Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1897-10-26
TORPEDO-BOATS HERE
THEY ARRIVED ON SUNDAY AND
MAY REMAIN SEVERAL DAYS.
LARGEST IN THE U. S. NAVY.
Cruising in Search of Har5crs of
Refuge, and for Strategic Pur-
pose,-History of the Craft-Public
Inspection Invited.
Inspection Invited.

The fiotilla OF gunboats. the advent Of
which was announced In Sundays Dis
patch. arrived in port shortly after noon
on Sunday, and anchored, three OF the
Clyde-Llne wharf and one at the Halves
elevator.
The boats are the Dupont. Porter
Ericsson. and Cushing. They are the
largest torpedo-boats in the United
States navy, and one of them, the Por-
ter, enjoys the distinction OF being
the fastest boat in the Western Hemis-
phere, being capable of maintaining a
speed Of twenty-nine knots an hour.
They are built Of thin steel plates, and
made as light as possible. for everything
Is sacrificed to speed. They lie in the
water like the backs of a huge whale.
long, thin. and narrow, with but little
gear upon the decks, and with two low
tunnels. They are painted black,
and from the outside look quite
harmless. Below the decks every avail
able inch of space IS occupied. The OFF,
GERS quarters and the mems are small
and compact; the machinery is the
finest that can be made, and looks ex-
ceedingly intricate. and a good deal Of
space IS, Of necessity, devoted TO coal
storage.
HOT DOWN IN THEM.
The boats are built for seagong pur-
poses, but it would be impossible for
them TO undertake long voyage with
out a convoy, as the men cannot stand
the strain OF working inside them, as
the temperature is rarely less than $50
degrees. They do not ride the waves as
ordinary boats. but go through them.
hence in rough weather, all hatchways
have 10 be closed
The hotilla was TO have left yester-
day, but owing 10 the very heavy
weather outside the capes. it was de-
cided to wait here until more favorable
conditions prevail. The officers do not
expect 20 leave to-day, and as one of
the objects Of the visit TO Richmond IS
TO show the boats to the people. all
who wish to go over them will be given
cordial welcome.
GOING FURTHER SOUTH.
They are on their way TO Galveston
Tex, with the Mississippi river as an
objective point, but they will put in to
all harbors and ports en- route, for the
prime object Of the cruise is to find
suitable harbors of refuge for torpedo
| boats, and 10 make strategic observa-
tions.
There are only five other torpedo
| boats in the United States navy at pres
ent, though twenty are now being built
All four boats carry folding life-boats
made of. canvas, capable of carrying
| sixteen men.
THE OFFICERS IN COMMAND.
The fiotila is I'm command OF Lieuten'
| ant-Commander Kimball, whose flag flies
| from the Dupont. This and the Porter
| are sister ships, being turned ont by thu
Herrschoffs. OF Bristol, r.. l., on Febru
| airy 18th and September 22d Of this year
| They have a displacement OF lI5 tons
each. and their engines a capacity Of
| 42O0-horse power. Their length is III
| feet. their beam II feet and their draugh
| feet They carry a crew of Is mer
each. The Dupont is in command Of
| Lieutenant S. S. Wood, with Ensign F
II. Clarke. Lieutenant j. c. Fremon
commands the Porter and the other Of
| ficers on board are Ensign J. V. Glllii
| and Assistant-Surgeon N. ). Elliott.
! The Cushing was the first torpedo
| boat built for the United States Govern
| ment. She was launched June 1, 1889
She carries a crew of 20 men, has dis
placement or 10 tons, ana draws llll'
over 6 feet Her length Is 13S feet
inches, and her extreme beam only i
feet inches. Her engines have only
1. sOO-horse power. The officers on boarC
are Lieutenant A. Geaves, commanding
| and Ensign ]. Cabell Breckenridge.
The Ericsson was completed October
4. 1884, She carries 20 men. and her di
| mansions are: Length. 149 feet inches
beam, Is feet 8 inches; draught feet
inches; displacement, 100 tons. Her Of
| fcers are Lieutenant n. r. Usher, En-
sign l.. Bostwick, Assistant-Engineer .
w. Rooster.
All the officers have Japanese servants
The boats did not practice with the tor
pedoes as they entered the river, bu
| IL is expected that they will do so on theil
way out of the channel