Dear All,
From the early C20th, Welsh smokeless steam coals (as given in the Admiralty
'A' List for, eg, 1912) were used by the Royal Navy's top fighting ships
because, inter alia, they gave a tactical advantage; if your fleet made less
smoke than an enemy's, you were likely to become aware of his presence
before he became aware of yours. Further, most of the smoke from burning
coal comes from its volatiles. (The rest is from the fly ejected during
charging.) But most anthracites had lower volatiles than most smokeless
steam coals (&, being harder, made less dust & hence less fly), so ... why
didn't the Royal Navy use anthracite?
TIA,
Kindest regards,
Ken (Smith).
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