The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1878-09-12
Ts,e r.,vcntorof Trors.ciatls prepar.ns
p - neyolutionigc Naval Warfare
Frcni the New York SUM-

~. 80 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 40 90 q
Again.
81 From the New York SUM-
sS j,,,;.ss,,,,e tornedo- boat the Destroyersis
,,,snt;cs,iy built. and is now receiving the
snst soIiches OF the skilled artisans who
. ,,,,,,,e Il. The boat was fioated few days
arn and Is made fast to the pier at the foot
81 west Thirteenth street. 81:
40 nm illustration of what Captain Ertcs-
son expects the Destroyer to accomplish, let
! II be supposed that feet OF iron.clads, led
by such a monster as the Devastation, OF fhe
British navy, approached New York with q
view OF capturing The city. They have no.
thing to fear from the forts at the NarroWs'
with the Krupp gun aud the great improve
mepts in Mating iron.clads they would pass
almost as easily by the two forts rs they
would bv rifle-pits. The Destroyer IS cruis'
;rr in the upper bay. Two feetof her Dsack
iron ere all OF her sides that appear above
the water. A smokcstack as large but not
astaII ma an ocean steamships IS notlce-
able from its disproportionate size. The
beayy.pla,ed, sharply.angled bow rises
from the water more conspicuously than
any other part of the hull, while the brown
coiored officers quarters abait the smoke
stack only heighten the peculiar appear
ance OF the floating curiosity. The ofhcers
on the approaching iron-clad would notice
it because it would present such an ooa ap.
pearance, The instant the captain OF the
nestrover saw the iron. clad the lower deck
wnuld he closed and the officers and men
ali retire to the hold. Ala little Lockout IN
the bow the proper officer would place bis
eyes and give directions for steering. wa
for is let In between the main and lower
decks, and gradually the Destroyer sinks
until nothing is seen Of it but the smoke.
stack, bow, and officers quarters. The
engineer brings up the steam pressure
of his two immense boilers, and the
DESTROYER is turned head on towards
the immense iron-clads that are SLOW
" approaching. Suspicious OF the strange
thing. II he did not know what. II
was. The captain OF the iron-clad might bre
a shot or two. and then II tue moving
smokestack did not stop might SEND IN
broadside. After the smoke had cleared,
probably all that could be seen would be the
black bow, broken smokestack, and shat,
tered officers quarters; but the bow Wouid
be seen to be moving along at frisht1uii
speed. Down in the hold torpedo, charged
with dynamite, is being placed i'll the pneu-
matte tube, and the air-compress engines
are charging the tube. The officer, with
his ewes at the look out, steers the Destroyer
straight toward the iron-cIad, and directs
the tcrpedc-frers just where to AIM
the missile. When q hundred yards,
more or less. away, he will give the
order, the torpedo is released, and
with pressure Of $50 pounds an inch
at its fiat back, it shoots six OF eight feet
under water ut cannon-ball velocity toward
the iron-clad, and strikes it somewhere on
the hull. There will be little noise, but the
water will be churned some, and the iron
clad will lurch and culver, settle, and sink
probably before any one has the slightest
chance to escape. But the Destroyer, with
another torpedo in the tube, passes or to
the next iron.clad, and in a few minutes
that disappears, and so on through the fleet.
In a short time they are all gone. Then the
Destroyer will pump out the water between
her decks and the two feet Of black sides
will rise and the officers and men come to
the deck and get q breath OF air. They are
not gfimy with powder, aud have not been
suitocated with smoke. All this Captain
Ericsson believes that the Destroyer can do,
and one OF these fighters in each important
;harbor would do away with all need OF
forts and make navy for defensive war
fare unnecessary. In other words, Captain
Ericsson believes that the Destroyer will
revolutionize and practically terminate ma
val warfare, for nothing that can be made
to float and fight can withstand it. In
speaking OF the Destroyer few weeks ago,
Captain Ericsson said that he felt safe in
predicting that the building OF costly iron
clads and coast-fortifcations would soon
cease when the Destroyer showed how use
less they would become, and that it and
others like it would do the humane work OF
keeping the sea free for peaceful commerce.