Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-04-02

THE destroyers of the Atlantic torpedo fleet lately
cruising in West Indian waters, and now operat-
ing in those of the upper Chesapeake, are accom-
panied for the first time in the history of the American
navy by tender adequately equipped as such.
The cruiser Dixie familiar to all shipping men before
her acquisition by the Government at the time of the
Spanish-American War the Morgan Line steamer Ell
Rio, has been refitted for this duty.
Today, in the quiet waters of the Potomac, the York
and the Patuxent before in the lee of those islands
of the South the stage of the bloodest fights of his
tory,-of Morgan the bucaneer and of Drake, of the
triumph of Rodney, and the humiliation of De Grasse,
the destroyers lie alongside overhaung their delicate
machinery, receiving from the central power plant
steam, electric current, fresh water, occasion
require Upon the broad sweep of the Dixies deck
their find relief from the crowded quarters and the
overheated, steam saturated, oil permeaed atmosphere
of their own vessels Here are available washrooms,
storerooms for clothing and spare parts, comodious
sick quarters for the aing unfit, well stocked IL
brary, canteen, barber shop; in short, all the COM
forts and conveniences of modern batteshp life that
heretofore have been denied to the of the "dun
garee" navy is aeconately termed by those who
travel in the fast little black boats solely because of the
satisfaction found in the conquest of superheaed steam
However strong this appeal to the physical comfort of
man. the tender is only incidentally hotel Essentially
she repair and supply ship, designed to meet the
needs of sixteen more destroyers comprising the
Atlantic fleet. The vessels composing it practically
identical in type, of eight hundred tons displacement,
turbine driven and oil burning In every respect they
bigger and ADLER vessels than their sisters of older date
Sisters! There is element of humOr in referring
wicked little torpedOboat "she; and yet, the
knows of torpedo craft the less homogeneous
the application OF because 1t happens that the
method of handling them depends entirely upon the day
of the week. and if by chance Thursday tao
tics Tuesday, the result commonly initiation of the
skipper into the "Order of Bow Smashers," wherein
nothing less than twoinch dent counts.
The primary purpose OF this fleet in its relation to the
battleshp feet that of scouting force The strength
of a scouting force depends upon its mobility Its
mobility depends in the last analysis upon weight. In
vessel can have practically any given feature
developed to almost extent if willing to concede the
space and weight necessary to effect it, speed which
means engine weight hitting power, battery weight;
cruising radius, fuel weight Rarely, and least of all in
the destroyer type, can one have all.
The balance of factors is drawn in such craft fine
the skill of the naval architect draw it, and
be disturbed without serious loss of efficiency.
Every pound additional to the designed weight means
increased draft and reduced speed To travel FAST the
vessels must travel light and travelling light, they
not travel far unless they have base-either fixed
base navy yard. a mobile base tender. Hence it
is that this torpedo feet which is about take its place
the first fighting line of the nation has been made in
dependent to small extent by the splendid sucency
of the equi pment of its tender.
THE most striking single feature of this equipment is
the machine shop. which contains some twenty-six
OF the most modern tools, covering their
range every mechanical operation Photographs or a
mere enumeration of tools, convey little idea of the
splendid Sucency of this shop, which challenges the
their of the practical and of women by the order
cleanliness, and shining bright work every hand.
Here no whistle marks the beginning or the close of
working hours. The whr of machinery continues
for torpedo repair work is invariably "hurry up work
and more frequently rush work, be it pump, per-
scope, or the cylinder of a gas engine.
Ut equal Importance in relation to the general pur-
pose and equally interesting to the visitor, the
blacksmith shop and the foundry where castings are
made in ron brass and the toughe compositions and
where welding operations effected by the spectacular
thernt process, in which liquid STEEL at temperature