The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-05-15

for the coal and water storage capacity
is limited. This precludes a torpedo boat
from cruising more than seventy-tive to
eighty miles from its base of supplies
This is the kind low relied upon in the
navy
First-class boats vary in tonnage from
lis to 175 tons, in length from 140 to 1870
feet and in draught from five to eight
feet They are perfectly seaworthy and
can ride out the heaviest gales. The arma-
ment consists of three TO four 1S-inch
Whitehead torpedoes and three or four
1pounder rapid-firing guns. In addition
there is a revolver and two or three rifles
Tor each of the twenty two or thirty men,
the rifles supplied with sword bayonets
10 repel boarders.
The biggest kind of modern destroyer
has a length of 220 feet. with a beam
Of 2612 feet. The horse power is abous
$500, driving the boat at speed of thir-
" one knots or more. The engines are
triple expansion with water tube boilers
They carry from seven to a hundred tons
of coal and at a speed of eight or nine
knots can keep the sea for week; so
they are independent of coaling in Voy-
age of between 1900 and 1900 miles. They
carry crew of about three or four Off
Gers and about forty men. The engines,
as you can see are all out of proportion
1" the cIaft they drive.
The torpedo fotilla in the war fleet n
Southern waters is little feet of itself,
commanded by Lieut.. Commander w. W.
kimoall. 1t consists of the Foose, Lieut.
W /, Rogers commanding, Ensign r. II
Jackson; the Gushing, Lieut. A. Gleavcs
commanding, Ensign f. p. Baldwin; the
Ericsson Lieut.. R N. Usher commanding
Passed Assistant Engineer o w Rooster
ensign L. A. Bostwick; the Winslow
Lieut. j. B. Bernadeu commanding, En-
slSh w. Bagley: the Porter, Lieut.. J. C..
ffemont commanding, Assistant Surgeon
IA 5. Elliott (for the fiouka) Ensign l.
V. ellis; the Dupont, Lieut.. 5 S Wood
commanding, Ensign II. II. Clarke, Jr.
The Gushing is one OF the best known
OF the torpedo boats in the navy 1t has
the longest cruising record and is known
al The way from Galveston TO Bath, Me.
us engines. of $50 horse power. can drive
IL twenty three knots Ca knot is one and
one sixth mie) and hour. To do this
lts twin screws. each four feet two inches
m diameter, with pitch of eight feet
Iout inches, must make 400 revolutions
minute Each Of its engines has five
cyilnders, increasing in diameter from 111A
inches for the hsgh-pressure cylinder 40
20 inches for the low-pressure cylinder,
WIN a stroke Of Is. inches Each of the
TWO water-tube boilers has $50 tubes. Steam
- used at pressure of 25O pounds to the
square inch Q0a pounds Is a good pressure
on an ordinary boiler) aud the boilers de-
Velop 1870 horse power
In dividing such a craft up internally,
usually the sharp knife edge bow is SHUT
on SIX or eight feet abaft the stem from
the remainder of the boat by the collision
pu'knead. This division is made first,
oeeaose nothing could be slowed away in
so narrow place so far forward and
second to insure the safety of the boat in
case her bows get stove. TO stave in the
BOWS of a torpedo boat is really quite as
easy as falling off a log, for the boat in
all her parts is made as light as possible.
Inc skin plating H. of the thinnest steel,
the frames are of light weight, the longi-
tudinals ale mere STRIPS of metal. So
thin and fran is the construction Of the
p9at that If she bumps or runs into any
thlng she win be bent out Of her shape,