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Bids Received for Building Twelve Naval Vessels N AUG. 15 Secretary Swanson, O in the presence of department officials, high ranking Officers of the navy and shipyard represen- tatives, opened bids for the construc- tion of 12 of the 24 new naval vessels authorized in the building program for 1934-35. It is understood that the other 12 vessels are to be awarded to navy yards. The bids opened on Aug. 15 are for the construction in private ship- yards of one heavy cruiser, one light cruiser, two 1850-ton destroyers, five 1500-ton destroyers and three sub- marines. No less than 13 shipyards submitted bids and there was a marked increase in cost over the or- iginal estimates. This, it was ex- plained, is due to the uncertainty of the cost of materials and labor during - the period required for construction. It is to take care of this probable in- creased cost that the higher bids were entered. An alternate and very con- siderable lower bid was made in each instance on the basis of an equitable readjustment during the contract. Heavy Cruiser Bids Heavy cruiser No. 45 of 10,000 tons, with 8-inch guns, on which bids were received from four shipyards, the highest being $16,890,000 and the lowest $13,889,000 without ad- justment as to possible increases in labor and material cost, was author- ized by act of congress, Feb. 13, 1929. Light cruiser No. 47 with 6-inch guns and of 10,000 tons displacement was also authorized under act of con- gress Feb. 13, 1929. The ten additional vessels on which bids were received, two heavy de- stroyers, Nos. 381, 383, each of 1850 tons displacement; five light destroy- ers, Nos. 385, 387, 389, 391 and 393, each of 1500 tons; and three sub- marines Nos. 177, 179, 181, each of about 1300 tons, were all authorized by act of congress March 27, 1934. For the two cruisers the funds for commencing construction were in- cluded in the regular naval appropri- ations act for 1935. For the con- struction of the ten other vessels, on which bids were received, funds have been provided from the public works administration under the allotment made to the navy. The naval building program of 1934-1935 also includes twelve ves- sels to be constructed in navy yards unless otherwise ordered by the President. These twelve vessels in- clude two 6-inch gun light cruisers each of 10,000 tons; seven 1500-ton destroyers, and three submarines, Even after this program of 24 ves- sels has been definitely started, a total of 78 vessels in different classes will still be needed to bring the United States navy.up to the limits provided in the 1930 London naval treaty. These 78 vessels comprise, one aircraft carrier of 14,500 tons; 2 light cruisers of a total of 17,100 tons; 24 submarines of 27,740 tons; and 51 destroyers of 77,635 tons. To reach treaty limits Japan requires only one additional vessel and Great Britain needs forty-four. Contracts Awarded O* AUG. 22, only seven days after the bids were opened, Henry L. Roosevelt, acting secretary of the navy, announced that contracts had been awarded for 11 naval vessels to 6 private shipyards. The awards are as follows: One 10,000-ton light cruiser, to the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., at $11,650,000. One 10,000-ton light cruiser, to the New York Shipbuilding Co., at $11,- 975,000. Two heavy destroyers (1850 tons), to Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., each at $3,496,000. Two destroyers (1500 tons), to Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp., Fore River plant, each at $3,784,000. Two destroyers (1500 tons), to United Dry Docks Inc., each at $3,- 430,000. Three submarines (1300 tons), to the Electric Boat Co., each at $2,- 387,000. At the same time it was announced that 13 additional vessels will be con- structed in navy yards, and to be dis- tributed as follows: One light cruiser to the navy yard, New York; one heavy cruiser to the navy yard, Philadelphia; two _ sub- marines to the navy yard, at Ports- mouth, N. H.; two light destroyers to the navy yard, Boston; two light de- stroyers to the Puget Sound navy yard, Bremerton, Wash.; three light de- stroyers to the navy yard, Norfolk, Va.; and one light destroyer and one submarine to the navy yard, Mare Is- land, Calif. The awards to private shipyards were made in every case to the lowest satisfactory bidder, according to As- sistant Secretary Roosevelt. He also said that several West coast firms which had submitted bids had failed to provide the necessary bond. Work will start on all ships within a few weeks as plans have already been pre- pared and approved by the navy de- partment. MARINE REvIEw—September, 1934 In order to make the bids received as clear as possible they have been tabulated below according to class of vessels. The figures given under “proposal” in each instance are flat bids without any arrangement for later adjustment, while the figures given under the heading ‘‘alternate”’ are subject to adjustment for in- creased cost of labor and material during the period of the contract. Summary of Bids Received One Heavy Cruiser, No. 45 To be completed Jan. 2, 1938 Shipyard Proposal Alternate Federal $13,889,000 $12,889,000 Y. Ship 16,000,000 13,750,000 Bethlehem 16,200,000 12,970,000 United 16,890,000 13,510,000 One Light Cruiser, No. 47 Time for building—36 months Shipyard Proposal Alternate Gulf $12,600,000 $12,250,000 Newport News 13,700,000 11,900,000 Federal 13,997,000 13,043,000 Y. Ship 15,000,000 12,559,000 Bethlehem 16,600,000 13,244,000 United 16,800,000 13,440,000 Two 1850-ton Destroyers Nos. 381, 383 Shipyard Proposal* Alternate* Time (Months) Federal $5,258,000 $4,674,000 29 4,608,000 4,096,000 29 - 31 N. Y. Ship 5,550,000 4,600,000 5,060,000 4,225,000 28 — 30 United 5,710,000 4,570,000 28 5,000,000 4,000,000 28 — 30 Bethlehem 5,820,000 4,660,000 30 5,510,000 4,410,000 30 — 32 Newport None None os News 5,100,000 4,450,000 30 — 32 Five 1500-ton Destroyers Nos. 385, 387, 389, 391, 393 Class I** Shipyard Proposal* Alternate* Time (Months) General $3,635,000 $3,535,000 OME 385,000 ,285,000 27 — 30 Los Angeles 3,640,000 3,540,000 27 3,390,000 3,290,000 27 — 30 Gulf 3,850,000 3,750,000 22 3,600,000 3,500,000 22 — 24 United 4,428,000 3,688,000 20 4,100,000 3,430,000 20 — 22 Federal 4,633,000 4,212,000 27 4,109,000 3,736,000 27 — 30 Cramp 4,705,000 None 27 4,445,000 None 27 — 30 Bath 4,845, "000 4,180,000 24 None None (Continued on Page 38) *—In the case of each shipyard, the first bid is for one vessel, while the second bid is for each of two; and under submarines the third bid is for each of three. **—Jn the case of the five light destroyers and the three submarines, the bids under designation Class I are based on the government’s design; while a ae noted under Class II and Classes tis. C, D, E and F, are based on designs ae by ‘the shipyards. NOTE:—The full names of the shipyards corres- ponding to the abbreviations used in the above table are: (Bath)—Bath Iron Works Cor (Peiichen) Pee Shipbuilding Corp. Ltd. (Beth. Fore River)—Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. Ltd., Fore River Plant Ge. Union)—Bethlehem Shipbuilding Corp. Ltd., Union Plant (Cramp)—Cramp Shipyard—A. M. Waldron, chairman on_ reorganization (Electric Boat)—Electric Boat Co. (Federal)—Federal Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. (General)—General Engineering & Drydock Co. (Gulf)—Gulf Industries Inc. : oe (Los Angeles)—Los Angeles Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. (Newport Das a News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock (N. Y. Ship. Nee York Shipbuilding Co. (United)—United Dry Docks Inc. (Wallace)—Wallace Bridge & Structural Steel Co. 15