The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1904-05-16
eArrLEsHIps vs.. ToRpEDoEs.

construction of additional battleships,
in view of the lesson Of the present
war. is not confined to the United
states. The Japan Gazette does not
take the ground that battleships must
necessarily be relegated to the back
ground because of the destructive pow
or of torpedoes as demonstrated by
the Japanese. but only that their pro-
teetiye powers must be increased.
me problem of defence against tor
p4aoes very early occupied the atten7
ton az naval architects and inventors,
saws the Gazette: Torpedo netting
was introduced but its value was con-.
s;sssrably reduced by the invention OF
the pilot torpedo. Latterly, the I'M
uroyen1ents in torpedoes have gone
ahead at d. tremendous rate, Tar IN ex-
cess of the pace attained in the IN
vention of defensive appliances. The
net result is that, on dark night es-
peoially, a warslip has very little self
protective power against an onslaught
v.torpedo-boats manned by deternliri-
ed men. The torpedo-boat DESTROYER
was invented soon after the adoption
of HE torpedo but these boats. whist
. primarily intended for defence, nave
revealed tremendous aggressive power.
They are stin the only practicable safe
guard for large ships despite the many
devices for detecting the approach OF
forkedoes. Now that torpedoes can De
discharged at a distance of 1900 yards
at 4 speed of thirty knots there is lit
: 4Ie vaIue in the Information that
torpedo is approaching for there Is m
sufficient time between the receipt Oh
the warming and the arrival OF the
4or,,eio Tor the adoption of efficient
defensive methods or avoiding the
course of the subaqueous projectiie-
There remains therefore only the pro-
vision of destroyers, but as the range OF
tornedees. increases the wider viii be
tta area to be protected ana the great
er the number Of destroyers required
to keep ea1cient guard. Battleships are
of course necessary for bombardment
but. by. day. with submarine boats.
high speed destroyers used extensively
and long range steering torpedoes, the
question of their, general utility is De
coming more prominent. In the Ola
laws huge line-of-battle ships had
great advantages, advantages which
are certainly not shared to the full by
the present day mammoth battleships
and cruisers. A torpedo attack IS SO
swift, so silent, so Irresistible that the
,,,oraI effect on the enemy is a con-
siderable. asset for The attacking side.
A destroyer or even torpedo boat
z-,,a,,es ont of the darkness at full
speed. II sighted at a distance Oh
mile. two minutes only will elapse be-
fore it is alongside and the chances OF
hitting it before it can strike a fatai
blow are very slight, whilst 1t mas the
hinge bulk of the battleship as a mark
The present war has shown that the
greater the daring with which these
attacks are conducted the more ef-
fective they become and the greater
the safety of the aggressors. 1t seems
that in a daylight attack the larger
ships would be almost invincible put
wfthsthe fan of darkness the advantage
yeers, to a fully equal extent, to the
side of the torpedo boats and Destroy
ers with their speed and invisibility
There can be little doubt that the next
few years will see an enormous IN
crease in this branch of the navies OF
tba world both for offensive and de-
fepsixe purposes and it is possible that
bart at least. OF the money that would
otherwise be expended on great war
ships viii be devoted to the provision
of smaller boats of high speed. Ii
was prophesied for the torpedo that
its effects would he so awful as to
render naval war impossible. That
prophecy has not been realized but one
effect has certainly been to produce
conviction of the helplessness OF huge
ships against this fnsidious enemy ur-
less surrounded by a cloud of protect
ing destroyers.
.sThe appreciation of the efficacy of
the torpedo is undoubtedly the main
cause of the early japanese successes.
1t may be said that as much was due
to surprise as to particular weapon
whilst admitting that the disorganiza-
ton ensuing on the swift and silent
attacks was a great factor, it must not
be forgotten that it is a factor which
to greater or less degree is ever pres
ent. Those who have been on battle
ships during naval manoeuvers tell US
that from sunset to sunrise their
nerves were at the greatest tension and
that practically the only enemy feared
was the dark torpedo-boats, TO guard