We give an illustration of the new type of second class torpedo boat which
Messrs. Yarrow & Co. have recently constructed to the order of the
Admiralty, and which was tried at the latter part of last year. The boat
is 60 ft. long over all and 8 ft. 6 in. wide, 3 ft. shorter and from a
foot to 15 in. wider than the old type of second class boats. She attained
a speed of rather more than 17 knots per hour on her official trial with 4
tons on board. The speed, when light, for six runs on the measured mile
was 18-1/2 knots. The latter seems a very high speed for so small a vessel,
and indeed it is a remarkable performance, but at the same time the speed
of 17.031 knots on a four hours' trial with 4 tons on board is more
remarkable still. It is well to note, says _Engineering_, in comparing
speeds of torpedo boats, under what conditions as to weight carried and
duration of running the trial is made. In our previous notice we referred
to the manner in which this boat differs from ordinary second class boats
in the manner of ejecting the torpedo; and the arrangement is well shown
in the engraving. The more ordinary method of firing the torpedo from a
tube or tubes, built into the hull and pointing forward through the bow,
will be familiar to the majority of our readers; but here it will be seen
the bow fire has been altogether abandoned, and a swiveling gun placed aft
is substituted. The gun, of course, is not new; indeed, one was placed on
the old Lightning, the first torpedo boat built for the English navy. That
vessel was, however, a first class boat, and although not so large as the
first class boats now built, was considerably bigger than No. 50, which is
the official designation of the craft under notice. In the Lightning, too,
the torpedo gun was placed forward, and was trained in quite a different
manner to that of this second class boat. We have already commented on the
offensive advantages of being able to eject the torpedo through a wide
angle of range, and when going at speed, rather than having to bring the
boat to a stop and fire only end on. We need not therefore recur to this
point; but since our former notice appeared we have had, while on shore,
an opportunity of seeing the boat steam at speed and maneuver. Our
previous experience was obtained on board--a position which, in some
respects, does not afford so good a point of observation as when one is at
some little distance from the boat. It is certainly a remarkable sight to
see the manner in which this little vessel winds among craft or round
buoys, or turns circles of surprisingly small diameter. She seems to pivot
on a point very near the bow, a fact which is no doubt chiefly to be
accounted for by the way the deadwood is cut away aft. This allows the
stream of water diverted by the unusually large rudder to swing the after
part round with facility.
[Illustration: IMPROVED TORPEDO BOAT.]
Another notable feature about No. 50 is the comparatively small bow wave
she throws up. We believe it is pretty generally acknowledged now that the
most noticeable point at night about a torpedo boat traveling at high
speed--putting on one side flame and sparks from the funnel--is the high
bow wave the majority of these vessels throw up when going quickly through
the water. The powerful electric search light causes this mass of foaming
water to show up with peculiar distinctness against the dark background of
sea and sky. It has been, therefore, thought advisable to reduce this
undesirable feature even if something in the shape of speed has to be
sacrificed. Fairly full bow lines are the best for fast boats of this
class, but in such a model the big bow wave is very noticeable. Messrs.
Yarrow have met the demand of naval officers for a less easily observed
boat by placing the greatest cross section further aft than they would
have done had speed alone been the point aimed at, as it almost always was
in the earlier torpedo boats. It is therefore additionally creditable to
Messrs. Yarrow that they have reached the unprecedentedly high speed of
seventeen knots, with so considerable an addition to the beam, and that
they have at the same time reduced the bow wave.
There is a further advantage of less surface disturbance when running
torpedo boats. It is unnecessary to point out that surprise will be the
chief element of success in future possible attacks in which these craft
may be engaged. As the bow wave is most likely to reveal the presence of
the boat by sight, so also will it most probably give first warning of
approach by sound. It is the splash of the water and not the noise of the
machinery that can be heard for the greatest distance when a boat is
running with hatches closed--speaking of course of high-speed boats in
which the engines are kept to a high degree of perfection, as they should
be, and in the Royal Navy are, with all torpedo boats. It will therefore
be seen that there is an additional reason for reducing the objectionable
bow wave.
The boat which we illustrate recently made the run from the Thames to
Portsmouth, and, the weather being bad, was taken through the somewhat
intricate but more sheltered fairways and channels of what is known as the
"overland passage." Off Margate she managed to get on the ground--a result
by no means to be wondered at; and, as the sands here are very hard, she
smashed her propeller. After a time she was got off and beached, when a
new propeller was fitted. We mention this incident, as it is generally
supposed that these craft are of a very fragile description; "egg shell"
is the favorite term of comparison. One distinguished naval
officer--retired--has said he would never willingly go on board these
craft, for fear of putting his foot through the bottom; and there is a
very funny story extant about a sailor with a wooden leg. It would seem,
however, from the experience of No. 50, that steel vessels are of much
more robust constitution than is generally supposed, and, indeed, there is
ample testimony to the fact. We recently witnessed the efforts of a small
working party to get one of these vessels over a bank. She was pushed as
high up as the strength of the party would allow, and in this position her
fore part was over the bank for about a third of the length of the boat. A
tackle was then put on the bow, which was bowsed down until the boat could
be dragged straight ahead.
A few words may appropriately be added here as to torpedo boat policy
generally. Admiral Colomb, in the opening remarks of his excellent little
manual, "The Naval Year Book," refers to the torpedo boat question in the
following terms: "The fleet, the flotilla, the cruiser, and the harbor
attack and defense have each had (_i. e._, during the past year) their
share of attention, and developed exercise, and opinion has been advanced,
guided, or turned back by the observation of facts which these exercises
have brought out. While it cannot, perhaps, be said that the torpedo, as
torpedo, has much altered its position in naval estimation, it seems fair
to assume that the torpedo boat, as boat, has fallen in repute. In the
first, it has grown very much larger, and has, in point of fact, ceased to
be a boat. In part this may have come about because the _role_ which some
proposed for the torpedo boat, of being an entirely defensive weapon
confined to territorial localities, and operating only within a short
distance from its port, has never been generally accepted. Boats which
were never intended for voyages have been sent on voyages, and, being
found more or less unsuited for that kind of service, supposed
improvements have been made, so that they should be capable of executing
it. The 'harbor defense' instrument has become a 'sea attack' instrument,
and in some sense an unrecognized rival to the undoubted sea-going torpedo
vessels like the Archer, the Fearless, and the Rattlesnake."
In these passages Admiral Colomb has put the present aspect of the torpedo
boat question very aptly. We are now experiencing the inevitable reaction
consequent upon our early over-valuing of the torpedo. The unknown
possibilities for distinction of those weapons were so magnified that
scarcely any expenditure was thought too great to provide means for their
employment, both in and out of season. Torpedo vessels have been growing
in size and costliness. More and more gear has been crowded into them,
increasing their weight and cost, and also the intricacy of their
machinery. In all this, cheapness, the one great virtue of the torpedo,
has been overshadowed. No doubt it is right for a great naval power like
Great Britain to have vessels of all classes, and the possible value of
small fast vessels such as the Archer or the Rattlesnake--not necessarily
as connected with the torpedo--can hardly be overestimated. But for
smaller naval powers, that look on the torpedo boat as a means of coast
defense, especially those countries having a broken coast line studded
with islands, bays, and inlets, it is very questionable whether the
smaller boats, such as that now under notice, will not be a better
investment than the larger craft at present more in vogue. By the
additional seaworthiness of this boat, secured chiefly by the increased
width, the 60 ft., or second class, boat has been lifted into the category
of practicable vessels; and it must be remembered that four or five of
these smaller craft can be purchased for the price of one modern first
class boat. This is the crucial point, the money standard, and it is to
that that all ship and boat building questions must be reduced, whether
it be in wealthy England or the most impecunious and perhaps hardly more
than half-civilized state.
The question may be argued from many points of view, and we put forward
these remarks simply as suggestions, without any wish to dogmatize. But it
seems that, as the cheaper second class boat has been carried so many
steps in advance, it may be worth while to reconsider the position with a
view to returning to the original torpedo boat idea of small, inexpensive
vessels, acting by surprise; and not putting too many eggs in one basket.