The record-union., 1897-08-10

material used is such as to render
breakages necessarily rare, for both pis-
ton and top cylinder covers are made of
forged steel.
A cylindrical copper condenser each
with 929 3s-inch tubes is attached to
every main engine. The total cooling
surface is 3.040 square feet, and the to-
tai heating surface is $500 square feet.
The great surface is 17S square feet. In
front of the boilers are air bulkheads,
the air inlet doors of which close auto
matically whenever a bursting tube or
other accident causes an escape of steam
and a resulting pressure on the boiler
side of the bulkhead.
The Porter, although not such large
boat is much superior in many respects.
The Porter is classed as torpedo boat.
neither her size nor her armament enti-
Ting her to figure as a torpedo boat de-
stroyer; yet, among all the 243 similar
boats built in England, GRANGE, Ger
many, Austria and the United States,
only one-the Forban, built by Nor
mand, of France-has shown speed
equal to that of the Porter on her sixty
mile trial run.
tary Herbert, just before his retire
ment from office, the Porter, after Ad-
miral Porter. Her measurements are:
Length, 175 feet; beam, IL feet; extreme
draught, feet. Her guaranteed speed
as was previously stated, was u D knots
IAN hour. Her engines are capable of de-
veloping 4,200 horse power, which is
greater than that of the gunboat York
town. In appearance the Porter is un-
prepossessing, and the first sight of her
will leave the impression that she is built
for business purposes. She is of sort
of enlarged "Stilletto" style, long and
narrow. When going at fast rate, she
settles down slightly aft and pushes her
bow well out of the water. 1t is partly
due to this advantage in her model that
her great speed is developed. Instead
of cutting through the water, she skins
over it, and at her greatest speed it
was found that she made no wave.
The Porter is formiably armed, al
though not so large as some other new
American boats. which will come in
what is known in England as the tor
pedo-boat destroyer class. She carries
three torpedo tubes, one placed on the
the port side and the third on the star
board side amidships The guns have
very wide range and can be trained on
any enemy to matter how the latter's
position is to the torpedo boat at that
time Four self -propelling torpedoes are
carried, each containing 300 pounds of
guncotton. The torpedoes run by COM
pressed air and will travel several hun
dred yards in the water after being
elected from the tubes. There is no
doubt but that if one of these missiles
was effectively placed, it would send to
the bottom of the sea the heaviest and
most formidable warship afioat. To pro-
tect herself from torpedo boats she is
equipped with a battery of four one
FOUNDER rapid fire guns. The Porter has
a crew of two officers and twenty eight
men.
The torpedo boat, when discovered by
an enemy, becomes the target for all the
rapid-f fire and machine guns that can be
brought to bear. AS torpedo attacks are
made at night, the searchlights are
thrown upon the intruder and every eff
fCrt made to sink the little craft before
she can get within torpedo range. If she
escapes the storm of missiles fired at her
by the battleships, she still has to
reckon with the torpedo boat destroyers
which will always accompany every
well equipped fleet The destroyers
have speed equal TO or greater than
that of the torpedo boat, and they have
a moderately powerful ornament of
rapidfire guns. If the torpedo boat