REPORT OF CHIEF OF BUREAU OF YARDS AND DOCKS

NAVY DEPARTMENT,

BUREAU OF YARDS AND DOCKS, Washington, D. C., September 27, 1924.

From: Chief of Bureau of Yards and Docks.

To: The Secretary of the Navy.

Subject: Report of operations of the Bureau of Yards and Docks for the fiscal year 1924.

1. The following report concerning the operations of the Bureau of Yards and Docks for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1924, is submitted:

2. Expenditures for work performed under the supervision of this bureau during the fiscal year 1924 totaled $18,230,192.30, against $18,386,524.21 for 1923. One hundred and twelve public works contracts were awarded during the year and 144 closed. Since July 1 of this year 10 public works contracts have been awarded and 28 closed. One hundred and two contracts are now open. The largest single contract let during the fiscal year was for the construction of buildings, roads, and service connections at the Marine Corps base at San Diego, Calif., amounting to $541,000.

3. Appropriations placed under the control of the bureau by Congress for 1923 and 1924 were as follows:

On July 1, 1924, out of the total appropriated for the fiscal year 1924 there was unobligated $45,604.49. Including balances of appropriations for prior fiscal years, the unobligated balance was $1,797,913.14, but of this amount approximately $1,200,000 will be returned to the Treasury as not now being required for the purposes for which appropriated. Since July 1, 1923, the bureau has reported for return to the Treasury balances amounting to $3,383,820.54, exclusive of the approximate amount of $1,200,000 above mentioned.

DRY DOCKS

The

4. No dry docks were under construction during the year. large dock at South Boston was provided with a considerable amount

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of additional blocking to insure the better and safer handling of large vessels. At Norfolk the area adjoining Dock No. 4 was paved with concrete, some additional blocking was provided, and a number of alterations and improvements were made to increase the general usefulness of the structure. At Puget Sound large check valves were authorized for Dock No. 2 to better protect the main pumps, and the blocking layouts and sewer connections of Docks 1 and 2 were expanded. The dry docks at other yards and stations were maintained in condition for service, except Dry Dock No. 1, Norfolk, which was out of commission due to the condemnation of the caisson. The replacement of the caisson is authorized by the current naval appropriation act. There are now 26 naval dry docks, two of which are of the floating type, and two graving docks in San Francisco Bay and one on the Panama Canal Zone of which the Navy has preferential use.

NAVAL EXPERIMENT AND RESEARCH LABORATORY

5. The laboratory was placed in commission July 2, 1923. During the year several high-frequency electric furnaces, with suitable converting apparatus were provided. A generator building, a barracks building, and a garage were constructed. Work of assembling machinery and special research apparatus was also carried forward.

DISPOSAL OF SURPLUS PROPERTY

6. The disposal of war-time surplus property under the cognizance of the bureau continued during the year, and it has now disposed of practically all of such property. The east camp property at Hampton Roads was salvaged with very considerable benefit to the Government and the land released December 27, 1923. The Norfolk Navy Yard annex land was released September 17, 1923. The buildings at Coddington Point, Newport, were sold and removed, excepting a few reserved for present needs, the land being owned by the Government. Some odds and ends remain in surplus but are being gradually distributed for use and will soon be exhausted. The nonavailability of surplus material results in increased demands upon the bureau's appropriations.

POWER PLANTS AND DISTRIBUTING SYSTEMS

7. At the navy yard, Portsmouth, N. H., the construction of additional fuel-oil storage capacity required considerable increase in the boiler installation to supply the necessary steam for handling the fuel oil. To supply the increased demand, arrangements were made for transferring from the Philadelphia Navy Yard two 1,000horsepower water-tube boilers, originally obtained by transfer from the War Department's surplus stock. The boilers were transferred to and installed in the central power plant. Space for this installation was provided by removing several small boilers which had outlived their usefulness and were not arranged for efficient operation. In addition to the two larger boilers there was provided modern underfeed stoker equipment suitable for overload conditions, forceddraft fans and duets connecting to the existing forced-draft system,

rearrangement of the steam piping system, also of the existing hotwater heating system heaters and pumps. A new radial brick chimney with steel smoke flue connections to the boilers were provided.

8. At the Veterans' Bureau Hospital at Tupper Lake, N. Y., the bureau arranged for the construction of the main buildings, equipment and distributing systems for the hospital during the previous fiscal year. The project was completed when the work under additional contracts was finished, involving elevators for passenger and freight, and an automatic telephone system connecting all buildings and the exchange of the telephone company. These latter contracts amounted to approximately $16,500.

9. At the Veterans' Bureau Hospital at Gulfport, Miss., similar contracts to those mentioned for Tupper Lake for elevators and an automatic telephone system were entered into for the completion of the hospital, at a cost of approximately $18,000.

10. At the Veterans' Bureau Hospital at St. Cloud, Minn., contracts were awarded for a complete new boiler plant, consisting of four 400-horsepower return tubular boilers, including a radial brick chimney and river-water purification system. The boilers were obtained by transfer from Navy stocks without cost to the Veterans' Bureau. The work also comprised distributing systems for light, heat, and power to all of the buildings, interior heating and electrical systems for each building, and a refrigerating plant for coldstorage purposes. The approximate cost of the work at St. Cloud hospital was $250,000.

11. At the Naval Academy, Annapolis, Md., the boiler plant was equipped with a traveling weighing larry which was not operating satisfactorily, due to the difficulties of discharging the coal to both sides of the firing aisle. The existing installation was, therefore, redesigned, and a contract made for it reconstruction to permit the handling of coal from any outlet in the overhead bunker, weighing each load and distributing it to any stoker hopper within its range A water-softening plant was contracted for to treat the artesian well water so that it would be more suitable for use in the laundry or for feeding the boiler-plant boilers. Treatment of this water prevents the formation of scale in the boiler tubes and economizes on the amount of soap required for the laundry. The approximate cost of the two projects mentioned was $20,000.

12. At the Navy mine depot, Yorktown, Va., to provide a supply of electric current economically there were installed three Diesel oil engines originally obtained from decommissioned submarines, which were remodeled so as to be suitable for driving new alternators purchased for this installation. The cooling water for the Diesel engines is supplied from a spray pond constructed near the power plant by station labor. The exhaust from the Diesel engine is used to heat water which is circulated to radiators in the powerplant building, providing the necessary heat during the winter. The above-mentioned installation with all piping amounted to approximately $17,000.

13. At the New York Navy Yard, the existing ash-ejector system for the power plant was old, inefficient, and uneconomical in the use of steam. To provide more economical conveying of the ashes, a pneumatic ash-handling system was provided for the central power plant, an additional ash storage tank, and the existing tank modified