The times., 1898-10-09
DEATH IN THE DARK
Some New Terrors That Will
Be Added to the Navy.
TO CREEP ON THE ENEMY
Small Vessels Building That Can Op-
Destroy the Warships of a Foe.
The PecuIiarities of the New Tor
pedo Boats.


The need of a small vessel which in time
| of naval warfare shall be fitted to creep
upon the enemy at night and under cover
of the darkness destroy the opposing
| force and accomplish the most desperate
| deeds, is now one of the pressing ques-
tions of the hour. The results of the war
/. with Spain-admirable in all other re-
spects-has at least demonstrated the ne
cessity of large addition to our mosquito
| fleet. That Congress appreciated this fact,
says the New York Herald, was shown
when at the last session appropriation was
| made for the addition of sixteen torpedo
| boat destroyers and a dozen torpedo boats
| of the first class, and bids are now open
| for the construction OF these vessels.
While as a matter of fact the torpedo
boats saw little or no hard fighting in this
| war, they have lost none of their favor.
| Every sailor will bear testimony TO the
| inestimable service accomplished in re-
| spect of scouting.
The new torpedo boats now under con-
| struction will differ from the old type in
this respect-that the plans on which they
are constructed will originate with the
Government and not with the bidders. 1t
| is believed, therefore, that the boats will
show considerable advance upon any
thing produced here or on the Continent
| during the last six years.
1t was admitted that the Furor and
| Terror the destroyers used by Spain in
| the late war, were among the finest ex-
amples of naval construction yet pro-
duced. The new thirty-knot destroyers
.Hs4rnA.aY mn
| these two boats
According TO the designs of the naval
construction department each of the tor
| pedo boats proper will carry 175 feet OF
| length on the water line, with maxi
mum beam of seventeen feet, and draw
ing upon trial displacement of some
thing like $50 tons nearly seven feet OF
water.
Each boat will be furnished with two
| half-inch niekel-steel coming towers, one
forward and another aft. On the forward
tower will be placed a searchEght- 1t is
intended to make the electric plant which
supplies the energy for this lamp also
feed the signal lights, and, IN fact all
the lamps with which the interior or the
boats will be provided.
The battery of the new boats Is 10
consist of three 3-pounders, with one or
two 1-pounder guns OF the Maxim type
three IOEpSAO luDSSt oiAo NV NSf
The Government plans provide that one
of these three tubes shall be placed at
the stern and the other amidships, with
the view of affording them the widest
area of fire
Twin screws will be actuated by cou-
ple of fine triple-expansion engines OF the
four-cylinder order, and the engines are
TO be placed in water-tight compart-
ments and will have each high-pressure
Int or q
pressure cylinder of % inches, Two low
pressure cylinders of 25 IA inches in diam
| eter. and uniform stroke Of is inches.
| Twentv-seven knots an hour must be the
| regulation speed. 1t is intended TO place
| the three boilers in two compartments
| one forward and one aft OF the ma
| chfnery gear, and under this condition
| chance shot can by no manner OF means
destroy at one blow the whole battery
The Government sets the cost limit at
| $4,000
So much for the torpedo boats.
Turning TO the destroyers. we find a
new and Impressive feature. The turtle
back deck at the bow has been dispensed
with. and in its place we find a fore
castle deck of considerable length. Naval
experts hold that this new deck will pre-
vent the boats from running their noses
into every deep swell and may also pro-
| vide extra accommodation iOA ibiS SiS""
| The fitting of the destroyer in respect
| of coming towers will not differ from
| that of the torpedo boat. All woodwork
| will. of course be freproof, while the
| hnats are divided into something
| like eighty compartments communication
| with them being effected only by pas
| sage up to the deck and down again
| through another hatchway to the next
| compartment.
In respect to armament, we find two II
| FOUNDER and five 6-pounder rapid-fire
| guns and two 1S-inch Whitehead tor
peado tubes. The heavier guns are to
| be placed in the coming towers, while
| the lighter ones are to be placed on the
| main deck where they may direct bow
| fire. Each gun discharges twenty shots
| a minute the heavier ordnance penetrat-
| ing three inches of steel. Assuming,
therefore that the man behind the gun
| knew his business-and in the American
navy he generally dOes-these shots would
| be apt TO make short work OF any boat
| that got IN the way.
Among the bidders are to be found the
| American Ordnance Company which sub
| mits a novel proposition in the shape OF
l5-pound guns with an increased velocity
| of 200 feet per second. The shell Is about
| three pounds heavier, and this alone
would tend to make the destroyer vastly
| superior to anything or the same klnu
now IN existence.
Like the torpedoes, the boats will be
| fitted with two sets of triple-expansion
engines of the ur-cylinder type. The
diameter of the cylinders is 20 1-2, 80, and
| 3S inches, the intermediate and low-press-
ure % inches, with a revolution of $50 to
| the minute, and a horsepower of 5000
| The limit of cost for the destroyer is
fixed at s295 900, or about s120,000 higher
| than that of the torpedo boat.
| Armed with these marvels of the con-
structor's and mechanics SKILL Uncle
| Sam should again be able to demonstrate
| his ability to smash anybody or anything
rash enough to oppose him on the seas