Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-03-28
THE TORPEDO FLEET
Details Of the Flotilla Bound for
Porto Rico.
BOATS BUILT 1t GREENOCK, SCOTLAND
Pluton Showed a Speed Of Over
Thirty Knots an Hour.
Jury TO THE AUD AZ

stroyers Furor and Terror and the Piuton.
The other vessels in the squadron are
Erglish-built, sea-going torpedo boats A
letter to the New York Times from Gou-
rock. Scotland. describes these formidable
warships of the Spanish navy. The Audaz
and Osado We're launched at Greenock dur
ing February and March of last year, re-
spectively, and should have been completed
long this had it not been for the en-
gineers' strike in Britain, which delayed
all classes of shipbuilding The Audaz,
Osado. Pluton and Prdsperina are sister
vessels. and in construction much sim
liar to the latest class of British torpedo
boat destroyers. While the British boats
are 2U feet in length, with an average
breadth of 10 feet, and of 300 tons dsplace-
nent, the Spanish destroyer5 have a length
of 10 feet, with beam of gig feet, ard
their displacement in tonnage close 400
tons.
Larger Than English DestrOyers.
In appearance, also. the Spanish vessels
look larger and fuller, and are therefore
able to carry a larger dead weight. They
are constructed entirely of STEEL aid broad
side resemble the British boats very much,
with their elongated whaleback forward
on top of which are & steam capstan, an
Choir rests, ventilators and hawse pipes. AT
the after END, and most elevated part of
the whaleback, and under the navigating
part of the deck protected is twelve feet
on each side, Immediately abaft the whale
back. where there are steel bulwarks.
Details of Construction.
As a preventive from falling overheard
there is, of course, railing all around the
vessel. which. when it is under sailing trim,
is canvasei over with dodgers. Stanchions
are als1 fitted the vessels, for spreading
awnings in warm climates. On deck are
principally the funrels, of which they have
three. a noticeable feature being that the
middle one is just double the size of the
fore and after ones in diameter the ac-
countable reason for which is that it car
Ties away the smoke from two boilers,
while the other ones are the uptakeS for
one boiler each. The mast is very small,
and is intended for signaling purposes. Ii
Is htted with yard for flag halyaris.
Large ventilatcrs for conveying air to the
stokehoidS are also conspicuous on deck.
TWO boats are carried on davits, and one
co!lapsible boat is ON deck. Their arma-
ment consists of one twelve-pounder quick
firing gun, five six-pounder quick firing
gus, and two torpedo tubes. Each of the
vessels has four compasses-one on the
bridge, one in the coming tower, one aft
ard enc amidships. They are all steering
ccmPasscs, with the exception of the one
amidships which is patent standard COM
. pass. Each vessel has four boilers, supply
ing steam to two sets of engines, which
have an indicated horse power of 1850,
o. driving twin screws.
Each destroyer is divided into several
Water-tignt compaI tments by steel bulk
heads The officers are berthed aft, while
the accommodation for the crew and fire
men is forward The British thirty knot
torpedo boat destroyers are manned by
crews of ffty-eight men all told, but in
the Spanish destroyers the men number all
told over seventy.
Speed of the Boats.
The trials of the Audaz and Osado were
0Ylv Of 1aS
month. but probably owing to the present
state of matters between the United States
and Spain everything in connection with
their doings has been kept secret. The
PiUton's trials on November last were
watched by a government commission. un-
Ger the presidency of Commodore Trguiro,
with whom We're Lieuts, Ariba, Guimara
and Vazquay, Naval Architect Taliso
Messrs. Thomson, Gordon and Haynes The
actual load on board during the trial was
seventy-three tons. The results of the trial
gave mean speed of 30.12 knots on the
measured mile at Skelmorlie, and during a
continuous run of one hour and a half a
speed of 3o.02 knots was maintained. AT
the conclusion of the forced draught trial
the vessel was, according to contract, run
fol- a further period of two hours under
natural draught. the speed attained being
22-I knots, or 40 of knot over the con-
tract There was noticeable absence OF
vibration. and the engines worked to the
entire satisfaction of the Spanish commits
sion.
The Torpedo Boats.
OF the torpedo boats in the fotiIIa. the
Arete aud Rayo were built at Chiswick in
1857 They are OF TO tons displacement,
and their armament consists of three three
FOUNDER quick-1iring and one machine gun
and two torpedo launching tubes. The
Arete has engines of 1880 horse power and
can carry twenty-five tons of coal and
steam twenty-five knots. The Rayo can
speed half knot faster, although her en-
gines are Of only 1890 horse power. She
can carry the same amount of coal.
The Azor is of los tons and was built at
Poplar in 1887. She carries the same aIma-
ment as the Arete and Rayo, with the ex
ception that she has one less three-pOunder
quick-fring gun. She has engines of 1906
horse power, and her speed is twenty-fcur
knots. Her bunker capacity affords space
for twenty-five tons of coal
The Audax Wrecked.
The Audaz. which recently left Greenock
for Spain. has succumbed to the waves
which were running unusually heavy of
the coast OF Ireland. while on its way to
Spain, and rut into Waterford for repairs
1t Will be in the docks apparently for sew
eral weeks, as its stem is twisted like a
piece of wrought iron and the bow is said
to be stove in.
Further news comes that another OF tn,
little boats has been disabled and has has
X
the force by Il very heavy percentages
percentage of loss that would be oonsid
cred terrific IL it had occurred in battle
II this loss may be considered as a pre-
sage Of the terrors of trip across the At
lantic with these rollicking little war en-
gines. il may be supposed that the fotilla
when IL appears at San Juan de Port
Rico will be in sad condition.
Spanish Armada Recalled.
The fate of these two boats suggests t.
navy officials apt comparison with a ia
nous event in Spanish maritime history
the wreck of the inyincible Armada. il
that great disaster the channel was to,
strong a foe for Spanish naval ability" ant
courage. and the English had only to wal
little while and let the armada defea.
itself. Navy officials were commenting gen
orally today on the similarity of the tw,
cases. If great things may be compares
with small, and remarked that by the tim
the rotslls. reaches Porto Rico there ma
not be enough CT II to cause the Unites
States any concefn for its vessels.
One of them said: 1T may be that tn
inc