Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1894-02-10
COLOR OF TORPEDO BOATS.
The Question of Invis billy and the De e
vices for Securing It,

The Question of Invis billy and the De-
vices TOR Securing II.
An interesting series of experiments
has been made from time to time ut
Newport to determine what color of
paint is best suited to secure torpedo
boats from detection by an enemy The
question really has larger bearing,
since 1t concerns to some extent the
color of all war ships; but the value at
1nvisibility is especially apparent in the
case Of torpedo craft, which deliver
their fire at so short a range that they
may be riddled and sunk by the guns
of the ships they assault. unless they
can creep up for a considerable dis
tance undetected. Hence il is the Gus
tom to attempt torpedo attacks. whwh
er in practice or real battle. under the
cover of dark night. or in weather
giving at least partial conccalmcn,.
1t VIII occasion no surprise To learn
that white, the color dear to our pco.
pie as associated with the new steel
navy, Is not found desirable for the
purpose in question. 1t Is, in fact the
color most readily detected, especially
at night, A dark olive green color. aS
applied to the Gushing and the Stilrt.
to, has been found to give good results,
and now slight variations in the shade
are being tried. Commander Converse.
In his recent report. draws the follow
ing conclusions from experiments thus
far made: For torpedo boat attacks.
dark. misty nights are the best aS the
beam of electric search lights then has
little penetration. Clear nights are not
good, even if dark The boat should
approach in color the prevailing color
of sky. water and coast in the locality
Whnrtl il iS Ia no hn .,,l,r
should be dead, not glossy. Even the
glistening of the paint caused by being
wet by spray is Objectionable. If the
smoke pipe shows white from effects
of salt water it should be washed with
fresh water or covered with tarpau.
lins. The boat should try to move
against dark background. as, for rN
ample, rocky coast, when practicable.
1t is more readily detected when sill
houetted against light objects, or even
the sky. The boat should head for the
light as long as possible. as she will
then be bows on, and not present much
surface when the light strikes her. If
necessary to head off, she should still
turn bows on when the beam approach
es and resume her course when il is
passed.
1t is further found from the expert
ments that search lights should be put
down as low as the construction of
ships and weather conditions will per-
nit. while the observers should he in
a dark place, out of the glare of the
light, and preferably should be near
the surface of the water The Cush-
ing has been directed, whenever prac-
ticable, to time her return to the tor
pedo station from Noyack Bay so as
to enter the harbor after dark. Com
mander Converse reports that she has
frequently been able to do this and
even to get to her moorings undetcctcd
in many instances, although the ap.
proXimate time Of her arrival has been
known, and a search light in the tow
er Of the electrical laboratory has been
skilfully managed.
1t is further said that i'm n recent cx-
pertinent the Gushing succeeded in get
ting we'll within torpedo range of the
San Francisco without being detected,
although all the search lights of that
vessel were endeavoring to discover
her. These facts are interesting as
showing the progress of efforts to make
torpedo warfare effective in spite Of
search lights and rapid-tire guns.
Besides the olive green of the Cush-
ing, other colors are tried for torpedo
boats. Black, of course, is the most
common, and used to be the color for
all war ships, as it still is for most of
them to-day. Indeed the extra cool
ness to be obtained in tropical climates
from white was one of the reasons why
our navy changed from black. A shade
recommended by some officers is Il
lead color, with slight greenish color,
and this would have the advantage OF
not soiling as easily as white does.
This lead color is the color of tn"
French coast guard ships: and the tor
pedo vessels Almirante Lynch and Al
mirante Condell, which entered both
Iquique and Colombo at night, and
were scarcely visible few hundred
feet away, We're painted nearly that
color The Gushing has also tried Il
coat of lead-colored paint, while thos"
who saw the Jean Bart at New York
will realize how difficult it would he
TO detect her at distance in the night.
or indeed just after dark and before
day. A peculiar reddish brown is still
another color that has been suggested
as possible for our torpedo boats. 1t
is likely, however, that any change
from white will be confined to these
craft and will not extend for the pres
ent to our ships as a whole.