Page Four,
THE GYRO COMPAS,S
The gyro-compass is an instrument
invented and developed in comparatively recent years. It was the outcome
of an increasing need for a reliable
compass which would not be subject
to the troubles caused by the larger
and larger masses of steel in ships.
As gyroscopes and gyroscopic reactions became better understood, experiments along these lines resulted,
finally, in the successful application of
the gyroscope to obtain a compass that
would indicate geographic north, and
at the same time be immune from the
magnetic disturbances inevitable on
all ships of steel. In 1911 the compass
which now has had the widest adoption in shipping successfully completed
trials, first on a merchant ship operating between New York and Norfolk,
Va., and then in the powder magazine
of a torpedo boat destroyer. It was
installed on a U. S. battieship and
two "repeater" compasses were electrically connected to it, one used for
steering and the other for taking
bearings. It was soon found that the
gyro-compass, on account of its integrity and its refusal to take up any
of the yawing movements of the ship,
afforded a base line from which graphic records could be made and turret
guns controlled. Eventually the master
gyro-compass became a most important factor of the gun control
system. After the first successful
trials, gyro-compasses were rapidly
installed on battleships and suumarines throughout the U. S. Navy, and
were further taken up by the British,
Japanese, French, Italian and Russian
navies in the order named; in the
years following the war, the gyro-compass was also adopted by a majority
of the important merchant fleets thruout the world.
In addition to the compass mentioned above, which is manufactured by
the Sperry Gyroscopic company in
Brooklyn, a gyro-compass is a Iso
manufactured by the Anschutz company in Germany. Still later there
has appeared a compass manufactured by S. G. Brown in Great Britian
and still more recently one made by
the Alma company in New York. With
each, the operation is based upon the
same fundamental principles, the method in which the gyroscopic element
(from which the compass obtains its
THE BLUE BONNET
directive force) is suspended being the
chief difference. The Anschutz compass employs the flotation method, the
Brown the so-called "oil pump" method, and the Alma the flotation method; while with the Sperry compass
the weight of the sensitive element
is supported by a mechanical method.
The compass first mentioned above
consists, essentially, of a gyro wheel
driven at moderately high speed by
electricity, its auxiliary· parts and
compass card all supported in gimbals
in a suitable housing or binnacle. The
compass is in reality built up around
the gyro wheel. When the compass
is functioning normally, its spinning
axis will lie in line with the true
north-south meridian.
On vessels the master gyro-compass
is usually placed below decks in a
clean and dry compartment. A steering repeater fitted with a reading
glass is located beside the ship's wheel
and adjusted to suit the convenience
of the helmsman. Bearing repeaters
are mounted on the port and starboard
wings of the bridge, and a repeater is
often placed aft at the emergency
steering station. Repeaters with bulkhead mounting may be used in the
captain's stateroom and in the radio
room, and if the ship is equipped with
a radio direction finder, a repeater
compass is almost always used in conjunction with it to obtain accurate
radio beari~gs. The course recorder
is located in the chartroom, where its
record is available for inspection at
all times by the captain and officers
of the ship. While a magnetic compass
is still standard equipment on every
vessel, it is fast coming to be considered simply as a standby in case
anything should go wrong with the
gyro. The gyro-compass is an instrument capable of withstanding considerable rough treatment. It is not affected by the vibration of the ship's engines on acount of the resilient support of the gyro. The gyro is likewise carefully balanced in such a
way that it is not affected by the rolling and pitching of the ship.
•
•
DEWEY'S GUNBOAT SAVED
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The old Navy gunboat Boston, of
Admiral Dewey's fleet in the SpanishAmerican war, was saved from the
scrap heap recently by government
order. The veteran craft will be taken to Yerba Brena Island.
USS Houston-lO-lO-36-900.
ADMIRAL SIMS
(Continued From Page One)
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Admiral Sims retired thirteen
years ago at 64 years of age, and for
some years continued helpful, if caustic, comment on naval affairs. The
Navy-and the nation- owes him a
debt of gratitude.
-Los Angeles Times
•
•
CINCUS NIGHT SCHOOL INFO.
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(Continued From Page One)
--::--
partment of the City Schools will
furnish instructors and some equipment for use here in the Y. M. C. A.
Building, and other courses will be
given in various school buildings in
the city. Men, desiring to have information about these subjects and
to make a preliminary registration,
may do so with us at any time. Below is a list of some of the subjects
which are suggested as of probable
interest to Navy men and others may
be provided if there is sufficient demand for them:
Mathematics, Shorthand and Typing, Radio instruction, Theory and Advanced Radio Code, Photography,
Spanish, English, Public Speaking,
ArChitecture, and Diesel Motors."
•
••
A PRAYER
--::--
Our fathers who are in California,
Hollywood be thy name.
Thy cinemas come,
Thy stills be dumb in Los Angeles as
in New Haven.
Give us this day our daily news reel
And forgive us our censorship,
As we forgive those who show double
features before us.
Lead us not into musical comedies,
But deliver us from Wild Westerns,
For thine is the King Kong, the Powell, and the Gloria Swanson,
For ever and ever, ah me!
-Stanford Chapparal.
•••
Joe (to manager) -This soup, I
can't eat it.
Manager-I'll take care of it at
once. Call the Chef.
Joe (to chef) -Dammit, I can't eat
this soup.
Chef-What's the matter with it?
Joe-Nothing, only I ain't got a
spoon.