests against naval craft will be commenced m the Pacific on May 1 and (probably concluded early in July. They are expected to prove that the atom bomb can vaporise or sink the strongest ships ever constructed by the United States, Germany, or Japan. According to a ' Chicago Sun ' correspondent, a naval mobilisation nearly as great as that for the invasion of Okinawa is being assembled, including the German cruiser Prinz Eugen, the principal surviving Japanese battleship, Nagato, and the American battleships Pennsylvania and Nevada, which were damaged at Pearl Harbour and later returned to active duty. Several destroyers and submarines will also act as guinea pigs. A House of Representatives Naval Affairs committeeman said that the battleships Arkansas and New York and the carrier Saratoga will also be used in the tests, which will be under the direction of Vice-Admiral W. H. P. Blandy, Deputy Chief ,of Naval Operations (Special Weapons). Details of the tests will be kept secret for some time, especially since their outcome will determine in some respects the future of capital ships as the backbone of modern navies. « The extensive Oakridge plants have already been rendered technically obsolete by new atomic _ energy techniques, Dr J. R. Dunning, an atomic research scientist, told the American Institute of Electrical Engineers. He added that atomic power could compete commercially with aviation petrol and other fuels if certain engineering problems could be solved. For example, the development of new metals capable of withstanding the intense heat .generated by atomic energy and the construction of huge atomic boilers. He added that only very large power plants, such as those on battleships, could use atomic energy effectively. The first commercial uses of atomic energy would probably be alo v ng conventional lines to drive generators. Later, it may be possible to convert atomic energy directly into electrical energy without turbines.