The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1899-12-26
HOLLAND DESCRIBES
HIS OWN BOAT.
He Says it can do all and More Than
he has Claimed for it.

have built six submarine boats. The
nrSt, in 1877, was IA feet long, built for
private purposes. The second, con-
Structed in 1879, was 81 feet long and
feet in diameter. Boat number three
was working model, 161s feet long by
80 inches in diameter. Number four
was the Zalinsh boat, 40 by s feet
Number five is IS by 113z feet, of les
tons displacement.
Number six, the present boat. is So
feet long by 10 feet inches in diam
eter. Her displacement is 75 tons
The first and greatest desideratum
in a submarine boat is simplicity. Each
man has one thing to do and nothing
else. The crew of this boat consist OF
one pilot, one operator" or assistant
pilot, one electrician, one engineer and
two torpedo experts. Six men can run
this boat under any fleet of war ships.
in any harbor, attack anything on land
or sea, and at the same time disap-
pear after each discharge of guns and
always be out of reach of the enemy
fire. There is very much less danger in
submarine boat of this kind than on
any surface boat. If these boats be-
come an established feature of marine
and naval service, they viii be used
for carrying passengers through the
rough sea between Dover and Calais
They are absolutely safe, and free from
motion. Neither fOgS nor storms can
have any effect on them There viii
be no collisions, for they sail far be
low the deepest ocean liners The pas
sage across the English Channel can
in from one to two hours. With com
pressed air in steel tubes, such as we
use in this boat, the ventilation viii
pc perfect. THESE tubes stand pres
sure of 5000 pounds to the square inch
When our boat goes to sea for busi-
ness, she viii carry one aerial torpedo
thrower, one submarine gun, one
Whitehead expulsion tube Even when
in action there Will be no great in
convenience from recOil or the eXplO-
son. The indicators will show exactly
Y w f a
little bell rings the warning. It will
be exactly like riding in a Well-lighted.
comfortably seated railway car through
a tunnel.
The difference between a boat OF this
type and an ordinary torpedo boat.
which sails on the surface, Is beyond
words to express. In rough weather.
life on a torpedo boat is horrible. Az
ter a rough trip the crew have to be
sent to a hospital for treatment. In a
gale such a boat could not live We
are Indifferent to storms. We can &C
company a fleet of the biggest war
ships in the widest sea. Besides the
quarters for the crew, we have a cabin
Is 10 feet for the accommodation OF
experts or visitors who may accompany
us. The temperature in the engine
rooms of rams and torpedo boats is al
most insuppOrtabIe- We shall be per-
fectly cool, having the temperature OF
the sea surrounding the boat While
ships are covered with ice, we, deep in
the sea, will be as comfortable as by
not be in danger of sinking, as she is
always sunk. She cannot leak, because
her double bottom is always filed with
water for ballast
In a bombardment I would use the
aerial torpedo guns to sink the war
ship, then practise on the forts at my
leisure. The power of these weapons
is enormous. The muzzle energy of the
submarine gun is $50 foot tons, enough
to force projectiIes through any OBJ
structiOn.
In using the torpedo thrower. the re-
coil from the gun pushes the boat back
into the water out of sight, so that she
cannot be located by the enemy. The
twenty-one tons of electrical storage
batteries in the bottom Of the boat, al