Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1890-05-15
SMALL, BUT EFFECTIVE.
The Torpedo-Boat Gushing as Good as Ten
Bigger Vessels.
Washington postl

Ever since the wonderful little Herr
schOH torpedo launch. the Cushing, came
here she has every fine afternoon taken q
party of statesmen for q spin down the
river. These statesmen have been those
composing the Naval Affairs Committees Of
the House and Senate.
On these trips down the river the Cush-
ing has usually been gone from two to four
hours. The little boat has been at some
thing of a disadvantage in her trials here
on account of the shallow water. Lieu
tenant Minslow, her commanding officer,
saws that any depth Of water less than a
| hundred feet retards more or less the yes
| sells speed. The run down to historic
Mt. Vernon usually takes forty or
| fifty minutes. Of Mt. Vernon the
| river widens and deepens. and here the
| evolutions are made. Lieutenant Wins
| low takes the steerman's place, and under
| his guidance the Cushing darts forward
| and backward-she can stop in her own
| length and back eighteen knots an hour
| turns around as if balanced on q pivot at
| her screws, whiTls round and round In
circles scarcely larger than circus-ring,
| all with quickness that is almost cat
| Ike. On one of these trips when the
| lannch was being put through her PAGES
| of Nit. Vernon, keeling well over on ac-
count of the narrowness of the circle she
was describing, her sharp stem struck q
| swell from passing steamer IN such a way
| as TO throw over the deck O sheet of spray
| that drenched Senator Faulkner, who was
sitting on camp-stool beside the forward
coning-tower Senator Plumb laughed
| heartily at the look of CONSERVATION on
| Mr.. Faulkner's face. A few minutes after
| the boat made so quick turn to port that
| Mr.. Plumb, who was sitting amidships
| talking was thrown of his camp-stOOl and
| almost fell through the engine-rOom hatch
way.
A remarkable thing about the remarka-
| bic little craft is the almost entire absence
| of vibration when being pushed 10 her
| highest speed. Down in the forecastle
where the tumult of the water churned
| into foam bv the screws is less noticeable,
| there is really nothing TO indicate that the
machinery is working at all. no vibration
| being felt. Each of the cranks of the five
| engines on each side is set at a different
angle, and this fact goes far, the engineer
| says, toward accounting for the remarkably
small amount of vibration.
From q short, rakishly-set staff at the
| extreme stern the colors fly. The screws
| throw such fountain of spray when they
are being pushed to high speed that tins
| fac is constantly drenched. The quickness
with which she can turn is evinced by the
way she threw Senator Pt1tmb of his camp
| stoo! as a shying horse unseats his rider.
The members of the two naval commit
| tees have eviDced the greatest interest in
the Cushing, and more boats of her type
may he built Senator Nawley says that
| the Gushing is wonderful boat. and that
he hopes she will soon be fitted out with
| torpedoes and given an opportunity to de-
monstrate her efficiency. The torpedoes
are 70 be of the Howell pattern. which are
| projected from a submerged port and pro-
PEELED by the momentum of iiy-wheel set
whirling at the rate of six or seven thou
sand revolutions minute Just before the
torpedo is started on its way. The Cush-
ing is TO be made double barrelled-tha is,
there are TO be two torpedo portfolios in
each