THE COLLIERY GUARDIAN

AND

JOURNAL OF THE COAL AND IRON TRADES.

Vol. CVIII.	FRIDAY, OCTOBER 2, 1914,.	No. 2805.

THE COALING OF WARSHIPS.

WARDEN=STEVENS, M.I.M.E., A.M.I.E E.

By F. J.

The storage and delivery of coal to meet the require-
ments of a fleet is of more importance in connection
with a naval administration than might at first, perhaps,
be thought, and consideration of the conditions will
enable the prominence and extent of this service, as
well as the technical skill necessitated, to be more fully
realised. It will be understood that it is inadvisable at
the present time to refer directly to the arrangements
at any particular naval base or coaling station belonging
to this country, and, in fact, to that of any of the
allied belligerent powers ; or to mention which nation
has adopted one or other method of coaling described.
Attention will, therefore, be directed, generally and
briefly, to arrangements and methods which have been
devised and adopted, without mention being made of
location or name, except perhaps some indication may
be given in the case of a neutral power, and likely to so
remain during the continuance of the present war—•
comment may here be made that the outlook renders it
impossible or bold to forecast this.

The writer has previously referred* to the coal
resources of this and several other European countries
prominently in mind at the present time; also to the
principal coaling stations of the respective nations, and
it is not intended herein to discuss the question of
supplies.

It may be stated at the outset that circumstances in
time of war are naturally uncertain and differ from
peace conditions, but it can reasonably be allowed that
the delivery of coal to a warship ready for action must
generally be from an accompanying collier, and perhaps
while under way (steaming), whereas in time of peace
the ship would more often fill her bunkers at a naval
base or a coaling station. Special coal-carrying vessels
constructed for naval requirements, and in fact some of
the largest colliers, have a cargo capacity of over 12,500
tons, and, in addition, 2,000 tons are carried in bunkers
for the vessel’s own use, as well as. a supply of oil, the
boilers being equipped for the use of either coal or oil
fuel. These colliers are 520 ft. in length, 65 ft. in width,
and 39 ft. in depth; the height from the water line to
the main deck is about 29 ft. when light, and 12 ft. when
loaded; and the displacement about 19,350 tons, there
being 12 hatchways for loading and discharging the
cargo, and one hatchway for the bunker supply.

The colliers receive their cargoes, according to
conditions, either at the usual coal shippin g ports or at
the naval bases or large coaling stations, where supplies
and special equipments are available for rapid loading
The colliers already mentioned have been and can be
oaded at a rate of over 1,000 tons per hour, but, of
course, the nature of the loading equipment in particular,
as well as the construction of the collier, must determine
the speed of loading. A smaller vessel taking a cargo
of, say, 3,000 to 5,000 tons, and having a less number of
hatchways for loading at the same time, would probably
average about 300 tons per hour. The various types of
coal-loading machinery for- shipping cargoes of coal,
and the capabilities of the equipments available at the
principal coal shipping ports of this country, have been
referred to by the writer in “ Coal Shipping Ports and
their Equipment.”

A collier when loaded will steam out to a squadron of
a fleet to which she is attached, and will remain until
delivery of her cargo into the bunkers of the warships
has been completed. This delivery may be given whilst
at anchor, or it is possible it may have to be effected or
partly so whilst under way ; another alternative is that
conditions would not permit the collier' to deliver her
cargo continuously and that she would have to steam or
stand by to keep in touch with the movements of the
squadron. This specially will apply to a large collier
such as those first mentioned which have a steaming

* “ The National Importance of Coal in Time of War.”

capacity for a considerable range, at a speed of 14 knots
per hour when fully loaded, owing to the extent of her
bunkers and the fact that she is equipped with modem
turbine propelling machinery.

The coaling of a battleship, it will be realised, is a
different problem from that of bunkering an average
merchant vessel, the position of the bunkers being
generally more difficult of access not only on account of
the spaces occupied by machinery and equipment, but
because it is desirable to utilise the coal as far as
possible, before use, as an additional protection belt for
the machinery. Therefore, it will be understood that

Fig. 1.—Coaling a Battleship from a Collier by means of Portable
Transporter Beams.

Fig. 2.—Handling Coal in Bulk.



labour is necessitated in the placing of the coal on the
battleship, which is in excess of the usual bunker
trimming, as well as in the actual transfer from the
collier. This labour, however, is available in the
manning of the warship, and can be augmented from
other vessels of the squadron. Transfer from the
collier is frequently effected by special mast and derrick
equipments on the collier, the coal being filled into bags
or baskets and handled by high-speed winches ; another
method which has been extensively adopted by some
nations is the portable transporter beam; a further
system which has given good results in rapid handling
of large cargoes is the heavy mast and fixed derrick
equipment, with special and powerful winches for

hoisting and transfer of the coal in bulk with the use of
grabs.

Fig. 1 shows a collier which is rigged with the
portable transporter beams referred to, in the act of
coaling a warship alongside. It will be noticed that
the beam is suspended from a derrick and is fixed at an
inclined position, also that the beam supports a small
carriage; this carriage is moved along the beam by a
rope connected with a winch on the deck of the collier,
the rope serving the combined duties of lifting, travelling
and lowering the bags of coal, with the aid of stops
situated along the beam, at either of which, as required,
the carriage can be automatically held in position for
lifting or lowering. These transporters are capable of
lifting, travelling and lowering 30 cwt. of coal (in bags)
at a time, and by this system each can deliver 50 tons





per hour a distance of 55 ft. As they are portable and
easily rigged, they can also be carried by battleships
and cruisers themselves and used with the ship’s own
winches, for taking in coal from other vessels or small
craft not specially equipped; and a number can be
rigged to serve several hatchways at a time.

The method of handling coal in bulk is indicated in
the accompanying illustration (fig. 2) of a collier which
is equipped with a boom to each hatchway, whereby
each grab can take a ton of coal at a time, automatically
filling in the hold, and transfer' to the warship at a
speed of 100 tons per hour. The coal can be discharged
on either side of the collier if necessary into two battle-
ships at one time, and either deposited direct into the