The Royal Research Ship Research

Abstract

THE destruction of the non -magnetic ship A Carnegie by an explosion, at Apia, Western Samoa, on November 29, 1929, brought to a sudden end the magnetic survey of the oceanic areas, which had been carried on for twenty-five years by the Carnegie Institution of Washington. The Carnegie had been specially designed and constructed for obtaining magnetic observations at sea. She was a hermaphrodite brig, built of white oak and pine, with copper or bronze fastenings, and with a displacement of 568 tons. She was equipped with an auxiliary engine, capable of giving a speed of about 6 knots in calm weather; the engine was of internal combustion type and, at first, used gas generated from solid fuel, but, as this proved not altogether satisfactory, petrol was substituted. Sufficient fuel was carried to give a cruising range of 2,000 miles at 6 knots. With the exception of cast-iron pistons for the cylinders of the engine and the steel cams necessary for operating the valves, amounting in all to less than 600 lb., no magnetic material was used in the construction of the ship.