The Milan, a new dispatch boat, has recently been making trial trips at
Brest. It was constructed at Saint Nazaire, by the "Societe des Ateliers
et Chantiers de la Loire," and is the fastest man-of-war afloat. It
has registered 17 knots with ordinary pressure, and with increase
of pressure can make 18 knots, but to attain such high speed a very
powerful engine is necessary. In fact, a vessel 303 ft. long, 33 ft.
wide, and drawing 12 ft. of water, requires an engine which can develop
4,000 H.P.
[Illustration: THE NEW FRENCH DISPATCH BOAT MILAN.]
The hull of the Milan is of steel, and is distinguished for its extreme
lightness. The vessel has two screws, actuated by four engines arranged
two by two on each shaft.
The armament consists of five three inch cannons, eight revolvers, and
four tubes for throwing torpedoes.
The Milan can carry 300 tons of coal, an insufficient quantity for
a long cruise, but this vessel, which is a dispatch boat in every
acceptation of the word, was constructed for a definite purpose. It
is the first of a series of very rapid cruisers to be constructed in
France, and yet many English packets can attain a speed at least equal
to that of the Milan. We need war vessels which can attain twenty knots,
to be master of the sea.--_L'Illustration_.
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