THE U.S.S. WARREN
What is now the torpedo boat destroyer is only the old torpedo boat
grown bigger, stauncher, speedier and far more powerful. This country
no longer makes the torpedo boat, for the destroyer does all that it
could ever do and a hundred per cent beyond. It was Great Britain who
launched the first torpedo boat back about 1878. Those early examples
of the craft were diminutive affairs, some sixty feet long by seven
wide and displaced not over twenty tons. Their armament was usually
two torpedo tubes and their speed never higher than sixteen knots.
For shallow water operations, however, they proved successful, and
gradually they developed until in 1890 they were displacing eighty tons
and had a speed of from eighteen to twenty-two knots.
In our own Navy the craft did not appear until 1886, when the
_Stiletto_ slid down the ways at the Herreshoff Yard at Bristol, Rhode
Island. The _Stiletto_ made quite a sensation then, even though she
was only eighty-eight and a half feet in length, had a displacement
of thirty tons and did eighteen knots. But the _Stiletto_ proved the
entering wedge, for five years later we had torpedo boats of one
hundred and twenty tons and, in 1901 of two hundred and eighty tons
displacement. The next step was the destroyer, as she was called for
brevity, and at the time of the war between Russia and Japan these
ships――no longer “boats,” if you please――had attained a speed of
thirty knots and were of five hundred tons displacement. In that war
the Japanese used their torpedo craft to excellent advantage, even
though their policy was to take no unnecessary risks with them, and
the destroyer’s place in naval warfare was clearly established. The
construction of destroyers had a boom everywhere, and in this country
we were turning out ships of four hundred and twenty tons like the
_Bainbridge_, _Decatur_, _Chauncey_ and _Paul Jones_. These ships were
two hundred and fifty feet in length, could make twenty-eight knots
and for armament carried two eighteen-inch torpedo tubes and seven
small rapid-fire guns. Whereas the old torpedo boat was designed to
attack larger ships, acting in flotilla strength and under cover of
darkness, the new destroyer was intended primarily to run down the
torpedo boat and sink it with rapid-fire guns. But torpedo tubes were
also provided so that the destroyer might likewise take the place of
the torpedo boat in attacking larger ships. For a while the smaller
craft was retained as a defensive weapon and the larger craft built as
an offensive weapon, although neither was limited to its specialty. The
torpedo boat, because of light draft and low visibility, readily became
a weapon of offence, darting out from shallow waters to attack enemy
cruisers and battleships with its torpedoes and, with good fortune,
returning unscathed. On the other hand, the offensive destroyer became
a weapon of defence when it stood by the attacking fleet and guarded it
from the depredations of the smaller boats.
Finally, however, the development of the torpedo did away with the
torpedo boat entirely, or, I should say, with the building of them, for
most navies still have and make some use of torpedo boats turned out
from ten to twenty years ago. (Our own _Dupont_, launched in 1897, was
in commission in reserve at the beginning of the war and, doubtless,
is doing its bit bravely enough somewhere today.) As the accuracy
and range of the modern automobile torpedo increased the necessity
for small boats decreased, since the torpedo could be fired at a far
greater distance. Consequently the torpedo boat’s tonnage grew and the
destroyer’s tonnage was forced to keep its relative advantage. In our
Navy the jump was from two hundred and eighty tons to four hundred and
twenty, and with that jump the torpedo boat ceased and the destroyer
appeared.
At present time our larger destroyers are of about eleven hundred
tons displacement――although we hear rumours of still larger ships
being built. The destroyer must be able to cruise for weeks at a time
without return to base, and for that reason must be sufficiently
large to carry immense quantities of fuel and stores. Today one of
our newer destroyers can take on enough oil on this side to make the
run to England and back without replenishing her tanks. As to speed,
the _Jacob Jones_, the latest destroyer of which specifications
have been made public, made thirty knots an hour, developing about
seventeen thousand horse power. Others, however, laid down after the
_Jacob Jones_, are said to be able to steam at thirty-five knots and a
fraction.
The activity of the submarine in the present war has had its influence
on the destroyer. The torpedo as a weapon against the submarine is
of no consequence. The destroyer trusts to the fire of its small
guns or to ramming, when the submarine is on the surface, and to
depth-charges when the submarine is submerged. As the all-important
task of the American Navy at present is to combat the German U-boat,
our destroyers, which, with light cruisers and “chasers,” are best
adapted for such warfare, comprise the bulk of our offensive fleet. In
consequence of the duty they have to perform the tendency is toward an
increase of gun power, and the destroyers now being turned out carry
many more rapid-fire rifles. Seaworthiness, speed and a large range
of action are also requisites, and these features, too, are receiving
attention.
The present day automobile torpedo is an outcome of the spar torpedo of
Civil War times. The spar, or outrigger torpedo, was fixed at the end
of a pole and exploded by contact with the hull of an enemy ship or by
use of a firing battery at will. It was by such a contrivance that the
_Housatonic_ was sent to the bottom off Charleston by a Confederate
submarine boat, with the accompanying loss of the submarine’s crew.
Other successful uses of the spar torpedo were made during the Civil
War and later. Robert Whitehead invented the “fish” torpedo which,
in improved shape, still bears his name. It has played a prominent
part in the present war. Another torpedo, used by our Navy, is the
Bliss-Leavitt. The diameter of the automobile torpedo varies from
eighteen to twenty-two inches, with an extreme length of twenty-one
feet. Essentially it is a submarine boat self-propelled. It consists
of five parts: warhead, air-flask, depth control mechanism, steering
gear and engines. In the warhead is a charge of high explosive, from
two hundred to five hundred pounds, according to type or size, which
is detonated by a firing mechanism. The explosive may be either
gun-cotton, which is ordinary cotton treated with nitric and sulphuric
acids, or trinitrotoluol, familiarly known as TNT, which is formed
of hydrogen and carbon treated with nitric acid. The detonating
mechanism is merely a firing pin which goes through the centre of the
explosive charge from front to rear and is seated in a percussion cap
located back of the charge. At the nose of the warhead the firing pin
terminates in a safety device known as a butterfly nut. A second safety
appliance reaches through half the diameter of the warhead and holds
the firing pin in place so that it cannot strike against the percussion
cap.
The air-flask is a strongly constructed steel tank which is filled with
compressed air used to operate the engine and all other mechanism of
the torpedo. The depth control mechanism is worked by water pressure
and is adjustable by a spring before launching. It allows the torpedo
to be run at any desired depth. Its principal parts are a pendulum and
a hydrostatic piston controlling horizontal rudders. The steering gear
consists of a gyroscopic compass which influences vertical rudders and
keeps the torpedo on its course. The engine is operated by compressed
air which takes the place of steam. A reducing valve decreases the
pressure of the air to that required. An alcohol flame heats the air
as it enters the cylinders and also produces steam from the water in
a combustion flask. The air and steam are mixed and the resulting
expansion provides the force to drive the engine. In several types of
torpedoes the engines are reciprocating, but in the Bliss-Leavitt, or
Bliss, as it is frequently called, are placed turbines that drive two
propellers.
The torpedo is forced from the torpedo tube by means of compressed air.
On a destroyer these tubes are set up much like a gun, and singly, in
twos or in threes. Before the torpedo is placed in the tube the safety
pin is removed and the butterfly nut is loosened. The breach-block of
the tube is closed and compressed air is turned into the tube behind
the torpedo, which, however, is kept from being forced out at the
muzzle by a lock. When the catch of the lock is released the torpedo is
forced from the tube. At the same time the interior mechanism of the
torpedo begins its work and, at about forty knots an hour, the missile
flies toward the target. On striking the target the firing pin, from
the tip of which the butterfly nut has now dropped off, is forced back
against the percussion cap and the high explosive charge is detonated
and the ship is sunk or crippled. Since, however, the speed of the
ship, its course and the speed of the torpedo itself all enter into
marksmanship, the torpedo is not counted an accurate weapon at long
ranges, and even at short ranges misses frequently occur.
The boys had frequently debated the possibility of assignment to a
destroyer, but, since it was a recognised rule in time of peace that
only service men should man such ships, they had ultimately decided
that their ditty boxes were not likely to be stowed on one. A chaser,
or, possibly, a light cruiser would probably be their fate. But now,
having as Steve phrased it, “made” the _Warren_, they weren’t certain
whether to be pleased or not. They had heard weird yarns about life on
a destroyer, and Joe, haunted by the fear of seasickness, was filled
with disturbing thoughts as they hurried off through one of the soft,
warm showers of the south of Ireland to the landing. Half a dozen whale
boats, dingeys and launches were clustered there, but inquiry developed
the fact that there was no boat from the _Warren_ amongst them. They
were discussing the chance of finding a boat to hire when a petty
officer in the stern sheets of a launch hailed them.
“Where do you boys want to go?” he asked.
“The _Warren_, sir.”
“Jump in. I’ll drop you.”
They thanked him and entered the little launch which held four seamen
and so much dunnage that there was scarcely place for their feet. They
waited there in the soft rain for a few minutes longer, during which
time other tenders departed or arrived, and during which Steve and Joe
vainly sought to determine which of the long grey shapes seen dimly
through the mist was the _Warren_. Finally a brisk young ensign hurried
up, jumped aboard and the launch wheeled about and plunged gayly into
the haze. They heard the petty officer explaining that he had offered
to put the two boys aboard the _Warren_, and saw the ensign nod and
view them appraisingly. Then one of the grey shapes loomed up before
them and a moment later they were clambering up the side. They reported
to the officer of the deck and were sent below. Going below puzzled
them at first, for nothing looking in the least like a companion-way
was in sight. Fortunately a white cap appeared above the surface of the
main deck at that moment and they discovered a round hatch.
“A fat man would have a peach of a time getting through this,” remarked
Steve as he led the way to the second deck.
Ten minutes later they had had their names entered on the ship’s
roster, had been assigned to their bunks――for there are no hammocks
on a destroyer――had stowed their belongings, and, in charge of a
good-natured and informative youth of twenty-one or -two years of age,
whose single chevron was topped by the crossed cannons of a gunner’s
mate, and whose name they later discovered to be Hearn, were learning
the ship. Many of the men, Hearn explained, were still absent on leave
and wouldn’t be back until the next day.
“You see, it’s generally six days on patrol and three in port, and the
Old Man’s fine about granting liberty. Last time another fellow and I
got three whole days and pretty nearly saw this little island from top
to bottom. And, say, it’s all right, too. I’ve been hearing all my life
about the beauties of Ireland, but I never believed in ’em much. Well,
say, it’s all true, fellows. You want to take a trip up to County Clare
the first chance you get. It’s as pretty as a picture, believe me.”
Their knowledge of warships was confined largely to that gathered from
infrequent visits to battleships and cruisers lying flag-bedecked in
the North River. The present ship was something far different. There
were no flags, save the jack fluttering at the fore, nor anything
else that could be termed the least bit ornamental, for the _Warren_
had been stripped before leaving on her voyage across and only the
absolutely essential things remained. Gone were boats and davits,
awnings and stanchions, and in most cases the steel ventilators were
now mere canvas funnels. What struck the boys most of all was the
intensely business-like appearance of the destroyer, and after that her
look of power and seaworthiness.