The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1898-04-04
SPANS HORNET FLEET
Useless at Sea But Deadly in
Still Water.
NIGHT is THE SEASON
Of These Craft and SWiftnesS
Their Chief Weapon.

New York. April S.-The mysterious
movements OF Spain's torpedo flotilla is
characteristic Of the dread messengers OF
war. Ever since the feet set out from
Cadiz there mas been a feeling Of uncer-
tainty as 10 its Whereabouts and destina-
ton. It has been scudding through the
wataers Of the Atlantic to a destination
nat IS absolutely known only to the Span
3sh authorities.
The fleet Of thirteen torpedo boats and
torpedo destroyers with their two trans
ports constitutes the most deadly cOllec-
ton of war vessels now afOat. While in
Tnid-oceau they are harmless, but their
awful destructiveness Is realized once they
reach still waters. Their speed capacity
is increased. and they are enabled 10 dart
back and forth like the hy-by-nights that
they are.
APPROXIMATELY NAMED.
The names they bear are exceedingly
well applied. In the first division, which
set out from Cadiz the night of March Is
under the guardianship Of the City Of
Cadiz, are the Terror. the Juror and the
Pluton, first class torpedo boat destroy
ers, and the first class torpedo boats
Azor, Ragor and Ariete. These were fol-
lowed three days later by the second
division, which left the Bay Of Cadiz the
night Of March II. On the same day the
commander Of the feet was oordered not
10 proceed from the Canaries for Havana
until further notice.
The latest information of the relative
positions of the little ships was cabIed
from Cadiz the night the fleet set out.
That was when the first division left
the harbor. 1t was dusk when the convoy
steamed out. The three torpedo boat de-
Shoppers were close by her side to larbord.
while the torpedo vessels were smuggling
up 10 her starboard side. The boats OF
the second division must have taken pc
Hition relatively the same until they
Joined the first division at the Canaries
= few days after March T.
March a the entire feet set out from the
Canaries for their journey to the west,
presumably to Porto Rico. From the ma
ture Of their construction the fleet is
compelled to replenish its coal supply ev-
cry few hours, so that its ratae of speed,
which is calculated to be something like
thirty knots an hour is materially les
sened in the average distance they can
cover in a prescribed time. In the high
seas this rate is far unler the average
attributed to them. and under the most
favorable conditions the fleet was not
expected to cover the distance of $50
miles between the Canaries and Porto
Rico in less than ten or twelve days at
the best. They have now been off from
he Canaries en- days, and it is regarded
as an unusual feat to have covered the
distance in so short a period of time.
USES OF THE VESSELS.
The difference between the torpedo boats
and the torpedo boat destroyers is marked
both by their varying equipment and the
uses for which they ace intended. The
torpedo boats are light swift-sailing YES
sells for projecting or placing torpedoes.
They are unarmored and carry no guns.
The destroyers. while equally light and
SPEEDY and also Unarmored. are armed
with rapid-fring guns. In their construc-
ton everything is sacrificed to speed.
The mission Of the destroyers is TO pre-
vent the torpedo boats of an enemy from
approaching or injuring battlcsnips BY
quick movements and by rapid dashes on
torpedo boaots, together with the use Of
Tapid-fire guns, they are calculated to be
OF great service TO fleets of heavier battle
ships.
ARMS AND EQUIPMENTS
In the Srag9isb HofiUa rho IH57ro,. md tI,a