A Fast Steamer.

Manawatu Herald, 26 August 1897, Page 2

A Fast Steamer.

» There was (says a contemporary) an unrehearsed incident in the recent naval review at Spithead which may foreshadow a revolution in steam engines, especially in Bhips where pr^at speed is a desideratum. The channels between the lines of warships were cleared of all private st'&raers for the procession of the Royal yacht. But si-dlenly there appeared from behind the cruiser Powerful a small steamer which went after the Victoria and Albert at an astonishing speed. The fast torpedo catchers which were acting as patrol boats, inoluding several of the speediest steamers in the. world, went after this audacious craft, but she metaphorically laughed at them, rapidly increasing the distance be* tween herself and her pursuers until she flashed by the Royal yaoht, leaving a sea of foam in her wake. On the return she tried the same trick, but a torpedo catcher ahead of her managed to place herself across the course of the stranger, who had to. swerve and go out of the line astern of the French warship Pothuau. The " cheeky " little craft was the Turbinia, a torpedo-boat 100 ft long with 9ft beam, built on the T/ne to illustrate the application of Parson's steam turbine to the propulsion of vessels. She is the speediest thing afloat, and has lately registered a speed of 87$ knots an hour.