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CONSIDERATIONS IN THE CONSTRUCTION OF 

 OCEANOGRAPHIC VESSELS 



William V. Kielhorn 



THE NEED 



Recently the Office of Naval Research was called upon to furnish the mili- 

 tary branch of the Navy with certain oceanographic vessels with which to conduct 

 a program of great urgency. A number of contractors coniplied with this re- 

 quest, as they always have done in such circumstances, even though it nneant the 

 partial curtailment of other highly important contractual work for the Navy De- 

 partment, and in two cases meant the complete cessation of oceanic investiga- 

 tion for the time being. This brought out very forcefully the need of additional 

 small vessels designed and equipped to conduct these programs which promise 

 to become increasingly urgent within the next few years. 



The present oceanographic fleet is a hodge-podge of jury rigs. The Of- 

 fice of Naval Research and the Bureau of Ships have been able to glean from sur- 

 plus, borrow from non-defense agencies and scrape from the Maritime Commis- 

 sion a few vessels which meet some of the criteria prerequisite for oceanograph- 

 ic work. None of these ships is satisfactory in all respects. Woods Hole 

 Oceanographic Institutions and some of the major universities, such as the Uni- 

 versity of California, have been able to afford small vessels of their own, but 

 for the nnost part these are no better than the ships furnished by the Government. 

 In spite of these physical limitations the oceanographic contractors for the Navy 

 have done remarkable well. They have on more than one occasion broken down 

 and had to sail home, making observations enroute. They have lost standing and 

 running rigging and have kept operating. Although most of the research fleet is 

 so limited in speed that the ships are unable to beat out of the way of approach- 

 ing gales and hurricanes, they have operated in dangerous waters at unfavorable 

 times for the sake of obtaining data which are of direct interest and/or applica- 

 tion to naval affairs. The oceanographers have proved themselves deserving of 

 increased confidence and better equipment. 



It is the author's opinion that the United States is still far behind in the 

 vital field of oceanography, both in its basic phases and in the resultant naval 

 applications. It seems incongruous that the greatest sea power in the world 

 should have no greater interest in the oceans than do some of the snnaller na- 

 tions, particularly in the field of naval science. It is known from recent Rus- 

 sian translations that the USSR not only has an intense interest in the oceans, but 

 that it has at hand scientists of very high caliber engaged actively in studies of 

 the seas. Great Britain, always a maritime nation, is increasing her efforts in 

 this direction, and the Scandanavian countries are doing likewise, although with 

 more emphasis on economic rather than military oceanography. 



