exceeded.

They had no doubt that in coming to a town like Cardiff, whose growth was one of the miracles of the age, that they would be heartily welcomed. It was not a town that had suddenly risen into importance. If they went back into the pages of history they would always find that Cardiff was a town of importance. After again thanking the Bristol Channel Centre for their effusive welcome the hon. member resumed his seat amid cheers.

An admirable musical programme, under the able directorship of Mr. A. E. Smithson, was then carried out. The organ solos "Menuet Régence," by Bachmann, and "Andante in A," by Batiste, were delightfully rendered by Mr. J. E. Deacon. The Caerphilly Male Voice Choir, under the conductorship of Mr. S. E. Evans, gave some excellent examples of Welsh chorus singing, and received well-merited praise. The song of Miss Beatrice Edwards, "For all Eternity," and its violin obligato, played by Mr. Lane Herbert, was greeted with tremendous applause. The subsequent efforts of Miss Edwards were equally appreciated, as were those also of Miss Dot Prosser. The playing of Mr. Lane Herbert was very effective in his violin solos, "Cavatina" and "Tarentelle." Mr. J. F. Coughlin gave a capital clarionet solo. The inimitable Mr. Bert Lewis, who is so well known to Bristol Channel audiences, surpassed himself, if possible, on this occasion; "I ain't a going to tell," and other songs sung by him were all extremely entertaining to his audience. Inkey and Oakey (Messrs. Thistlewaite and Williams), the humourists, and Mr. Elliott were all very clever in their various characters. "I'll sing thee Songs of Araby" and "The Last Watch," were most charmingly rendered by Mr. E. T. Haddon. "The Skipper," sung by Mr. Norton Deane, and "The Outpost's Vigil," by Mr. S. R. Ham, both evoked much applause. Mr. Sam Allen, in his humorous representation of "Our Village Penny Reading," was exceedingly good, and the audience insisted on his recall; Mr. Allen responded with a recitation. The duet, "Army and Navy," by Messrs. R. J. Williams and A. J. Parsons, was most successful. As an accompanist Mr. F. Jones acted admirably. Mr. J. E. Deacon's organ and pianoforte selections were a very attractive and favourite part of the evening's entertainment. A vote of thanks to the chairman was proposed by Mr. J. R. Fothergill, to which Dr. Elliott replied. The very enjoyable evening terminated by the whole audience joining with the organ accompaniment in singing "God save the Queen."

DEVELOPMENT IN DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION OF GERMAN MEN-OF-WAR.* BY HERR A. DIETRICH, Wirklicher Geheimer Admiralitäterath, Constructor in Chief of the Imperial German Navy; Member.

TE

HIRTY years ago only one shipyard in Germany was able to construct men-of-war adequate to the demands of the time, the Royal Prussian Dockyard at Danzig. At that time this yard was building the wooden screw frigate Elizabeth, and a short time later two ships for the newly-formed North German Confederation, the Undine, a sailing brig for training purposes, and the armoured screw corvette Hansa of 3,600 tons displacement; the last one was the first ironclad vessel ever built in Germany. The Dockyard at Danzig was fitted out to build only wooden hulls, so the iron unarmoured superstructures of this ship were built up by the Vulcan private dockyard at Stettin, the armour plates were ordered from England. In the year 1869 the first iron armour-clad ever built in Germany, the turret-ship Grosser Kurfürst, was commenced in Wilhelmshaven, where the new dockyard was not even nearly finished. The shipyard Vulcan in Stettin started shortly afterwards on the Preussen, a sister vessel of the Grosser Kurfurst. Work on these vessels could only be carried on very slowly during the time of the Franco-German war, so that the first iron armour-clad built in Germany, the Preussen, could not be launched before November, 1873. Her sister ship, the Friedrich der Grosse, was launched in 1874 from the new Imperial Dockyard at Kiel. Owing to the unfinished state of the dockyard at Wilhelmshaven, and the very unfavourable conditions, the Grosser Kurfürst was not ready for launch before September, 1875, six years after work was commenced. After the Franco-German war the Chief of the German

Read at the Summer Meeting of the Thirty-seventh Session of the Institution of Naval Architects.

Admiralty, General von Stosch, laid out a plan to build up the navy (Flottergründungsplan), according to which work was commenced, but is not quite finished at present, as not all types of ships have the intended number of vessels.

To get armour-clads as quickly as possible, it was necessary to place orders abroad, since German shipyards were not efficient enough at that time. The two armoured frigates, Kaiser and Deutschland, were built at Samuda's Dockyard from the designs of Sir Edward Reed, and were launched in the year 1874. These two ships still form part of the German battle fleet, after having been reconstructed, as well as it was possible, to suit modern requirements.

Since that time no German man-of-war of any considerable size has been built abroad, the German shipyards were in the meantime well fitted to execute all orders. Then those vessels were commenced which suited best the formation of the German coast. According to the building plan, four coast-defence armour-clads (Ausfall-Corvetten) of the Sachsen type were ordered, which, on a draught not exceeding 6 m. (19-68 ft.), had to carry the heaviest armour of 16 in. thickness (Sandwich system), and an armament of six guns of 26 cm. (10 in.) calibre. These ships are nearly the first armour-clads ever constructed on the citadel type. The keel of the Sachsen was laid as early as 1874, and she was launched in 1877; the first citadel ships, the Inflexible and the Duilio were launched in 1876. The last of the three sister ships of the Sachsen type, the Baden, was not launched till 1880.

Coast defence had to be considered before anything else, and, therefore, contemporaneously with the above-mentioned vessels, work was commenced, not on monitors as at first planned, but on ironclad gunboats of the Wespe type. These boats, of 1,000 tons displacement, were plated with 8 in. (200 mm.) armour, carried one gun of 12 in. (30.5 cm.) calibre, and drew only 3 m. (9.84 ft.). Eleven of these boats were built.

For a long time no armour-clad was built in Germany except the Oldenburg, which was started in March, 1883, and finished in November, 1886. She was intended to be the fifth vessel of the Sachsen type; but, owing to want of money, she had to be made smaller and of quite another type.

With the armour-clad Siegfried a quite new type was started in 1887, also intended for coast defence only, and especially for the mouth of the river Elbe, on account of the construction of the Kaiser Wilhelm Canal.

Eight vessels of this type were built, but the two last, the Aegir and Odin, are somewhat different from the sister ships, being constructed after the citadel type ships. The main condition for these vessels also is the low draught, only 5.5 m. (18 ft.). They carry, on a displacement of 3,500 tons, heavy ordnance, three 21 cm. guns, arranged especially for defending river estuaries, and are armoured with 240 mm. (9 7-16ths in.) plates, and have a speed of 15 knots.

Thus, since 1873, three different types of armour-clads, of 7,400 tons, 3,500 tons, and 1,000 tons, were built for coast defence, each type designed and executed for this limited purpose.

The construction of seagoing armour-clad battleships, which have to advance farther out, in order to defend the coasts more effectually, was not commenced before 1889, after a lapse of sixteen years. Then, however, four vessels of the same design were started simultaneously; these are the Brandenburg, Weissenburg, Worth, and Kurfurst Friedrich Wilhelm, of more than 10.000 tons displacement, a speed of 17 knots, 400 mm. (15.75 in.) thickness of armour in the belt which surrounds the water-line, and, in addition to a reduced light armament, six guns of 28 cm. (11 in.) calibre in three revolving turrets.

Two still bigger ships, the Ersatz-Preussen and Ersatz-Friedrich der Grosse (to replace the before-mentioned ships), whose principal dimensions were materially affected and restricted by the small size of the existing German dry docks, are being built now at the Imperial Dockyard at Wilhelmshaven.

The development of the unarmoured ships was strongly influenced by closely adhering to and imitating the types of screw frigates and corvettes existing in the year 1871 in the German Navy, the type of the full-rigged single screw frigates and corvettes with broadside guns without any armour protection. The vessels had full sailing capacity, and great stress was laid on the training of the crew in the rigging, but the fighting capacity of the vessels was neglected. Snch vessels were constructed even as late as 1887 (Charlotte, Arcona, Alexandrine). Cruisers to suit modern requirements were not commenced

before 1885. Three of those vessels of the second-class have been built up to now, the Irene, Princess Wilhelm, and the Kaiserin Augusta; the last of which is the first triple-screw ship which crossed the Atlantic. Up to 1895 only one moderately armed and protected cruiser of the third-class (Gefion) was built, together with a number of smaller cruisers of the fourth-class (Bussard type).

By this time the want of cruisers was felt so severely that three second-class cruisers of more than 5,600 tons (ErsatzFreya, K and L) and one first-class armoured cruiser of 10,650 tons (Ersatz Leipzig) were commenced. To these vessels were added this year two more cruisers of the second-class (M and N). A special feature in the German Navy has always been the "avisos," speedy vessels of small fighting capacity, designed only to serve as scouts for the fleet. But soon these vessels were required to fight, especially after the introduction of the torpedo ;

strong influence of His Majesty the Emperor, supported by the great efficiency of the German shipyards, and steel works, and all those other trades which help to finish a modern man-of-war, opened up the way for the new development.

In the years after 1870, as the material was needed for the naval vessels to be built in Germany, ironworks had first to prepare to fulfil the orders for material of the same quality as was required by the English rules, which were adhered to. Plates and angles were soon produced, just of the same good quality as in England; but it was difficult to forge heavy pieces, like stems, sternposts, and rudder-frames for bigger ships, and for several years these had to be ordered from England. To-day in this respect, too, German works are equal to any demand; the stem and sternpost, with rudder-frame, of one of the armourclads of the Brandenburg type made by Krupp was much admired at the Exhibition in Chicago.

in consequence, the vital parts had to be protected. Out of the last German vessel of any size built abroad, by the Thames Ironworks, 1875-76, viz., the Zieten, the modern German "avisos were developed. These were first of all the Blitz and Pfeil with underwater torpedo armament and of 16 knots speed, forerunners of the later-built English boats, Surprise and Alacrity. The Greif, of 19 knots speed, succeeded in 1885, and was followed by the Wacht and Jagd, of 193 knots speed, and fitted with a protective deck.

After these come two small "avisos" of the same speed, the Meteor and Comet, of 1,000 tons, and then the aviso Hohenzollern, a splendid vessel fitted out as an Imperial yacht, with 21.5 knots speed, of about 4,000 tons displacement. The last of the avisos is the Hela, of 2,000 tons displacement, now beginning her trials. I will pass over the torpedo division boats and torpedo boats, even though the development of these craft in Germany is very interesting.

This short review, perhaps, shows some of the difficulties which had to be dealt with to build up the Navy. But now the

The production of armour plates for our armour-clad ships and Vessels shows a rather slow development. The armour plates were first ordered in England from Charles Cammel & Co. and John Brown & Co., both in Sheffield. In 1876 the Dillinger Works on the Saar made preparations to produce iron armour, and furnished, first, the 203 mm. (8 in.) plates for a number of armoured gunboats of the Wespe class, afterwards plates of 254 mm. and 305 mm. (10 in. and 12 in.) thick for two ships of the Sachsen type (the Baden and Wurttemberg), and in 1879-80 plates 305 mm. (12 in.) thick for the reconstruction of the Konig Wilhelm.

In 1880 the Dillinger works obtained the English "Wilson" patent for producing steel-faced armour plates (compound armour), and furnished those plates, first for the Oldenburg, and thereafter for all armour-plated German ships, until, in 1890, steel-faced plates were superseded by nickel armour plates, which are also produced by the Dillinger works.

Since 1891 the works of Krupp, in Essen, also have made great preparations to manufacture armour plates. These two factories

now work together, and not only can turn out all the armour plates needed in Germany, but execute foreign orders also. The latest face-hardened armour plates of these two works are perhaps the best plates produced anywhere. Germany has become perfectly independent in this respect also.

England has been Germany's teacher in the construction of hulls, engines, and boilers. Those ships which were brought from and built in England for the German Navy had to serve as standards from which to imitate the details. Our inspectors kept their eyes and ears open, and the many publications, as, for instance, Sir Edward Reed's and Sir William White's precious works, the Transactions of the Institution of Naval Architects, the instructive articles in the periodicals, Engineer and Engineering, offered an abundance of information to those who intended

details of engines and boilers, taking advantage of all the new inventions in England and France.

To-day the construction of navy vessels in Germany is worked out from original ideas, in order to fulfil the military requirements for each type. The new German men-of-war now in course of construction will, in many respects, be worthy of interest, since all modern improvements in science and technical knowledge have been taken advantage of to produce a most perfect tool for any war purpose.

I shall describe now, in a very few words, some arrangements in which German men-of-war, in my opinion, differ from the English-built warships. I mention here, first of all, the divisions into watertight compartments.

The armour-clads, armoured cruisers, and protected cruisers

to learn, like the Germans of that time. The engines of the screw frigate Elizabeth had to be ordered, in 1867, from England (Maudslay), because they could not be designed and built in Germany. The first large screw engines for Navy ships were constructed in 1871 and in the following years at the works of Egells, in Berlin, for the corvettes Ariadne and Luise, and at the Vulcan Works in Stettin, in 1874 for the armour-clad Hansa. These engines were of English model in general design, and entirely so in all details.

But since that time German industry has made such progress in the building of large marine engines that it now comes up to the highest standard, and has grown to be wholly independent. Already, nearly twenty years ago, German manufacturers went their own way in working out the plans and the

are divided into as many watertight compartments as it was deemed possible without interfering with the working of the vessel. Perhaps this is carried out already too far, and the service on board may be obstructed. The paper by Lord Charles Beresford, read before the meeting of the Institution in March of this year, mentions those considerations which prompted the constructor here to carry every athwartship-bulkhead above the waterline, without any door in it. Any door may be left open, therefore, one has to accept the probability that it will be left open, and, consequently, it is better to have no door at all. Communication from one engine-room to the other, from one stokehold to the other, must be established only over the protective deck, above water, or may be carried on below by telegraphs and speaking-tubes.

Only in the athwartship bulkheads which are beneath the protective underwater deck of citadel ships, or in the foremost and aftermost parts of protected cruisers, doors are permitted. This circumstance speaks strongly against the construction of such vessels.

The above-mentioned principle is strictly adhered to in all new German Navy vessels.

It is difficult to ventilate a ship divided in this way. Air from above must directly lead into, and out of, each compartment between two athwartship bulkheads, which has direct access from above. Only for the forward and aft compartments underneath the protective underwater decks air ducts are carried through the athwartship bulkheads, and watertight shutters have to be

tricity as motive power, not only for those ventilating fans, but also for the turning gear of the 15 mc. gun turrets, for ammunition hoists, for boat-hoisting, and coaling winches and suchlike gear.

For the turning gear and ammunition lifts of the heavy guns hydraulic power has been retained, and steam is still used for the steering gear where it was especially difficult to install the electric motor as well as for the anchor windlasses, which are only comparatively seldom used. Only one vessel in the German Navy, the nearly finished Aegir, is experimentally fitted throughout with electric appliances, even for steering gear and windlasses. The result of these experimental installations will decide if, in the future, electricity can be used more extensively for motive

provided for, which are perhaps insufficient, but have to be made use of in vessels of the citadel type.

Modern vessels suffer a great deal from the heat which radiates from the steam piping belonging to the large number of auxiliary engines installed in all parts of the ship, and which supplies the ship with continuous steam heating. All attempts of engineers to cover these pipes with non-conducting materials, and to insulate them so as to prevent this radiating heat, have entirely failed, and every room through which a steam pipe is car. ried is heated very disagreeably. The best method of counteracting these effects of steam-engines and steam pipes was found to be by omitting them, and by employing electricity, the conducting wire taking the place of the steam pipe. Only by driving the many fans made necessary for the watertight compartments by electricity is the division into so many compartments rendered at all possible.

All new German warships in course of construction have elec

power on board ships and if the heat sources can be further dispensed with.

His Majesty's cruiser Kaiserin Augusta, of 6,300 tons displacement, over 13,000 I.H.P., and with a speed, at lead draught, of over 21 knots, is the first German vessel with three screw propellers; she is also the first triple-screw steamer which ever crossed the Atlantic. [In 1893, in order to be present at the celebration of the four hundred years jubilee of the discovery of America.] It is hardly necessary to discuss at any length the considerations which caused the adoption of a system accepted already some time before in Italy for the Tripoli, and decided on in France for the Dupuy de Lome.

By dividing the excessive motive power of the modern warships into three parts, the smaller engines could be more easily constructed, and, as they do not stand so high, it is less difficult to place the vertical engines underneath the protective deck. In a combat additional security of working is provided, as com

pared with the twin-screw ships, and, lastly, saving of fuel should result in using only one of the smaller engines when cruising at reduced speed.

Although the engine-room staff has to be augmented, greater engine space is required, and the three engines themselves are to a small extent heavier, these disadvantages were not considered important enough to outweigh the advantages of the triple-screw for all battleships, and for the first and second class cruisers in the German Navy. Triple-screws are provided for the new battleships Ersatz-Preussen and Ersatz-Friedrich der Grosse, the armoured cruiser Ersatz-Leipzig, and the second-class cruisers Ersatz-Freya K, L, M, and N.

In all the new ships the armament, and its protection, in accordance with the latest experience, require so much of the weight which makes up the displacement, that somewhere else weight had to be saved, which would be available for armour and guns.

Nowhere could weight be reduced, since more was asked for everywhere. Though, to facilitate work, more auxiliary machinery is installed, the number of the crew is not diminished; these engines require even more attendants.

The weight of the hull is, through rational construction and reduction of the scantlings, lessened as much as the strains will permit, in some cases even in excess of a sufficient margin of safety. Considerable reduction in the weight of the ship's hulls was effected by the restricted use of wood. The splinters of wood scattered by penetrating shells were always dreaded, the experiences drawn from the battle at Yalu have clearly shown how dangerous such combustible material as wood is for the construction of a ship and its fittings.

In the outfit and the construction of the new German ships wood is used only for a few minor parts. Wooden deck planks are no longer laid, steel deck plating is covered with linoleum, sometimes over a layer of cork. In the crews' quarters the sides of the ship are not ceiled, in the officers' rooms the ceiling is made of steel plates, 1 mm. thick, and lined with cork. For cabin bulkheads the steel is covered with thin woollen cloth, and with cork lining underneath, where it is desirable to exclude sound or lower the temperature. Where heat is radiated from engine or funnel casings cork lining is resorted to. All wood is removed from the ammunition rooms, save the racks for shells and powder charges, which are still made of wood. For all ladders and steps steel is used. The handrails on the conning bridges are no longer of wood, but of some other material which will not burn or splinter, and which is more agreeable to the touch of the hand than steel or brass. Chart-houses and captains' rooms on bridges are entirely made of steel, and fitted out with non-combustible materials. Since all such changes will be a little exaggerated it seemed to be advisable to abandon wood for the interior fittings, and especially for the furniture, and to resort to fireproof material which will not splinter. Many things were tried, furniture was made of steel and aluminium, lined with cork, and covered with linoleum or canvas, but it was not equal to wood furniture. Only the bedsteads are constructed of iron, steel, or brass, which materials are also much in use ashore. The insignificant quantity of wood in the few pieces of furniture when ignited is not the dangerous source of smoke, but much more is the outfit of the state-rooms, the mattresses, blankets, clothing, books, &c. Therefore for the present wood cannot be abandoned entirely.

Top and signal masts, flag-poles, &c., will be made of steel, but there one cannot save weight.

The fighting capacity of the ships is without doubt increased through these innovations, since the ship is less apt to burn; the effects of splinters are restricted, and considerable weight is saved, which is available for ordnance and armour.

But still greater reductions were needed, and though the power of the engines had to be raised their weight had to be kept as low as possible.

In the engine department the condenser plant is now exceedingly complicated, also the boilers are at present very heavy in consequence of the high pressure used. Boiler feed water, which was formerly not needed, has to be carried, and the weight of machinery has increased above that of the old engines with low pressure when the boilers were fed with sea-water.

Granted the modern engines consume less coal, might it not be better to save weight with a less complicated engine and carry more coal? I only refer here to engines of war vessels where quite other conditions prevail than in the Mercantile Marine, where the vessels always go at full power, while the man

of-war very seldom utilises the full power of her e gines ard boilers.

This is a chapter by itself worth the investigations of a specialist, who could thoroughly clear up this question, but it is outside the scope of this paper.

The engine weights could not be reduced, so one had to look for reduction to the boilers, which represent such a considerable weight. Here a reduction could be had by adopting the watertube boiler. This problem of the water-tube boiler is one of the most important and difficult ones in modern marine engineering, and is very actively discussed in the English, French, and German Navies. Subsequently to the French and English Navies, the German has also taken decided steps, accepting water-tube boilers for many vessels.

Not less than four different kinds of water-tube boilers are adopted for the new German ships now in course of construction, viz. :—

Aegir, armour-clad fourth-class, 4,800 I.H.P.

Ersatz-Freya, cruiser, second-class, 9,000 I.H.P....

K,

L,

Thornycroft boilers Niclausse 39 Belleville Dürr

"

The two armour-clads of the first-class, as well as the armoured cruiser, Ersatz-Leipzig, will be fitted with two-thirds cylindrical boilers and one-third water-tube boilers of the system which will be found best from the results of the trial trips soon to be commenced.

The English Navy seems to prefer Belleville boilers for bigger ships, the French Navy provides for these ships, together with the Belleville boiler, those of D'Allest and of Niclausse; the Dürr boilers are very similar to those last mentioned. The trial trips of this and the next two years will show more clearly the value of the different types of the boilers. All the so-called theoretical discussions and contentions are useless, only practical experience can decide this question, but years may lapse before it is settled.

In the future the use of water-tube boilers cannot be avoided in Navies. By fitting them for one-third of the engine power (13,000 I.H.P.), in first-class ironclads about 140 tons of weight are saved; and the reduction of weight for second-class cruisers of 9,000 I.H.P., where water-tube boilers are entirely used, amounts to about 280 tons. The combined working of watertube and cylindrical boilers was the subject of a paper at the meetings of the Institution last year, but no decided opinion was arrived at.

In the Dutch Navy, too, the combined system is adopted for the three new large cruisers, but in a different form to ours, as the Dutch intend to generate two-thirds of the engine power with water-tube boilers, and one-third with cylindrical boilers. The leading idea in the German arrangement is that, as a rule, the vessel steams at reduced speed, and uses only one set of cylindrical boilers, keeping the other free for easy cleaning. The water-tube boilers are provided in order to get up, in the shortest time, steam for the highest engine power, at all other times fres are drawn from those boilers.

The greater coal consumption seems to be a drawback to the use of water-tube boilers; only actual trials of ships in service will decide the merits of each type of boiler. In the meantime we are in the dark. It is at any rate hazardous to proceed with the use of the water-tube boilers, so long as we have only the experience acquired in the French Navy and nowhere else; but the increased fighting power demanded, which cannot be provided otherwise, forces us to such action.

What an engineer of rote wrote a short time ago in the Daily News is certainly correct, viz., "In the next war the side which has the best boilers will win."

Some more characteristic features of German ships of war could be brought forward; for instance, the fact that the protective underwater deck is never cut through for ventilating or coaling purposes; then the peculiar construction of the corkfilled coffer-dams; the singular shape of the stern and rudder; the very high bow and low stern; but it would take too much time to thoroughly deal with them.

The annexed table and three sheets of sketches contain the particulars of the German men-of-war of the latest type.

I trust, though this paper is necessarily very incomplete on account of the very short time available for its preparation, the Institution will perceive from it how hard we had to work here in Germany to call into existence a Navy in the short space of a quarter of a century; how we had to study and to test in order to