Building a Battleship.

Kaipara and Waitemata Echo, 7 August 1914, Page 2

Building a Battleship.

Some Interesting figures are given by Mr. Alexander Richardson, of ' Engineering,' regarding the number of man-hour 8 required to build battleships in order to support the contention that two years is too short a period for the completion of the larger and more powerful ships of the present day. The battleship of fifteen years ago, having a length of 390 ft. and a displacement tonnage of 12,950 tons, involved in the construction of the ship 5,273,368 man-hours ; or fifty-two hours per week and fifty weeks per annum this required, for the hull alone, the employment, for two years of over 2,000 workmen. The first Dreadnoughts required a,489,863 man-hours, and the Iron Duke class, of ">ROft. in length and 25,000 tons displacement, involved 7,200,000 man-hours. or about 2,800 men for two years. Only about 2,000 men can be engaged on a ship without getting in each other's way.

The corresponding figures for the construction of propelling machinery are equally interesting.- The

reciprocating engines of the battleship of fifteen years ago, of 13,500 horse-power, required 1,789,000 man-hours, while the turbine machinery of to-day of more than double the power, requires 1,850,000 manhours. The small increase is explained by the fact that whereas in the case of reciprocating engines only some 55 per cent, of the cost was for material, the remaining 45 per cent, being for labour, the material for turbines, much of it machined ready to hand, notably the blading, absorbs 72 per cent, of the total cost, leaving only 28 per cent for labour.