James R. Harris letter to E.D. Meier - September 29, 1914
Transcript
E.D. Meier Sunday J.R. Harris [September 29, 1914] Col. E. D. Meier, Ridgefield, [Connecticut] Dear Col. Meier: Received your letters of [September] 19th and 26th, and regret to learn that you have been in ill health since last January, and we certainly hope that you will have a speedy return to health and be with us in December, as suggested in your letter. Last May while in New York I secured a contract for six 600 H.P. engines for U. S. Submarines L-5, 6 and 7. The contract price for these engines is over a quarter of a million dollars. The engines which have heretofore been built for submarines have not been satisfactory as far as we can learn, either in Europe or for our own Government. It seems there is continual trouble with crank shafts breaking and Mr. Lake, of the Lake Torpedo Boat Co., has informed me that the yearly upkeep of the engines supplied by the New London Ship & Engine Co. for the Holland Submarine boats, amounts to one-third of the initial cost of the engines. The engines which we supplied for Submarine G-3 and which were built at the works of Mssrs. Sulzer Bros. are not all that could be desired. A great many improvements can be made which are evident both to Messrs. Sulzer Bros. and ourselves. Under our contract we could have furnished the Government six engines exactly similar to those furnished for the G-3 and for which we have detailed drawings, but instead of so doing, it is our desire to build an engine which will meet the requirements of the Government and be an improvement on any submarine engine thus far designed. With this in view we sent our marine designing engineer, Mr. Verhey, to the works of Messrs. Sulzer Bros., he leaving New York the latter part of July. Unfortunately, the war coming on, he was delayed in reaching Winterthur, only arriving there about the middle of September. Fortunately the main submarine designing engineers were at Winterthur when he arrived, not having been called to join the colors under the mobilization movement then under way in Switzerland. We are busily at work in St. Louis, proceeding with the designing of the engines, independent of what information Mr. Verhey may gain at Winterthur, and have already made some very marked improvements on our own hook.
Transcript
Col. E. D. Meier
Details
| Title | James R. Harris letter to E.D. Meier - September 29, 1914 |
| Creator | Harris, James R. |
| Source | Harris, James R. Letter to E.D. Meier. 29 September 1914. Busch-Sulzer Collection. Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, Wisconsin. |
| Description | Letter from James R. Harris, Vice President of the Busch-Sulzer Diesel Engine Company to Colonel E.D. Meier. Harris informed Meier that they had secured a contract for six engines to be used in L-5 through L-7 Submarines. He also discussed the general work of the factory and the progress being made in manufacturing Diesel engines. |
| Subject LCSH | Diesel engine; Submarine boats; Busch-Sulzer brothers Diesel engine company |
| Subject Local | WWI; World War I |
| Contributing Institution | Wisconsin Historical Society |
| Copy Request | Transmission or reproduction of items on these pages beyond that allowed by fair use requires the written permission of the Wisconsin Historical Society: 608-264-6535 |
| Rights | The text and images contained in this collection are intended for research and educational use only. Duplication of any of these images for commercial use without express written consent is expressly prohibited. |
| Date Original | September 29, 1914 |
| Language | English |