The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1899-09-17
TORPEDO B0ATS0F THE WORLD.
Comparison Of Fleets-SubmaIi Inc Nav
igation-Fent Of Confcd arat" Boat.

The designation Of certain engines OF
| destruction In warfare, 'Torpedoes,
| is derived from the name OF a species OF
/ FISH belonging to the genus torpedo, and
! 70 whose shocks the destructive eXplo-
! sions Of the mechanical torDedoes may
| be compared. Torpedo boats are those
| whose function in battle Is the use Of tor
pedoes as a principal weapon.
As 20 the utility Of torpedo boats, II Is
still an open question. which the late war
with Spain did not do much toward SOW
ing. In no instance were they put 10
their intended use and in several cases
were given work 20 perform which be-
lCnged more properly TO boats OF larg-
| er class: as. for instance. the attack at
Cardenas upon the land batteries by the
tOrpcdO-bC at Winslow, in which enga &C.
ment Lieutenant Bagloy lost his life.
Their principal use IN this war was sim
ply as dispatch boats, for which duty
they seemed very we'll adapted.
THE OPPORTUNITY
At the time Corvera's fleet was hedged
IN at Santiago by the American fleet there
was apparently ample opportunity on
both sides for a trial Of the utility Of
torpedo boats. Both fleets had several
torpedo boats and torpedo boat destroy
ers with them, and opportunity was not
lacking for night attacks; for II is un-
doubtedly under the cover Of darkness
that the work of the torpedo boat must
be performed. Torpedo boats may be call
ed the "foot-pads" Of the navy. their duty
being % perform their work unseen: con-
sequcntly. the search-light Is the great
EST enemy the torpedo boat possesses. and
I'm the present condition Of the science Of
warfare Ii is about an even thing between
the search-Nght and the torpedo boat
When torpedo boats attack IN "a swarm
their chances against the search-light are
very good: that is TO say, as a fleet. Of
course there viii be more or less Of them
in danger and probably several placed
hors de combat
As 10 the best size and speed Of torpe-
do boats. there Is much discussion. II
depends upon such a number Of untried
conditions. I'm the first place. the boat
must De large enough 10 operate in the
open sea. while She must be small enough
not % be readily discovered by means OF
the search-light or other means. In the
next place she must bee speedy enough 20
come up 20 the attack. and after discharg-
ing her torpcdOes. escape as quickly as
possible. Then again. there is a certain
ratio between size and speed, which cam
not be overcome in the present state of
naval architecture and marine engineer
ing, except In the case Of some freak boat
10 would seem that boats about the size
of the Shubrick combine an the required
clements IN the greatest degree.
THE DESTROYERs.
Torpedo boat destroyer= ~ tho other
hand. are intended to accompany fleet
al sea, be able 20 keep up with the other
ships in any condition OF weather. and
TO defend the fleet from attacks Of torped9
boats. Owing TO the fact that they must
keep at sea, and DE speedy enough TO
overhaul torpedo boats. il IS necessary
that they be considerably larger than the
torpedo boats themselves. They run I'm
size from 100 TO go feet long. their speed
varying from 8 20 81 knots.
Thornycroft OF ENGLAND IN 1879. built for
the Norwegian Government vessel which
was only 81 feet long feet and inches IN
beam ID feet displacement and Of 1877
knots speed. She did not carry torpedo
tubes or automobile torpedoes like the
present crafts of that class. but used the
old-iashioned towing tOrpedoes. now not
used az an. 1877 sees however. the first
real torpedo boat according 10 our pres
ent understanding OF such boats. the very
first one being the Lightning" built for
the British Admiralty by Thornycroft
She was S. feet long. II foot beam. 5 foot
draft, n tons displacement and 70 knots
speed From that time on. the size of
torpedo boats have steadily increased. un-
III they developed into the larger class