Making Armor Plate
View of the armor plate machine shop at the Bethlehem Steel Company. The varied and complex machining required on armor plate demands tools of enormous size and strength as well as varied purpose. In this shop the different groups of armor are assembled in the position they will occupy on the vessel for which they are intended, and inspected before shipment.
Courtesy of Bethlehem Steel Co.
FORGING
One-piece, 90-degree, double-throw crank shaft for 5,400 H. P. gas engine. Diameter of shaft, 37 inches, with 10-inch hole. Length over all, 25 feet 5 inches. Crank webs, 163⁄8 inches thick, 6 feet 11⁄2 inches long, 4 feet 1 inch wide. Forged weight of shaft, 133,400 pounds. Finished weight, 83,855 pounds.