Bird-Johnson's 100th Controllable Pitch Propeller For U.S. Navy

The 100th, 40,000-hp controllable pitch p r o p e l l e r manufactured by Bird-Johnson Company for the U.S. Navy will power the 31st Spruance Class destroyer, The Hayler (DD-997), currently under c o n s t r u c t i o n at Ingalls Shipbuilding, Pascagoula, Miss.

Delivery of this propeller, which brings the total to 4,000,000 hp produced for four U.S. Naval Programs, was recognized in a recent ceremony at Bird-Johnson's headquarters in Walpole, Mass. Rear Adm. John D. Beecher, USN; Archibald J. Dunn, Ingalls Shipbuilding; U.S. Congressman John Joseph Moakley; and George S. Kariotis, Massachusetts Secretary of Economic Affairs, joined the company's executive officers and employees to commemorate the event.

Assembled in the exact configuration in which it will be installed onboard ship, the bronze, five-bladed propeller, measuring 17 feet in diameter and weighing over 52,000 pounds, completed its final operational checkout at Bird-Johnson's testing facilities.

Suspended over a test pit 10 feet wide by 40 feet long, the propeller underwent an eight-hour dynamic spin test in air to verify proper mechanical performance and system reliability. It was tested at 110 percent of design speed — 183 rpm.

This is the 71st propeller delivered to Ingalls under a Navy contract; the remainder were supplied to Bath Iron Works, Maine, and Todd Shipyards, California.

In recognition of Bird-Johnson Company's long-term, successful involvement with Ingalls Shipbuilding and the U.S. Navy, company officers Charles A. Orem, Howard H. Scott, and Donald E.

Ridley presented plaques commemorating the 100th propeller delivery to Archibald Dunn, vice president, Programs Management at Ingalls, and Admiral Beecher, Deputy Commander for Surface Combatant Ships, Naval Sea Systems Command. Admiral Beecher noted in his remarks to the crowd, "By the end of this decade, about half of the surface combatant ships in the U.S. Navy will mount Bird-Johnson propellers."

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Maritime Reporter

First published in 1881 Maritime Reporter is the world's largest audited circulation publication serving the global maritime industry.