Posted inShip Histories

Dreadnaught Leaves Ways

HMS Dreadnaught underway, 1906

Event That May Mark New Era in Naval Construction.

Portsmouth, England, Feb. 10.—An immense throng, including many prominent and distinguished persons, witnessed the launching of England’s latest contribution to the world’s fighting ships, the Dreadnaught.

The launch of the Dreadnaught, the largest and most powerful battleship of the world’s navies, marks the first stage in what the British admiralty claim as the greatest achievement in naval construction. October 2, 1905, only a few days over four months ago, work was commenced at Portsmouth on the vessel, the first of what is to be known as the Dreadnaught class. The promise was made then that she would be launched with in six months. The admiralty have more than made good their boast and Britishers have another cause of pride in their navy. Another 12 months, all going well, the Dreadnaught will be commissioned and join the Atlantic fleet, thus beating all previous records in battleship building by six months.

There are two reasons why work is being rushed on the Dreadnaught. One is the great saving in cost, but the chief reason is that the ship is to some extent an experiment and it is desired to give her a good trial before commencing construction on any more or her class.

Posted inMaritime & Naval History Mysteries & Unexplained Ship Histories

The Mystery of the Cyclops

The Unexplained Disappearance of the United States Naval Collier Causes a Marine Expert to Discuss the Fantastic Possibilities of Encounters Between Ships and Gigantic Octopuses

old illustration of a giant octopus wrapping around a 3-masted sailing ship.

The disappearance of the great United States naval collier Cyclops during the year 1918 has now been ranked among the famous unexplained mysteries of the sea, like the fate of the crew of the brig Marie Celeste and many another ocean tragedy.

The Cyclops, a ship of 19,000 tons, sailed from Barbados in the West Indies on March 4 last on war duty and has never been reported since. This great steel ship, with all her crew and arms and equipment, her wireless and her boats has vanished from the seas just as feeble sailing ships did in ancient times when the ocean was an uncharted wilderness.

By order of the Navy Department all available naval craft In Southern waters have been making a dragnet for the ship, but steadily the conviction grows among officials that the great modern mystery of the sea will remain unsolved.

Posted inShip Histories

Constitution in Port

Boston, February 18. — The Constitution Frigate came up yesterday, and anchored off the Long-wharf, about 12 o’clock. She was saluted by a federal discharge from the South End artillery company, and…
Posted inMaritime & Naval History Mysteries & Unexplained Ship Histories

Mystery of Lost Cyclops Probably Cleared at Last

Former Navigating Officer of U. S. Collier, Who Went Over Her Course Later, Convinced She Broke in Two Under Strain of Badly Stowed Cargo, Passed Buoy He Believed Hers.

New York—In an Interview given to The World, Lieut. James M. Hays who was navigating officer of the navy collier Cyclops until a few days before she put to sea on a voyage from which she never returned, said that when he went on the collier Orion over the Cyclops‘s course he learned enough from floating objects and Inquiries made in Brazilian ports to satisfy himself as to the fate of the missing collier and her crew.

From the bridge of the Orion, on which h also was navigating officer, he saw a buoy and what appeared to be a life-raft such as the Cyclops carried. The buoy was in latitude 15.31 north and longitude 58.27 west, or about 150 miles northeast of Bermuda.