Birmingham state herald., 1895-12-01
THE FUTURE OCEAN SPEED.
Its Possibilities Declared Beyond
 Human Conjecture.
IMPROVEMENT IS ENDLESS
With Aluminium, Water-Tube Boilers and h. creased Pressure None Can Tell Where
 Speed Will Stop.

III the ldSL nu1nD per or BLACK ana w nlta there was an interview with Alfred F. Yarrow, the English shipbuilder, who has the distinction of having launched the fastest vessel afioat-a torpedo de- stroyer for the Russian navy The prin- cipal subject touched on, of course, was speed at sea, and MT. Yarrows remarks were extremely interesting. He said;
 "As regards the ultimate result of this increase of speed and finality- a ques- tion 1 have often been asked-the only possible reply Is that the man who talks of finality in improvements must indeed be bold. Even with present knowledge 1t is evident that vastly increased speed is possible by the use of lighter materials in construction-aluminu for example, instead of steel. In all questions of this kind, however, 1t must be borne in mind that increase of speed is largely depend ent upon increase of cost. The last ac- cess of high speed has been mainly brought about by the introduction of water-tube hoilerS-that Is to say, boil CTS in which the water is inside the tubes and the fire outside. The great difference between our boilers and those made by other firms is that our tubes, being all straight, are easily accessible for clean ing and for examination. In the case of the elaborately curved tubes so often employed 1t Is most difficult to remove an obstruction-a common occurrence in active service in spite of the fact that everything may be perfectly satisfactory on trial trip. With the straight tube. however, any stoppage can be immedi- ately cleared. This largely influences the speed of a vessel on active service. Eighteen years ago our highest speed was twenty-one and one-half knots-that was in the case of torpedo boat built for the British admiralty. That vessel was half the length of our latest tor pedo boat, Destroyer Since that date we have been steadily increasing our speed by means of triple compound en- zines and higher boiler pressure. with the result that we have today vessel doing over thirty knots per hour."
 '1S another such rapid increase in speed to be expected in the future?"
 This last jump, due to the employment of water-tube boilers, will probably carry us about thirty-five knots. Any further increase of speed will be obtained through some possible but unforeseen in vention which, so far as I know, Is not in sight of engineers at the present time. It Is not rash to prophecy an increase of five knots within the next decade"
 ITO whom is due the credit of invent ing the torpedo destroyer?
 Tt is not an invention," replied MT. Yarrow. Tt is an enlargement of the torpedo boat. Unlike the torpedo boat, however, the torpedo destroyer is capable of forming part of fleet operations-t is self-dependent. That cannot be said of the torpedo boat. which necessarily pre- cedes it.'
 What part do you think the torpedo destroyer will play in future naval oper- ations?"
 Tt must become an essential part of every navy. Its value was proved at Wei-Hai-Wei and Port Arthur. Its pop ularity is best proved by the fact that foreign governments are already taking steps to acquire vessels z this class. Indeed, this type will affect the whole navy, as the improvements made in it ha of tnd nn a ln nrOa kinds of warships."
 (Which navy can now be said to pos sess the fastest war vessels af1oat?"
 "As matters stand now both Russia and France have vessels of the class l have been referring to superior in speed to those of the British navy. A vessel belonging to the French navy is said to have attained still higher speed than the Russian torpedo destroyer Sokol that we turned out the other day. But with out an exact comparison of load-carry and duration of trial 1t Is impossible to form a comparative estimate. There can be no doubt that the greater dimensions of the Sokol as compared with the French boat would secure 1t many advantages in speed and seagoing qualities"
 Leaving the question Of warships, cannot an improvement be looked for in the case of ocean passenger vessels?"
 Probably not to the same extent. In passenger vessel space could not be af- forded for suitable machinery. We have always found. however. that passenger steamers keep following up and adopt ing the principles employed in torpedo boats When the latter had a top speed of twenty-one and a half knots. Atlantic liners were only doing thirteen to four teen knots. Today the Lucania and Cam pania steam twenty-one knots, and this Is solely due to the constructors of these large vessels following out what they have seen to be possible in torpedo boat construction"
 Do you consider. then. that the Allan tic passage can be further reduced?'
 "Unquestionably;a and 1t will come be- fore long. When the Atlantic passage was of fourteen days dura ton 1t was easy enough to knock off couple of days. That, of course. Is impossible now. It can only be a question of a few hours. But this can be attained by the employ ment of water-tube boilers and by an in- crease in size. Every important pace making Atlantic liner will be bigger than the last. There will be increased steam pressure and reduced wcight-the latter due 10 the employment of lighter and stronger material Aluminium will take the place of copper and gun metal (cer- tainly of the latter in the matter of fit tings, and by this means alone weight can be greatly reduced. It can also be used in the construction Of ships hulls. As evidence of this I may say that the aluminium boats built for the French gov ernment have given such satisfaction that five more have been ordered"
 Laughingly (says the intervieweD I suggested the use of flying machines be- tween London and New York. but MT. Narrow looked quite serious.
 You may regard flying machines as ridiculous. Most people do. and they would be surprised at the number of ap- plications I get to construct them. I saw the other day flying machine capable of going forty miles an hour. and this, in my opinion, foresha dows the possibility of "a reliable machine of this description, not perhaps in the near. but certainly in the distant future. The only difficulty Is in steering. But see nothing impossible in a vertical machine of this description crossing the water"
 Mir. Narrow as a parting word, said: "Remember that with aluminium water tube boilers and increased pressure no one can say where the speed of ships will stop"
 DOES YOUR FEET HURT?
 The Smith Shoe company can furnish you shoes now that won't hurt. Exam