Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1919-10-19

pany the battle feet. Its draft was SO
light that torpedo could pass harm
lessly under the keel, and it carried an
armament OF sufficient power to end the
career of any torpedo boat that came its
way. '.' =
Few types have ever justified their
name so successfully as the torpedo
boat destroyer. SO completely did it
eliminate that little vessel as danger
to the fighting ships that practically all
navies long since ceased to build tor
pedo boats Yet the destroyer promptly
succeeded to the chief function Of the
discarded vessel, that Of attacking capt.
tai ships with torpedoes, and. in addi-
ton to this it assumed the duty of pro-
tecting battleships from similar attack
by enemy vessels of the same type.
1t surprises many people to learn that
naval advisers insisted that a large num-
warship of considerable size. 1t appears
small only because all ships, those used
for commerce and those for war, have
increased SO greatly in displacement.
The latest type carries four powerful
four or five-inch guns, and twelve tor
pedo tubes, each launching a torpedo
which weighs more than a ton, and
which runs as straight as an arrow for
more than six miles The Santa Maria,
the largest vessel Of the squadron with
which Columbus made his first voyage
to America, had a displacement of about
five hundred tons. and thus was about
half as large as a destroyer, and at the
10 in nf ha oil -
vessels were much larger
X \ +
Previous to 1914 it was generally be-
lieved that torpedo attacks would play
a large part in any great naval engage
ment, and this was the reason why all
naval advisers insisted that a large
number of these vessels should be con-
structed as essential units of the fleet.
Yet the war had not gone far when it
became apparent that this versatile
craft had another great part to play
and that it would once more justify it's
name in really heroic fashion. In the
same way that it had proved it's worth
in driving the surface torpedo boat from
the seas, so now it developed into a
Ncis uoHBeIouS ioe lot tIle tOTpeUO boat
that sailed beneath the waves.
Events soon demonstrated that, in all
open engagements between submarine
and destroyer. the submarine stood very
little chance The reason for this was
simply that the submarine had no
weapon with which it could successfully
resist the attack lof the destroyer,
whereas the destroyer had several with
which it could attack the submarine.
The submarine had three or four tor
pedo tubes and only one or two guns,
and with neither could afford to risk
attacking the more powerfully armed
destroyer. The submarine was of such
a fragile nature that it could never af-
ford to engage In combat In which il
stood much chance Of getting hit. A
destroyer could stand comparatively
severe pounding and still remain fairly
intact, but single shell striking sub
marine was very serious matter; even
though the vessel did not sink as a re-
suit, 1t was almost Inevitable that GER
tain parts of it's machinery would be SO
Injured that 1t would have difficulty in
getting into port.
1T, therefore. became necessary for the
submarine always a. play SAFE. to fight
only under conditions in which it had
The enemy at such disadvantage that
Il ran little risk Itself; and this was the
reason why II preferred to attack mer-