The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1903-05-05
INNOCENT As
COUPLE OF WASPS

They are ju't about as harmless as a
couple of vdsps. That is to say, if you
let them alone and keep out of their
way, they will let you alone. But if
you want trouble, there it is to accom-
modate you.
That is a description of the torpedo
boat destroyers Nirago and Sparrow
hawk, and it fits. To be sure, as they
lie over against the stone wall in the
naval reserve waters, side by side. they
seem harmless enough. A good sized
cruiser, say the Amphitrite, could stow
them both on her decks and walk off
with them just as easy as winking. And
they are in friendly port, and not at
all in fighting trim. Also, their stingers
pedo tubes We're taken off them at Es-
quimalt and shipped to China to fit
them for the long trip across the Pa
cific, the tubes having a tendency to
make them top-heavy. But don't run
away with the notion that the torepdo
boat destroyers are altogether harm
in a measure, and could give fairly
good account of themselves in a bit
of a Scrimmage.
The little guns carry five guns apiece,
Hotchkiss rifles, four siX-pounders and
one twelve-pounder up forward on
what would be the bridge of an ordi-
nary war ship. The ammunition for
these guns as well as the torpedo heads,
are carried in magazine forward. The
torpedo tubes, two of them, are mount
ed flush on the deck when the little fell
lows have their fighting clothes on.
You can see the places for the revolv-
ing carriage on the deck, one forward
of the second smokestack and the other
aft of it. The torpedoes are of the
Whitehead kind, and are so geared that
they are self-steering, and by an in
geniouS arrangement can neither rise
about nor sink below the depth of
water at which each one is designed to
strike. This depth can be gagged be-
fore the torpedoes leave the ship. Each
torpedo has two propellers, one right
forward of the other, and each is filled
with compressed air and has a little
engine in it which is started to running
automatically as soon as it leaves the
tube SO that the little boat can sneak
in as close to the enemy as possible.
discharge its torpedo, and then with its
wonderful speed stand a chance to get
away again in safety. The torpedo can
run straight for thousand yards, al
though of course it is desired to dis
charge them at shorter range If pos
sible, and the destroyers can steam at
the rate of thirty miles an hour.
They are not armored, and their
plates are not more than from half to
three-quarters of an inch in thickness,
1t is not supposed that they will need
armor. however. If their speed cannot
save them, nothing can, for though
they can inhict deadly sting upon a
monster battleship, one of them could
not stand for a moment before a giant
projectile. One shot. and that would be
the end But they are built for speed.
There is nothing in them at all, appar-
entity but machinery. To be sure, there
Is a somewhat limited space for the
men, siNty-two, all told, and yet more
limited space for the officers, cap
tain, n navigator, a watch officer and
a gunner. Still the little craft carry
wal tllouSn 10 steam ABOUT -,1Uu mics
at pinch. one of the men aboard said
yesterday that they could have steamed
from Esquimalt to Honolulu, at moder-
ate speed, and this was confirmed by
an officer of the Amphitrite. 1t is not
the design of such boats, however to
have a wide steaming radius nor to OPP
crate Independently of fleet OF larger
vessels, The torpedo arm is, in fact
auxiliary. For that reason the vessels
must have speed and must draw little
water. The Nirago and the Sparrow
hawk, twin ships in all respects. draw
little water, and each has engines of
$500 indicated horse power. You can
only appreciate how these are carried
by going on board and inspecting the
engines themselves. The boats seem
to be literally filled with machinery.
TO go down into the hold OF one of
them is a good deal like descending
into the bowels of a giants ,ch.
They are full OF wheels and springs
and cylinders and all kinds OF things