The times., 1899-11-18
THE TORPEDO BOAT IN WAR.
Its Value Discussed Before Naval
Architects and Engineers

~
Architects and Engineers.
NEW YORK, Nov. 17-At today's meet
ing Of the Society Of Naval Architects and
Marine Engineers, Lieut.. A. p Niblack,
L. S. N, read a paper on Tactical Consid-
eraions Involved in Torpedo Boat Design,
in which he gave with his technical obser-
vations picture OF torpedo boat work as
it is intended to be whenever war gives a
chance for it.
If we consider he said, "the conditions
under which a torpedo boat may be rea-
sonably expected to be effective against a
ship or the ships Of the enemy, We will find
that an attack to have a reasonable
chance, must be a surprise. Hence dark
ness fog, mist, snow and rain are the
favoring conditions. Heavy rains are par
ticularly favorable, since, for defense the
eyes of Iookouts are punished severely by
the water il is hard to keep men constant
ly al the battery, the sasrchiight is more
than useless, sights are blurred, and out
side noise is deadened by the fall of rain.
Attacks are made in groups of boats, and
it is this which We lose sight of in the
United States OF all things it is a ques-
tion of system. A ship or squadron at
!
tions must destroy or drive off all the at
tacking boats or take the consequences
Feints Will naturally be made. The first
/ boat or boats discovered will advance fear
! lessly, dropping and scattering small in
I candescent buoys TO disconcert the aim and
! create the illusion of numbers and, IL so
/ fitted use their searchlight. Under strong
! excitement it is peculiarly human to yield
| to the temptation Of shooting at light
/ without reasoning.
/ Meanwhile some one or more boats will
/ get In their torpedoes from an unexpected
quarter. AS between a speed of twenty and
! one OF thirty knots the time it takes to
| cover 900 yards is only as 80 seconds 10
| 60 seconds Can the thirty knot boat pass
! from twenty TO thirty knots in 80 seconds?
! If YOU can build four boats of twenty-five
! knots for what three of thirty knots would
! cost and if the greater the number of
attacking boats the better the chances. is
| is 1t not wise to foTego phenomenal speed g?
/ This craze for great speed is Illogical and
tacticaIly it is indefensible. Back of it
/ is generally an advertisement for some
body
Lieutenant Niblack said that it might
be stated roughly that the highest devel-
opment of the present type OF torpedo was
| about sixteen feet long. eighteen inches
in diameter. and carrying a charge equiva-
lent 10 10 pounds of gun cotton, The
torpedo boat ne said, had now a secure
and permanent place in naval warfare, and
il only remained to accept the fact
Chief Constructor Philip Hichborn,
| United States Navy in paper on The
| Designs for the Denver Glass Sheathed
Protected Cruisers, said;
The chief characteristics of the design
for these cruisers show the vessels to be
about the size of the Raleigh and Cincin-
natl which though they have been classed
as nineteen knot vessels. with more than
double the horsepower of the present de
signs, have never been able, owing to Ger
tain ell-known conditions, to maintain a
speed even appTOXimating to the rated
nineteen knots for any length Of time. The
coal supply of these vessels was also lin
tied, and the coal consumption was a Sc
rious question when making passage be-
tween distant ports. In view of the fact
that the vessels were to be sheathed and
Coppered and that the machinery was to be
literally proportional a speed OF sixteen
and a half knots as representing the ca
pacity of the vessel at all times, was con-
sidered sufficient for the new designs, and
easily places the ships in the class with
our earlier vessels making nineteen or
twenty knots on a forced trial with clean
bottoms
The coal supply is represented by a
bunker capacity Of 700 tons, sufficient tC
/ give them q EdOluS Oh action al luli speed
of nearly 1000 knots and at the most
economical speed. probably in the neigh
borhood of ten knots an hour. they will be
able TO steam about 1000 knots without re-
coaling. This would cover continuous
trip from San Francisco to Manila.
Il do not pretend to criticize the design
or construction OF the New Orleans, but
she is essentially a show vessel. Viii
her extra length of about Atty feet she viii
not maneuvre as well as the Denver class
with her extra draft of about three fee
she is considerably Handicapped for worI
in shallow harbors; with her heavy battery
Of little advantage considering the small
amount Of ammunition carried. she VII
not stand the weight of flush upper deck
and even without il her top weights are
such that, particularly without the watel
line protection Of cellulose provided for The
Denver class. she is not nearly so we'll pre-
pared to stand punishment as will be those
vessels"