Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-12-27
A Torpcdo-fatcner.
London TimeS.i

system Of small, understanding torpedo
craft as armored protection for battle
ships became in consequence OF the
growth Of the gun. The catchers, or
police Of the sea, do not differ, except
in bulk and speed, from the active
and dangerous little enemies which
they are intended to capture or destroy,
and in this respect the Admiralty would
appear to have applied the old detective
principle Of setting thief to catch q
thief. The first of the new craft yet
anoat was tried in StokeS's bay, near
Portsmouth, on Friday last, with re-
markable results. not only as regards
speed but also as regards msnGuvr'ng
power. This latter quality of the tor
pedo-cstcher was even more noteworthy
than the former, and has been secured
by the application Of a principle which,
though successfully tried in steam PIN
nances and launches and in various SUBJ
marine miners built for the royal engi-
neers, had not previously been adapted
to hrst-clsss torpedo-veSSels. During
the past four years we have
On various occasions noticed the
gradual development Of the in
ventiOn Of Mr.. John Samuel White,
Of East Cowes, which is now popularity
known in the service as his turn
about" system. Boats built accord
ing to this plan have their deadwood
removed in order to obtain facility IN
turning. and are fitted with an inner
and an outer rudder, simultaneously
actuated, either Of which would suffice
to steer the vessel in the event Of the
other being lost or disabled. The
present experimental torpedo-boat was
undeItsl en- by Mr.. White for the pur-
pose Of demonstrating the applicability
Of his invention to larger vessels, and
with a view to her acceptance by the
Admiralty on her fulfilling all the
conditions guaranteed. She is con-
siderably larger than any Of the exist
ing torpedo craft in her Majesty's navy,
being 10 feet long. l. feet e inches
broad, and 9 feet inches deep. Her
displacement is about - tons. Her
lines resemble those Of similar vessel,
now in use. but she Is fitted with tur-
tie deck and spur ram. Like the
Others. she Is built Of thin steel. and
has a coming tower amldshipS. from
whence she will he steered IN sction.
M,sSrS. &. & +. BelliSS. Of Birmingham,
the maker, Of all the machinery OF
Mr.. Whites boats. Joined with him
in the undertaking. supplying COM
pound engines Of the three-cy-
Under type, the high-pressure cy-
linGer being twenty inches and the
two low-presSure cylinders twenty-four
inches in diameter, the whole being sup
ported on light steel columns. The
stroke is eighteen inches. Great care
has been taken in the design TO keep
the weights as low as possible, having
due regard TO efficiency. There are two
air.pumps driven off the lOw-pressure
cross heads. while the feed-pumps are
driven direct from the crank-shsft.
Steam is supplied by two locomotive
boilers, with the feeds so arranged as
to insure an equal supply of water to
each boiler. and as the result OF the
trial the possibility Of successfully en-
ploying two boilers with forced draught
without difficulty, either as regards the
feed or printing, was clearly demon
strated. A great feature in the
desi.n is the division Of the
boiler-room by longitudinal wa
ter-tisht bulkhead, the connections
being arranged so that either boiler can
be worked independently in case of &C
cident. The vessel is also steered by
steam. The trial was conducted by
Mr.. White and Mr.. Morcom. The
weather was somewhat boisterOus, but
notwithstanding the state OF the sea the
vessel was remarkably steady. and also
/ free from vibration when going at her
maximum speed. The total weight on
board was twenty-five tons. fifteen tons
representing coal and ten tons Furnished
/ by iron ballast her armament Of White
heads and rapid-hring guns. Provision,
however has been made for carrying
thirty-fye tons of coal in the bunkers
while the space forward and aft for
| the accommodation Of officers and
crew and stores is unusually
large. Six runs on the measured
mile were first made for the purpose Of
ascertaining the speed under the special
conditions Of load, which resulted in
/ the realization Of amean speed Of 600
knots. the mean boiler pressure being
l2G pounds, the revolutions 80 per
minute. and the indicated horsepower
lbs. The highest speed in the dl.
Iection Of the wind was 22.43 knots,
and the following times which it took
20 complete the miles will show the
regularity with which the speed was
maintained With the wind, 2:43,
2:40}. and 2:40l lrepeated) against
the wind. 500. 500, and 3:0j.
The average indicated horsepower,
per square foot OF CRATE, was
-. which was maintained with a
mean air-pressure in the stoke-holes of
Of q inches. which was considered q
very high result. The vessel was after
ward tested in the usual manner for
man~uvring power. At full speed,
with the helm hard over 80 degrees,
the starboard circle was completed in
LII l23s revolutions Of the engines,
and the port circle in l:l2 l270 reyolu-
tons. At half speed the starbOard
circle was completed in l:l4 l237 rev.
lutionsl, AMI The port circle in l:lj
GAG reyolutionsD. The diameter Of the
circles was about a length and half Of
the boat, or 225 feet. The craft was
finally run for three hours continuous
full-power steaming to test the endu-
rance Of the mechanism. No mishaps
occurred. and the speed and revolutions
we're maintained throughout.
Nodded One and Eioped with Another.
A Milwaukee special says: Charles
Denver, employed at the insane asy-
lum near juneau, Thursday married
the attractive daughter of wealthy
farmer Of that section. Directly after
the wedding Denver and his bride COM
pleted arrangements for an eastern trip
and were promptly on hand upon
the arrival of the evening train.
While the good-hyeS were being