New-York tribune., 1906-11-07
RECORD RACES BETWEEN BATTLEsHIPs.

One OF the most exciting episodes OF the recent
naval manGuvres albeit it attracted but little at
rention, was the race northward to the Channel
across the Bay OF Biscay of Admiral Mays five
great battleshps Of the King Edward type, fol-
lowed by the combined fleets or Admirals Wilson
Never before was seen snob q co1test ~ of Tttans
Admiral Mays object was, of course. to reach Eng
ton at the hands OF the enemy"
And he succeeded. But at what a cost! Coal
burned under forced draft the rate OF 1200 tons
per ship for the forty-eght hours run and into
upon m tne suTiGce o{ me m
rate OF five tons an hour, making the fires burn
Haps half knot The total l BIZ pS for the S PS {Ic
hhsss s sue. s s1d md pursued GoGd hardly h8ys
and was probably nearer $500
Real war has SO far shown nothing to equal this.
Perhaps the nearest approach to 1t when, on
April 13, 1904 the Russian Port Arthur fleet, under
avoid being of by Togo who had been warned
Of their presence by wireless telegraphy. II was
Russian flagship PetroDavlOysk was blown up by
a mine while travelling at full speed. only eighty
But If races between rival fleets are rare similar
Common What shosd have beehad % evervhng Im
o ese OUT Wo D By By the the sGns
tween the cruisers Hyacinth and Minerva some
ments We're made Each ship was supplied With
precisely 1.C00 tons OF coal from the same cargo.
have steamed full speed ahead 70 Gibraltar and
c6aerv the race had TO he ab11gonsd Mt1 te a9d ma
far as the writer is aware. # never was renewed
ships IN the Mediterranean inaugurated at about
the same time. The course was from Corfu to
Malta, the composing ships leaving tho former
place at a. II. NJ. S. London proved the Win
nerl she steaming into the Grand Harbor, Valetta,
at a. the next day. having thus covered the
distance in twenty-three hours. her average pace
being over eighteen knots hour She beat the
Bulwark, with the commander in chief board.
by an hour. The other ships wandered in at In
tervals during the morning
Malta, by the way. being. OF course. the head
OF these exciting contests. The memory of ono
such is especially cherished. II took place be-
tween the torpedo ram PoIyphemus-a freak ship
never Iepeated-and destroyer. the course being
from Suda Bay IN Crete, TO Valetta The Poly
phemus came In first; but her tunnels were red
hot, her woodwork had been torn away and burned
for fuel and largo proportion of her stokers
were prostrate with heat epopexy.
Finally, II may be mentioned that the honor OF
having made the greatest number OF racing runs
as well as the longest continuous voyage, Of any
ship In the British navy is claimed by the Dido
The cruise In question over hrty-six thou
sand miles ana occupied more than three and a
half yeas, beginning in Chatham In May, 1899
One Of her many notable achievements was
when, in December. 1898, the took LORD Kitchener
from Malta TO Gibraltar at a speed OF consider
ably over eighteen knots, TO meet "Bobs" then
on his way TO the Cane. Arrived there she was
dispatched at twenty four hours notice TO China
where trouble was believed TO be brewing over
We'll -Hai-Wei. Her instructions were 10 SPARE
neither coal nor engines. but to get there In the
shortest possible time Thua put upon her lnettie
she did the ten thousand miles 10 Hong Kong at
II tribe under seventeen knots an hour thereby
establishing a record for long distance st9aIning
which has yet TO DO bsatsn--Tit- blta