354 



INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES 



Table VII. Submarines. 



The Engineer of December 1911 gives photos of the German U.S. Recent boats are 

 fitted with wireless telegraphy, armed with small disappearing guns, and are capable 

 of long sea voyages in any weather without escort. British boats " E, i" to "E, 16" 

 are being built to Admiralty design. (See Sir P. Watts's paper, I.N.A. 1912.) 



Diesel Engines for Warships. Russia has built several river gunboats of 600 to 950 

 tons propelled by heavy oil engines of 1000 H.P. Germany has fitted experimental 

 engines in an old torpedo boat, and also in a small tender named " Mentor " which has 

 two Krupp engines of 350 H.P. each. Holland is building gunboats " Brinio " 

 of 540 tons with two Werkspoor engines of 600 H.P. each, to give 16 knots. The 

 British destroyer " Hardy " is to be fitted with two Thornycroft engines for economi- 

 cal cruising, in combination with steam turbines for high speed. In England the 

 First Lord of the Admiralty, Mr. Winston Churchill, has informed Parliament that 

 "oil as a fuel offers enormous advantages to ships of all kinds and particularly to the 

 smallest kind;" and a Royal Commission was appointed in 1912, with Lord Fisher as 

 Chairman, " to report on the means of supply and storage of Liquid Fuel in peace 

 and war and its application to warship engines whether directly or by Internal 

 Combustion." (j. H. XARBETH.) 



INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES l 



Considerable progress has been made during 1910-13 in the development of the 

 various types of internal-combustion engines, more particularly in the smaller petrol 

 engines for motor-cycles, motor-cars, and aeroplanes, and in oil engines (Diesel) for land 

 and marine purposes. At the same time, the large gas engine using producer gas or 

 blast-furnace gas has been increasing its reputation for reliability and economy, and 

 is daily finding new applications where formerly steam-power plants were used. 



Petrol Engines. The classic racing competitions in England, France, and America 

 have given an invaluable impetus to the improvement of the smaller petrol engines for 

 cycles and cars. In England particularly, the racing-track at Brooklands enables manu- 

 facturers in the course of a few hours to subject their engines to a more crucial test for 

 endurance than could be obtained by months of trial on the road. Such engines in every- 

 day use are working normally at a small fraction of their maximum power, the full 

 power only being called upon for short periods when climbing steep hills. Hence the 

 value of (say) an hour's run on a racing track in a race or an attempt at record-breaking. 



The motor-cycle industry in Great Britain and America is expanding by leaps and 



1 See E. B. xi, 495 et seq. ("Gas Engine"), and xx, 35 et seq. ("Oil Engine"). 



