GIANT LINER

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21910, 20 September 1934, Page 8

GIANT LINER

SECRECY IN BUILDING J0,000,000 I RIVETS IN HULL I. ' SPECIAL SAFETY DEVICES 10 MILES OF CARPET NEEDED No. II No " mystery " ship of the war was built in deeper secrecy than that which shrouded the commencement of work on the giant British liner " 534." Gates were closed against all save officials and workmen, and elaborate precautions w«!re taken to exclude sightseers.

Everything about the "534 " was planned on a gargantuan scale. Her three funnels could each accommodate multiple streams of road traffic, if laid on their sides, and the weight of her 10,000,000 rivets alone totals 4000 tons. Some large rivets each weigh 111b. Should the propelling machinery be forced it is , capable of generating 210,000 shaft horse-power, which is 80,000 to 90,000 shaft horse-power greater than that of the Bremen. The machinery of the Mauretania generates only 75,000 shaft horse-power. In spite of the prodigious power of the " 534," the liner will be freq from vibration, even when steaming at full speed. She will establish a new standard of safety at sea. The hull is divided into watertight compartments so that even should she receive extensive damAge below the waterline she will remain afloat and seaworthy. Two Extra Decks At first it ( was proposed that the liner should have only nine decks at the time of her launching, but Buch rapid progress has been made that, in order to retain the "black squad," which otherwise would have been suspended it was decided to proceed with the construction of two additional decks and this work is now well in hand and will be completed before the vessel is launched next Wednesday. The vessel will have 27 oil-fired boilers which will drive turbines containing 257,000 blades./ These turbines will turn four propellers. Two weighty pieces of apparatus are a gear case, weighing about .200 tons and fitted to a limit of one and a-half thousandths of an inch, and a, gyroscopic device which weighs about 300 tons. This latter device is to ensure the ship's steadiness, in addition to which she is fitted with antirolling bilge keels. All the engine rooms, boiler rooms and auxiliary machinery spaces will be isolated from one another and the control positions will be so duplicated that, not under the worst conditions, could the ship be rendered completely helpless. Special Attention has been paid to strengthening the massive hull. In fact " 534 " is practically a ship within a ship.

Vessel's Double Bottom The vessel lifts ft double bottom extending; her full length, the depth between this double bottom and the keel being more than six feet. The double .bottom has been subdivided into more ' ' than 60 watertight compartments which will be used for the carriage of water ballast. In addition, an inner skin of over 30 feet running up the side of the ship to above waterline, and extending almost the*' full length, has been constructed. The space between this inner «lrin and the outer shell is. in some places, nearly 20 feet, and will be used to hold oil fuel. It is not officially claimed that the vessel will be unsinkable, but she will be able to remain afloat after receiving damage that would send any ordinary liner to the bottom. In fact, whole sections of the hull could be destroyed without causing the ship to sink. As evidence of the principle of duplication and multiplication which has been followed throughout, the vessel will hare 20 separate radio stations on board, each with its own operator. The actual weight of the metal used in the construction of the vessel is 60,000 tons. iThree thousand men were at work at one time on the ship itself, while work for many thousands more has been provided in all parts of England in making the equipment, which includes 4000 beds, 9000 pieces of silverware, 300 electric motors, 100 miles of electric cables, four miles of wire cables, hawsers and ropes, 10 miles of carpet and 3000 ft. of oil piping. A Streamlined Rudder The rudder, of the ship alone weighs 163 tons, being the largest rudder in the world. It is streamlined and made ' of special steel and so perfectly poiled and delicately balanced that it will absorb the highest-degree of stresses in steering. It was swung unto position on August 7. / How long the t will remain the largest liner in the world is a matter of conjecture, Bince' the Compagnie Generate Trinsatlantique, of France, has under construction a vessel of 79,000 tons, to be named the Normandie. The French Government is providing a financial guarantee for the j work. This ship will be 6000 tons larger than the "534," but until the Normaiidie is launched the "534," after next Wednesday, by virtue of being afloat, will have the prior claim to being the world's largest liner. The largest liner at present afloat is the Majestic, which is 58,599 tons.

When the Normandie is launched she will assume the distinction of being the largest liner v but this will revert again in due course to a second vessel which the Cunard Company intends to build as a sister ship to the "534." This vessel will be longer than the "534" and bigger even than the Normandie, and it is anticipated that the keel will be laid before Christmas this year.

Resumption o 1 Building it was expected when the contract for the "$34" was let in December, 1930, that the launching would take place about the middle of 1932, but owing to the economic depression work was suspended after it had been in progress for a year. Subject to certain arrangements with the Treasury, however, the Government made advances to provide for the completion of the ship, and work was resumed last April. The resumption of building was an occasion for great rejoicing on the Clyde. Led by a pipe band playing "The' Campbells Are Coming," the * men returned to work full of enthusiasm. The first workmen to board the vessel were a squad of carpenters. They were followed by engineers and rivetters. Within a few moments yellow smoke was curling from the fires ' kindled by the "rivet boys," and gradually the silence which had reigned for so many months was changed into a thunderous roar.