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Personal Sketches of Marine Men John F. Metten, President, New York Shipbuilding Corp. ECOGNIZED both at home and abroad for his accompishments in marine engineering, he is also an able executive of wide experience. EGINNING at the age of 16 as a ma- chinist apprentice, he is a shipyard man with an intimate knowledge of shipbuilding methods and personnel. HOUGH responsible for many inno- vations in naval and merchant ma- rine design his name stands for reli- ability and economical operation. HE selection of John Farrell Metten as president of the New York Shipbuilding Corp. brings to that office a man of high talent in marine engineering with an intimate knowledge of shipyard personnel and methods, an executive of broad experience and acquaintanceship. His election followed the resigna- tion, on Oct. 19, of Clinton L. Bardo who had been at the helm for the past eight years, Mr. Metten is a thorough going shipyard man, His steady advancements have been hard-earned in an ex- acting practical environment. Raised on a farm, he be- gan his career at the age of 16 as a machinist apprentice and then served as erecting department machinist and draftsman at the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co. During the following 25 years, he was chief drafts- man, chief engineer, and vice president of the old Cramp shipyard. After the Cramp yard discontinued operation, he un- dertook, as president of the Marine Engineering Corp., the first standardization of design for naval vessels build- ing in private shipyards and navy yards. The new United States cruisers Nos. 24-31, under construction at three private yards and two navy yards, were built from iden- tical plans prepared under his direction. He later be- came vice president of the New York Shipbuilding Corp. in charge of hull and machinery design, A pioneer in marine engineering developments—he holds numerous active patents on turbine design, ma- rine propulsions systems and auxiliaries —- Mr. Metten is noted for conservatism based on sound practice and common sense. In both the navy and the merchant marine, his name stands for simplicity of design, re- liability and economical operation. He has won world- wide recognition as an unusually talented engineer. With- out the aid of a formal college training, his accomplish- ments are based on self-schooling, private research and hard work. In June 1928, Lehigh university, in recogni- tion of his achievements, conferred upon him the degree of doctor of engineering, Among examples of his work are many naval and mer- chant vessels with fine records in service. There is the battleship Wyomine, famous flagship of the Atlantic fleet, dubbed ‘‘Old Reliable’ by her crew; and the pro- pelling machinery of the Fall River liner, ComMMon- WEALTH, one of the largest paddle engines in the world. He was the designer of the first large American direct turbine drives, in the liners GREAT NORTHERN and NORTHERN Paciric, the former a troop transport record holder in the World war. He was also responsible for the first large American turbine reduction geared drives, in the liners SIBONEY and ORIZABA. His engineering design went into many destroyers, holders of the coveted engineering pennant, including 46 destroyers built by Cramp during the war period and still in service. Among these is the destroyer Cote which at- tained the record speed of 41.17 knots on a special trial. The United States scout cruisers, RICHMOND, MARBLE- HEAD, TRENTON, and MEMPHIS, leaders, in order, in navy engineering competition for vessels of their class, are examples of his work. He was consulting engineer for the modern passenger liners Mariposa, LURLINE and MONTEREY, and he took an active part in the design of the engineering features of the liners MANHATTAN and WASHINGTON, now operat- ing so successfully in the transatlantic trade. He was the originator of the builder’s design, accepted by the navy department, for the 1850-ton destroyers and 10,000-ton light and heavy cruisers of the 1933 and 1934 building program, Through it all, Mr. Metten has worked quietly, con- fident that a job well done will receive the recognition it deserves. He is a member of the Franklin Institute. The American Society of Naval Engineers, The Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, American So- ciety of Mechanical Engineers, Institution of Naval Ar- chitects, New York Geographical Society and the Ameri- can Society for the Advancement of Science. MARINE REviEw—December, 1934 35