Los Angeles herald., 1906-09-03

Armored vessels having two bridges
usually carry one at each end Of the
| bridge. Sometimes they carry in add.
tion to these one more perched upon
platform Fastened to the mast.
The main searchlght Of the battle.
ship Conn ecticut, said to be the largest
naval searchllght in existence, has 9
lens more than five feet in diameter
throwing a ray in the light of which
newspapers can easily be read on the
darkest night more than twelve miles
away.
Under favorable atmospheric condi-
tlons this can be done at even greater
distance The light has an intensity
Of more than $4,000 candle power, fur
nshed by a dynamo and engines used
for this sole purpose. From this great
size searchlights range dawnward to
the smallest, having an intensity of
only a few hundred candle power.
This accessory Of naval warfare was
originally adopted for the purpose of
discovering torpedo boats engaged In
night attack. Although this is still
their most important function, they are
now used to supply many other naval
needs.
They are employed in signaling, for
directing the rescue of men overheard
and as an aid to navigation in narrow
channels and places where pilot marks
are hard to distinguish at night.
How Drilling Is Done
Whenever warships are at anchor in
a harbor certain hours at night are set
apart for drill in avertlng torpedo at
tacks. The ships steam launches are
called away and sent out into the night
with instructions to proceed a certain
distance and then turn and head for the
mother ship at full speed.
Every effort is made to reach the side
of the ship without being picked up by
the great beam Of the searchlight
sweeping wide and swift over every
square yard of the water surface from
horizon to horizon. often the end of
the ray and the hurrying launch hap
pen to be in the same place at the same
time. Then the launch is counted out.
II is theoretically sunk; the attack has
failed.
There are recorded, however, instances
of the little craft, going at a speed of
over fourteen miles an hour, reaching
the side of their parent ship unseen.
This of course means the destruction
Of the ship In theory.
When a man has fallen overheard at
night the searchlight is at once put in
operation and its long finger of light
feels all the surface of the waters until
the unfortunate is found. Then the ray
is steadily held upon him until he is
picked up by a rescuing boat.
Searchlights are used for signaling
in two ways. One method employs tho
ordinary wig-wag system, in which the
ray of light is alternately flashed from
left to right as an ordinary flag is
waved in hand wig-wag signaling.
For the other system any telegraph
code may be used. Nearly all search
lights are now equipped with a shutter
for this purpose. With this the ray is
alternately interrupted or shortened
and prolonged thus forming equiva-
lents for the dots and dashes of ordi-
nary telegraph codes. The ray is
thrown against the clouds if the night
is cloudy, or straight up If the night is
cioudess. The best results are OBJ
tained on cloudy nights, as the clouds
serve as refiectors.
When the sky is overcast and the air
is moderately clear, telegraphing by
this system has been accomplished over
a distance of fifty miles. Within the
past few months vessels on the north
side of the Isthmus of Panama have
communicated by searchlight teleg-
raphy with other warships on the south
side.
The distance. including the distance
of the vessels from shore, was more
than fifty miles. During one of the
Filipino instructions m messages were
sent in this way from Manila to the
most distant part of the harbor.
This was necessitated by the cutting
of the telegraph and telephone wires
by the insurgents.