The author's acknowledgments are due to the "Scientific American" for many of the photographs and line drawings reproduced in this volume; to an article by Professor J. H. Biles, published in "Engineering," for material relating to the Board of Trade stipulations as to bulkheads; to Sir George C. V. Holmes and the Victoria and Albert Museum for data regarding the Great Eastern, published in "Ancient and Modern Ships"; to Naval Constructor R. H. M. Robinson, U.S.N., for permission to reproduce certain drawings from his work, "Naval Construction," and to Naval Constructor Henry Williams, U.S.N., who courteously read the proofs of this work and offered many valuable suggestions. The original wash and line drawings are by Mr. C. McKnight Smith.

J. B. W.

New York, June, 1912.

CONTENTS

CHAPTERPAGE
I.Introductory[1]
II.The Ever-Present Dangers of the Sea[19]
III.Every Ship Its Own Lifeboat[35]
IV.Safety Lies in Subdivision[51]
V.The Unsinkable Great Eastern of 1858[69]
VI.The Sinkable Titanic[91]
VII.How the Great Ship Went Down[116]
VIII.Warship Protection Against Ram, Mine, and Torpedo[136]
IX.Warship Protection as Applied to Some Ocean Liners[161]
X.Conclusions[179]

ILLUSTRATIONS

Stoke-Hole of a Transatlantic Liner[Frontispiece]
PAGE
Riveting the Outer Skin on the Frames of a 65,000-Ton Ocean Liner[3]
Growth of the Transatlantic Steamer from 1840 to 1912[7]
Receiving Submarine Signals on the Bridge[13]
Taking the Temperature of the Water[17]
Fire-Drill on a German Liner: Stewards are Closing Door in Fire-Protection Bulkhead[21]
Fire-Drill on a German Liner: Hose from Bellows Supplies Fresh Air to Man with Smoke Helmet[25]
Fire-Drill on a German Liner: Test of Fire-Mains is Made Every Time the Ship is in Port[29]
The 44,000-Ton, 25½-Knot Lusitania[37]
Provisioning the Boats During a Boat Drill[43]
Loading and Lowering Boats, Stowed Athwartships[43]
The Elaborate Installation of Telegraphs, Telephones, Voice-Tubes, etc., on the Bridge of an Ocean Liner[47]
Hydraulically-operated, Watertight Door in an Engine-Room Bulkhead[53]
Diagram Showing Protective Value of Transverse and Longitudinal Bulkheads, Watertight Decks, and Inner Skin[57]
Closing, from the Bridge, All Watertight Doors Throughout the Ship by Pulling a Lever[63]
Great Eastern, 1858; Most Completely Protected Passenger Ship Ever Built[71]
Longitudinal Section and Plan of the Great Eastern, 1858[77]
Two Extremes in Protection, and a Compromise[83]
Great Eastern, Lying at Foot of Canal Street, North River, New York[87]
Fifty Years' Decline in Safety Construction[93]
Olympic, Sister to Titanic, reaching New York on Maiden Voyage[97]
The Framing and Some of the Deck Beams of the Imperator, as Seen from Inside the Bow, Before the Outside Plating is Riveted On[103]
How the Plating of the Inner Bottom of Such a Ship as the Titanic May Be Carried up the Side Frames to Form an Inner Skin[107]
Twenty of the Twenty-nine Boilers of the Titanic Assembled Ready for Placing in the Ship[111]
The Last Photograph of the Titanic, Taken as She was Leaving Southampton on Her Maiden Voyage[117]
Swimming Pool on the Titanic[121]
The Titanic Struck a Glancing Blow Against an Under-Water Shelf of the Iceberg, Opening up Five Compartments[125]
Comparison of Subdivision in Two Famous Ships[129]
The Vast Dining-Room of the Titanic[133]
The United States Battleship Kansas[137]
Plan and Longitudinal Section of the Battleship Connecticut[143]
Midship Section of a Battleship[149]
Safety Lies in Subdivision[155]
The 65,000-Ton, 23-Knot Imperator, Largest Ship Afloat[159]
Longitudinal Section and Plan of the Imperator[163]
The Rotor, or Rotating Element, of One of the Low-Pressure Turbines of the Imperator[167]
The 26,000-Ton, 23½-Knot Kronprinzessin Cecilie, a Thoroughly Protected Ship[171]

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTORY