^LECTRIC 



DMVE^BATTLESIIIP 



WHEN first one hears of electric propulsion as 

 applied to a modern dreadnought, the thought 

 which instantly forms itself is that the system must 

 be inordinately complex and costly; furthermore, it 

 would seem to introduce the combined losses of a tur- 

 bine, an electric generator and an electric motor. The 

 utter fallacy of this hasty conclusion is readily seen 

 when the facts presented herewith are digested. How 

 the United States Government is building the world's 

 first electrically driven battleship and this at a sav- 

 ing of some $200,000, together with a significant 

 gain in operating efficiency is told in the accom- 

 panying article, which was secured expressly for THE 

 WORLD'S ADVANCE. 



^ I A HEY do say it is bad form to start 

 A an article with an apology; just for 

 that, let us decline to admit that this first 

 paragraph is an apology let us call it, in- 

 stead, an explanation. When the writer 

 went forth in search of information bear- 

 ing upon the new battleship California, 

 the primary object in view was to secure 

 the details of her electric drive a radi- 

 cal departure in propulsion mechanism. 

 Before the quest for data was finished, 

 the interviewer realized that battleship- 

 building and ship-building are two sep- 

 arate and distinct trades. In other 

 words, he was given an intensely inter- 

 esting glimpse of the stages through 

 which one of our gigantic fighting ships 

 must go before a rivet is driven in her 



hull. Therefore, at the risk of being ac- 

 cused of a digression from the subject 

 suggested by the title of this article, he 

 endeavors to take the reader, in imag- 

 ination, through the enormous planning 

 rooms of the New York Navy Yard, 

 where the California is at this writing 

 undergoing the first steps in her con- 

 struction. But first of all, lest the digres- 

 sion be too pronounced, let us stop to 

 consider the ingenious arrangement of 

 the driving mechanism which is to put 

 this monster craft in a class by itself. 

 The steam turbine has long been con- 

 ceded to be the ideal source of motive 

 power for heavy marine work ; it is sub- 

 ject to certain limitations, however, 

 which detract from its value. For in- 



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