The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-04-08
TERRORS TO OUR SHIPS.
Alarming Powers Of the Spanish
~Fleet-Details of the Dreaded Boats
Our Craft of Like Kind

Alarming Powers of the Spanish Mosquito
Fleet-DetaiIs of the Dreaded Boats.
Our Craft of Like Kind
washington Post)
The spaniards are sending a new arma-
da across the seas, and on this side OF
the water is felt something of the dread
which the British experienced when news
came of the approach Of that invlncrpie
a.. which was destined to prove such
q aisa monument to the projectors OF the
,.arnrisa Quite a lot of history is go
ing to be made within the next few
weeks and. in the event of hostilities, 1T
will ne determined just how formidable
are these torpedo boat destroyers, which,
in the opinion of some naval experts, rep
resent the type of the coming warship.
They carry no big guns, and are practi-
callv defenseless If exposed to the fire OF
rifed cannon of moderate calioer. IL IS
only at close quarters that they are dah-
gerous. and under such circumstances
they are capable Of sinking tne olss q
battleship with a single pro1ectle' inc
fish torpedoS which they discharge nav
an effective range of about lU yarus, ~.
cannot be aimed with much accuracy
beyond 200 yards.
Tn the torpedo boat destroyer every.
thing is sacrificed to the attalnmehI VI
a speed which is almost dncreuIpIe IA "
vehicle nat moves Ol lHt
ample. the Pluton, one OF the op a
taaet fra vels at the rate Of 30 knots uhder
forced draught. This is equlvaleht 70
341l miles an hour, or as last as DE- q toa.
naTv EXPRESS train. The Pluton Is 20 rect
long and has a displacement OF $50 TONS.
Her engines are OF the triple eXpdlo
type. she has twin screws ana nel 81 a.
canacity is 100 tons. She carries Two "a
noiInder rapid fire guns, two 3 pouhueI
rapid fire guns, and two 1 FOUNDER rapld
fire gun. In short, she IS the very lalese
-- -1h IL mo- I'D u
date in all respects. This is not surprs-
ing inasmuch as she was built by a BTU
ish firm on the banks Of the Clyde.
iFEATJTRES OF THE FLOT1LLA.
The fotilla includes two torpedo poaI
destroyers exactly like the fIutoh. 1n %
eu1IaIIy formidable in all respects, pelhg
sisters of hers. These are the Osado ana
the Proserpine. They have the SAINT dd-
mament and the same marvellous speed;
Two more. just like them, nave sIdrIeu
from TCngIand-the AudaZ and the CrhdL-
da-to Join the fleet. The meet alreduy
includes two slightly smaller deStloyel2'
is 200 feet long, with a displacement OF
37O tons and a speed of Is knots. Eacn
of them carries 100 tons or coal, mas Triple
expansion engines, Is PROVIDED WIN WIN
screws. and is armed with two IA pOunder
rapid fire guns. two 6 FOUNDER rapid hre
guns. and two 1 FOUNDER Maxlms Inc
guns that compose the armaments Oh
these vessels are intended merely TOT use
against torpedo boats and merchant YES
sels: they rely upon their torpedos for
Httacking warShipS.
In addition to these destroyels, Spain
has twelve torpedo boats OF formldaDle
size and equipment, a majority OF Whlcn
are included in the fotlla. me Two Dig
gest of them are the Ariete ana ftayo'
each of which is AT feet long, with a dis
placement of ninety seven tons ana a
speed of twenty six knots. Each OF them
carries four three FOUNDER rapid tlre guns
of greater displacement, though OF a
lapUth CpnnUh1t less are the AZOr ana
Halson, each of which is ia feet long
and has a speed of twenty four KNOTS
carrying four 3 FOUNDER rapid 1lre guns.
The Habana is 17 feet long d1splaces
fifty nine tons, and has a speed of TWEEN
ty one knots; She is armed with one ma
chine gun. The Barcelo is 126 feet long,
has a displacement of sixty six tons and
a speed of nineteen knots, and carries
two N~ordenfeldt machine guns. The
Ejercito is Ill feet long, displaees nifty
knots; she is armed with rwo machine
guns. The Orion lis 125 feet long, has a
displacement of eighty five tons and a
one 1 po,~der revolving cannon. The
Julian Oruonez is III feet long, displaces
sixty five tons, has a speed or twenty
knots, and carries two Nordenfeldts. me
Retamosa is 11S feet long, has a displace-
ment of seventy tons and a speed or
twenty knots and is armed with two
Nordenfeldts. The Rigel is 105 feet long,
has a displacement of fifty seven tons
and a speed of nineteen knots. and rs
provided with one 1 FOUNDER revolving
UNCLE SANS SMALL FLEET.
SPANS enormous superioty in this
branch of naval activity becomes appaf-
ent when a review is made Of the United
States in respect to torpedo boats.
Against the enemy's twelve craft of this
kind Uncle Sam is able to put af1oat only
ten. which are not in any respect SUI
perior to the minor members of the hos
tile fotilla. Nevertheless, seven of them
will % var fa NrOr2hIV with the
best of the Spanish torpedo boats. These
are the Gushing, the Ericsson, the Foote.
the Rodgers, the Winslow, the Porter, !
and the Dupont. All of these are now at
Key West except the Rodgers, which has
just been delivered by the builders, and
will be ready for service in two weeks.
The seven run from 1873 feet in length for
the Gushing to 175 feet for the Porter
and Dupont, and in displacement from 15 |
to 1S2 tons. Their speed is from twenty |
four to twenty-siX knots. The Stiletto is
much smaller and slower. and the same ]
is true of the Talbot and the Gwin, which |
have just been ordered into commission. |
1t is fortunate indeed that we have
IN a few torpedo boats, but exceedingly
be regret,c~ tnat ohcle sam II tIe
present time should not possess q single
boat destroyer. The destroyer 10 !
90 axceedineIy swift as to be able to /
catch any torpedo boat, and the latter, J
once overtaken. is practically DEFENSE
less having only two or three raplu ~
vi III SNhS 1
will be observed that destroyers, such
the Pluton or the Terror, are provided
with quite a formidable armament or
rapid fire rifles, so that they are able to
demolish any torpedo boat with a Few
shots. They draw only about six Feet
of water. so that they can fallow a tor-
pedo boat into a shallow 'harbor or any |
where she may go. Not at all surprising /
is it. under the circumstances, that naval
officials in Washington should have beg |
ged the president to prevent the approach |
af tho SnaniSh H0til1. even III force was l
required. 1t is difficult to see, however. |
how this could have been accomplished.
If it had been attempted. the boats would
doubtless have scattered at once in every
direction, and to catch them would have
been out of the question.
DANGERS OF THE DESTROYERS.
The destroyer can always get away
when she chooses to run, inasmuch as
nothing that floats can come up with her,
unless another vessel of the same type.
Even a. greyhound cruiser, like the Min
neapolis, would be as helpless in the
chase of craft of this kind as a tat man
@Hn III