Show unsinkable SHIP L S MAIDEN VOYAGE OF VESSEL WHICH MAY SOLVE SUBMARINE PROBLEM BEING PLANNED without convoy and as a an open challenge to the germans the lucia endeavor to make trip across the atlantic washington the first non seagoing sea sen going ship the lucia achievement of Anic american rIcan genius will load this week find and leave for europe she will be without convoy at tiny any stage of the voyage she goes ns as tin an open chat challenge to the german submarines to prove that she Is invulnerable no other test lias has been made or wll will be mado made of the efficacy of her multiplicity of airtight air nir tight and watertight water tight cells her trial trip and maiden voyage will be a to the U boats or th the 0 most lost practical test possible of their marksmanship it has been intended to make a test of tho the lucia la in dry drydock dock but it was learned sunday from john A A donald vice president of the emergency fleet corporation and shipping board commissioner that the drydock test had been abandoned for drastic trial in tile the proving grounds of the danger zone inventor to oversee loading william F donnelly marine engineer of new york and inventor of the non uon sinkable construction of the lucia will have complete charge of the loading of the vessel although the lucia la is fitted with of 0 the water and air tight cells permanently attached to the frumes frames and deck benius beams and other avni available lable spaces of the vessel about 15 to 2 20 0 per cent of the cargo space e must be packed with additional numbers of these buoyant boxes sir donnelly personally will supervise this final phase of the safety equipment the lucia a ton vess essel ea formerly belonging to austria was requisitioned sit sitio ionea ned for the purpose impose and experiments were begun only recently after about four months of test aud and trials the new equipment was completed although no actual tests of the safe anfe ty of the lucia from torpedoes lias has been made the mathematical calculations from small scale experiments says air donnelly are considered sufficient proof that even with it a liole hole forty feet long blown in her side alic he would remain safely afloat supported by the honeycomb of cells |