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April, 1918 vessels, it is likely that at least 150,000 deadweight tons of composite ships will be launched during 1918. It is on these figures that calculations of the amount of steel to be required in 1918 in carry- ing out the shipbuilding program. must be based. For the steel vessels, approxi- mately 1,168,000 net tons of steel will be required. For the composite vessels, approximately 33,700 tons of steel will be required. The total, therefore, is 1,201,700 tons, of which about 778,000 tons are plates and 330,000 tons shapes. In sheared and universal plates in dimensions which are suitable for ship- building, the country's capacity now is at the rate of 2,800,000 to 3,000,000 tons, and it conservatively may be estimated by reason of new plate mills which THE MARINE REVIEW dentally, the plate output which rea- sonably can be expected during the next twelve months, would be sufficient, were it devoted exclusively to shipbuilding, for the creation of more than 14,000,000 deadweight tons. Three Kinds of Shipbuilders Standardized and fabricated are en- tirely synonymous terms when applied to the majority of vessels now being built for the government. The es- sential feature of standardization is the adoption of designs which eli- minate curves wherever possible, thus enabling fabricating shops to furnish the larger portion of the hull steel. The ideal condition in standardiza- tion is found where shipyards, like 141 opening or closing of angles is neces- sary. These yards rely on outside fabricating plants for other fabricat- ing work, which constitutes all the way up to 88 per cent of the steel required for the vessels they are building.' The third group of ship- builders, already alluded to, embraces purely assembling organizations de- pending on outside shops for all of the. steel required. At least some or all of the fab- ricators who furnish material to the third group must be provided with all of the equipment necessary for handling this steel. The tools that are required include single and multiple punches, plate planers, shears, bevel- ing shears, scarfing machines, drilling, ssonenenny og a Photograph by International Film Serwice LAYING THE KEEL FOR A STANDARDIZED STEEL SHIP are under construction, that by the fourth quarter of 1918, the capacity of such plates will be between 3,500,000 and 3,600,000 tons. After deducting 778,000 tons as representing the requirements for our merchant shipbuilding program during 1918, at least 2,400,000 tons of such plates will be left out of the 1918 production to take care of other demand. Large quantities will be required for various military requirements United States, such as the construction of cars, locomotives, tanks, trench bombs, etc. and it is likely that our active allies will endeavor to secure at least 1,000,000 tons of ship plates here during 1918.. Therefore, while the ful- fillment of the shipbuilding program will require a much smaller percentage of the output than has been expected, war requirements generally, according to well informed estimates, will account for fully 75 per cent of the output of plates suitable for shipbuilding. Inci- the of the American International Ship- building Corp. and the Submarine Boat Corp. devote themselves entire- ly to assembling fabricated steel into complete vessels. So far this state of advancement has not entirely passed the period of organization. Shipyards in this country now fall into three clearly defined groups. The first includes established shipbuilding plants which have their own facilities for completely fabricating the plates and shapes needed. These plants are de- pendent on the steel industry only for plain material as it comes from the mills. The second group includes yards such as those of the Chester Shipbuilding Co., the Federal Ship- . building Corp. the Merchant Ship- building Corp. and the Newburgh Shipyards, which have their own fa- cilities for fabricating the bow and stern sections and other parts which have to be warped or where the rivets reaming and countersinking apparatus, while for curved work, bending rolls and presses, and bending slabs for bending the flanges of channels and angles. Also for bending plates for the bow and stern, presses for bend- ing shapes, special heating furnaces, etc., are needed. Only a few of the best equipped shops so far have un- dertaken the curved work. The principal tool employed: in -fab- ricating ship steel, in fact,*the tool which old-line shipbuilders regarded as practically valueless for their work, but which has proved a major factor in making the present speeding-up process possible, is the multiple punch. An idea of the punching which is necessary is conveyed in a recent statement by Homer L. Fer- guson that a 7500-ton fabricated ship requires about 650,000 rivets, which means at least 1,300,000 holes for alone. The multiple punch