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14 MARINE REVIEW. [August 3, WHAT A TORPEDO BOAT IS LIKE. PEVELOPMENT OF THE '"' WASP OF THE SEA"--ITS USEFULNESS IN WAR--LIFE , t IN ITS SCANTY QUARTERS. BY LAWRENCE IRWELL, rly It may safely be predicted that a large part of the excitement and romance of the next great naval war will be centered around torpedo boats, and there is, therefore, a general interest in the peculiarities of these "wasps of the sea." They are of comparatively recent invention. The first true torpedo boat was launched only as long ago as 1877. In that year an inventor had brought before the world, after years of anxious work and thought, the most terrible and wonderful weapon of naval warfare that had ever been produced, and in such a state of per- fection that it disarmed all criticism. This weapon was the Whitehead torpedo. Several different kinds of torpedoes had been invented before this, but they were all of very crude and unwieldy pattern. The White- head, on the contrary, was a marvel of mechanical construction. It may be briefly described as being made of steel, about 14 feet long, with a diameter of 14 inches, and shaped like a cigar. In its nose, or pointed end, is contained the explosive; abaft this comes the air-chamber, con- taining the motive-power of the torpedo, namely, air compressed to a pressure of 1,000 pounds to the square inch; abaft this, again, come the engines; then the chamber containing the apparatus for regulating the depth of the torpedo in the water; and astern of all, the two propellers for driving the weapon through the water. The torpedo is fired or thrust out from a tube on the deck of the ship or torpedo boat, and immediately it touches the water it adjusts itself to a depth of about 10 feet, and makes a bee-line for the object aimed at. If it misses the enemy, a valve opens, and it sinks, but can be recovered. If it strikes a ship, however, the charge is exploded, and tears the vessel's bottom right open, while the shock at the same time throws all her engines out of gear, and in fact cripples her completely, if it does not send her to the bottom. As far as I can ascertain, the latest development of the torpedo is a weapon some 18 inches in diameter, with a speed of 30 knots, and carrying no less than 200 pounds of gun-cotton. Although the Whitehead torpedo was quickly made part of the armament of every modern man-of-war, its advent also called into existence a class of vessel which was entirely different from anything that had been seen afloat before. It was learned that the best way of using the torpedo effectually was to fire it from a vessel of great speed and small size, so that it might be brought all the more quickly into close range with the enemy; for it must be remembered that the aim of a torpedo becomes most uncertain at a greater distance than 800 yards. It was desirable, of course, at such close quarters, that the vessel which fired the torpedo should offer as little target as possible to the enemy. The result of such a demand was the building of the type of little ships known now as tor- pedo boats. I believe that the first torpedo boat ever launched was named the Lightning, built for the British government by Messrs. Thornycroft. Though only 90 feet long, her speed was 19 knots, and this result was considered so remarkable, with higher speeds following, that orders were given for great numbers of other boats of the samé type. France, the United States, Russia and other naval powers lost no time in following suit. Since then the demand for greater length and higher speed has gone on increasing, and there seems no certainty that the limit has yet been reached. Now we have torpedo boats and torpedo boat destroyers, some of the latter credited with more than 30 knots on the measured mile. In the British service, in which I made a brief study of torpedo boats, there are two classes of these tittle vessels, the second class being small and used chiefly for coast defence. The first class is intended for work at sea and for harrassing an enemy's ports, and it is of a boat of this type (a small one), as well as of the life and surroundings of those on board, that the following description is given. She was "number ----, first-class torpedo boat," built in 1885, and could at a push work up to a speed of about 18 knots. Although only 65 tons in weight, and 125 feet in length, her engines were of 750 horse-power, or nearly 12 horse-power to every ton, a great amount of energy to store up in such a small compass. One would imagine that to stand such a strain the boat would have to be built of very strong and rigid materials; yet she was only made of a mere skin of steel, less than a quarter of an inch thick, supported by light beams and frames of the same material. The deck, also of steel, was flush fore-and-aft, and would have made quite a fair promenade, if it had not been so overcrowded with gear and fittings. Right astern was perched "the ship's boat," a tiny dingey, large enough to carry one pas- senger and a crew of two men, Then comes the "quarter-deck," the only clear space along the whole length of the deck; and before this, the after "conning tower," with a torpedo tube on each side of it; further on, amid- ships, we find the engine-room hatchways and the funnel: and before the funnel, a machine gun, another "conning-tower" and torpedo tubes. Abaft the funnel also stood a large electric search-light projector, the light for which was supplied by a small dynamo on the lower deck. The torpedoes having been placed in the tubes, all that was necessary to force one of them into the water was an "impulse charge" of about four ounces of powder, the aiming being done by training the tube in the direction required. The forecastle was comparatively clear, but little advantage could 'be derived from that fact, as once in a seaway the fore part of the boat was practically under water. It can easily be seen, therefore, that there was little room to stretch one's legs while at sea; but as a matter of fact, I believe everybody aboard had all he could do to hang on to the rails around the deck to avoid being pitched or rolled overboard. Although the hull of the boat had only three feet of freeboard. there was much more room 'below than anyone would imagine by looking at her from the outside. The three officers--the captain, sub-lieutenant and gunner--had a nice little "crib," as they called it, consisting of a pantry and a comfortable little "wafdroom." The upholstered locker seats on each side of the table served the purpose of a couch for the night, for of course there was no such luxury as beds or hammocks on board: and the bed-clothes were represented by a thick "duffle suit." The quarters for the crew of thirteen men in the forward part of the boat were far better than anyone would expect. The seats and mess tables were made hinged to the wall, so that they could be turned back out of the way when not actually in use. The sleeping accommodation consisted of cork mat- tresses laid on the deck, with "duffle suits" to keep out the cold. Of course there were storerooms for provisions and other necessaries; and taking the little boat altogether, one might easily imagine on a fine day, when everything was dry and clean, that torpedo-boat life was an easy job. So long as the sea is smooth and the weather warm, this may be fairly true, but directly the wind gives a sign of freshening, or the sea begins to get the slightest bit rough, then life on a torpedo boat becomes decidedly unpleasant. Men who have never known what sea-sickness is during years at sea get thoroughly sick with the motion and ¥ibration. As the flying little boat cuts through the waves, a continual deluge of swirl and foam rushes over and along her deck from bow to stern. All the hatches are necessarily screwed down, and the men below have to exist on what little air gets through the ventilators. Every few seconds the boat's bow is caught by a wave, thrown up in the air high enough to take the keel out of water, and comes down with a smacking thud that almost threatens to rip her bottom right open. At times a bigger wave than the others will strike the ship, and one would imagine that she was going to be completely overwhelmed; but she manages to come up again all right, only with the disadvantage of having the sea down the funnel and the furnace fires almost out. Although the fittings of the boat are all fixed and are made to stand a lot of knocking about, it is wonderful what a pandemonium the deck below soon becomes in bad weather. The wardroom table, though screwed firmly down may be so shaken that it is wrenched frcm its fastenings, and ends by collapsing altogether; the little cooking range forward.is not unlikely to suffer the same fate, and the cook has a fine time picking up a mixture of red-hot coals, pans, and half-cooked food; or perhaps an exceptionally heavy sea smashes the after skylight, floods the cabin, and invades everything in the place. When the sea is rough, the men in the engine room have to be very care- ful if they do not want to get mixed up with the machinery; but the men in the fire-room, curiously enough, are the best off in the boat; being amidships and below, they experience the least motion, and it is fortu- nate they do, for firing a torpedo boat under forced draft is very difficult work in bad weather. The boat during action is steered from inside the conning tower, but at other times the deck-wheel is used, as almost any amount of spray and cold weather is preferable to being shut up. A few days' experience on a sea-going torpedo 'boat is enowgh to toughen any man; and yet, in spite of its many hardships, there is said to be no life more thoroughly liked by both officers and men of the American navy as well as by their British brethren. Its chief charm, I suppose, lies in the practical fact that it is what sailors call a "roving life," with none of the monotony of an ordinary man-of-war, but with every element of excitement and adven- ture. Whatever the warlike usefulness of torpedo boats may be, there can be no dowbt that they are the best training ships in the world for instilling an immense amount of energy and pluck into anybody who has the making of a seaman in him. ISLAND POSSESSIONS MEAN SEA POWER. Rear Admiral Francis J. Higginson, chairman of the United States light-house board, has an article in a recent number of the Independent in which he views "The Sea Power of the United States," not only in a way that is entirely natural for a naval officer but which is pretty certain to strike the casual reader as quite sensible. Rear Admiral Higginson says in part: "What to the naval officer is peculiarly interesting is the fact that the present is leading the future over the sea. The sea is the 'pathway of nations,' from which 'or many years Uncle Sam has been conspicuous by his absence. But now it is his pathway as well as that of other nations, and the only route to his new possessions is over the sea. This brings us face to face with the greatest duty of the present time, and one which in all honor and decency we should settle ourselves and not leave to our successors. This duty is contained in the following axiom: 'To hold our island possessions the route to them must be made secure.' This in its full significance means, if it means anything, sea power. If you go to sea at all, if your business calls you over the ocean, you must go there strong enough to hold and protect your own." : Referring to the ew conditions which colonial possession will im- pose, the rear admiral says: "This change of affairs will bring about not only the necessary material increase of the navy, but will make our duties afloat much more onerous than before."" Again he says: "Yet it must not be forgotten and cannot be too often reiterated that the key to the new situation lies in the navy, and in order that the navy may perform its new functions promptly and efficiently, it is absolutely necessary that it should have access to a waterway across the isthmus and coaling stations along trade routes. In this connection it is astonishing, in view of the serious consequences involved, with what indifference and procrastination the project of the Nicaragua canal seems/to be enveloped. It is of far more importance now than before we obtained our new possessions, and it is, I am convinced, the most pressing obligation which devolves upon the country today. It should have the same right of way which the Pacific railroad had immediately after the civil war, and should be pushed through to completion with the same expedition. Take, for example, the recent voyage to Manila of that mighty sea rover, the Oregon. She left New York Oct. 12, 1898, and arrived at Manila, March 18, 1899. The dis- tance actually sailed by log on this voyage was 20,306 nautical miles, and this was done in 92 steaming days, or at an average speed of 220.6 knots per day. Her coal consumption, for steaming purposes alone was 5,417 tons at a cost of $23,953.98. Had she gone by way of the Nicaragua canal she would, at the same rate of speed, have reached her destination in 51.4 steaming days on a coal consumption of 3,021 tons and at a cost of (ap- proximately) $6,699. While these figures. are approximate they are close enough to give an idea of the relative value of the Nicaragua route. Here, then, is a clear saving in favor of the canal of first, 40.6 days 1m time; second, a distance of 9,983 nautical miles: third, 2.396 tons of coal; fourth, $17,254.93. The most valuable item here is, of course, the time. How much at a critical period may happen in forty days. Whole nations have been conquered ii less." ; :