Torpedo Boats

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXVI, Issue 22, 4 June 1908, Page 12

Torpedo Boats

On the night of April 2, during some naval manoeuvres in the English Channel, the destroyer 'Tiger' crossed the bows of the cruiser 'Berwick,' with the result that the destroyer was sunk, and thirty-five lives were lost. This disaster directs attention to the important part which it is expected torpedo boats and destroyers are to play in the naval warfare of the future. As an example of the capabilities of human invention it is doubtful if there can be found a more marvellous illustration than the torpedo boat. There are two types now in general use throughout the world— those that confine themselves to operations on the surface of the water, carrying small calibre guns as well as torpedoes, and the submarines armed, with torpedoes alone, which, realising the dream of Jules Verne, cruise upon the surface or dive beneath the waves, rivalling the Nautilus in the ease with which they can be navigated far down in the depths of the ocean. The former are divided into three classes. A first-class boat has a displacement of from eight to one hundred tons, a second-class displaces from fifty to sixty tons, while a third-class boat is little more than a launch, and is usually carried on the deck of some larger craft, to be used as the occasion demands. This last class is seldom used now, because cruisers and battleships are, as a rule, supplied with torpedo tubes, thus rendering it unnecessary to encumber' the decks with them. The torpedo boat destroyer is a larger and swifter craft, in other words a sea-going torpedo boat, though originally it was intended for the purpose of phasing and destroying the latter. Up to and including three hundred and fifty tons displacement a vessel" is considered a torpedo boat, and when its tonnage is -greater it is classed as. a destroyer, so that the difference between the two^ is in reality in size only. The armament of a destroyer generally consists of two three-inch guns, five six-pounders, two torpedo tubes, four Whitehead torpedoes, while a torpedo boat has usually three one-pound - guns and the same number of tubes ana torpedoes as a destroyer. The Torpedo Boat Proper shows a speed of from eighteen to twenty-eight knots an hour, though some constructed for that special purpose' attain a mnch_ greater speed, and the larger craft are expected to corer at least twenty-five knots in the same

space of time. The destroyer, because of its additionalusefulness and seaworthiness, is rapidly crowding out the vessel that it was intended to destroy, thus opening a 1 field for the destroyer of the torpedo boat destroyer/ and giving rise to the very natural question of the layman: "Where is it going to stop?" According to naval authorities the uses for which destroyers are intended are to overtake and capture or" destroy smaller torpedo craft, their size, speed, and superior armament making this possible; to serve as a torpedo boat and attack larger vessels, trusting to their speed to approach and discharge torpedoes without being disabled; and finally, as scouts, to follow the enemy, locate his vessels, and keep the commanding officers of their own fleet informed as to his movements. Their high- power, the small surface they present as targets and the facility with which they can be handled, render them peculiarly fitting for this last duty. Service Upon a Torpedo Boat is no sinecure, and calls for only the bravest of sailors, for their only hope of safety in an attack lies "in the speed they possess, everything, even armor, being sacrificed to this, and a single heavy shot might send one of them to the bottom with all on board. The accommodations, too, are much poorer than in larger ships, and while every effort is made to have the quarters as comfortable as possible, they are not only small, but when the sea is running high are frequently flooded. Moreover, in stormy weather the vibration of the little vessel is so great that he is a good sleeper indeed who. can secure a night's rest. The standard torpedoes are of tlie Whitehead pattern. These are mechanical fish, following somewhat the shape of a cigar, ranging from six to sixteen feet in 'length, and carrying a charge of from two hundred to five hundred pounds of gunpowder, and a quantity of delicate mechanism for the purpose of propulsion and steering. At the tail end is a screw, which is revolved by the electric power iv the storage battery with which the torpedo is provided. The projectile is sent on its death-dealing mission by means of a lightly-constructed tube from which it is expelled by the explosion of a small charge of powder which compresses the air behind it and causes the exertion of a force just sufficient to overcome the inertia, for when he messenger of death drops into the sea it immediately moves forward of its own volition, travelling with accuracy in the direction in which it is aimed and exploding as soon as it comes in contact with any solid substance. Experience has proved, however, that the proportion of the ordinary torpedoes which reach their destination is very small,., and on this account the Herreschoffs have designed an improved projectile that is far more effective. This consists of a somewhat larger torpedo, and is used _in the same way tliat a small whale-backed boat would bo manipulated. It is probably the most deadly weapon known to modern warfare, though it cannot be used unless volunteers are willing to risk their lives in handling it. Two men wearing life preservers sit astride of the torpedo, guiding it until it comes within striking distance of the object it is intended to destroy, when they aim it, lock the steering gear, consisting of a vertical and horizontal rudder, and drop off, swimming about until picked up. Another form of torpedo is the ' dirigible/ so called because, ."being supplied with a wireless transmuter, it can be manipulated from" shore, the operator, safely sheltered, controlling it for miles; but this can only be made use of in fair weather. It is guided, of course, in the same way as if provided with electric wires, the wireless method .merely rendering it capable of manipulation at a much greater distance than the use of 'Wires would permit. The torpedo boat, experts tell us, will be The Key to Supremacy in Future Wars, though the battleships and cruisers, capable of services peculiarly their own, will always retain their importance. A torpedo boat, for instance, cannot convey troops, bombard coast towns, reduce forts, or serve as aids to a land army; but can sink the vessels used' for this purpose. The torpedo boat is essentially a weapon of surprise, ana the fearfully destructive power it possesses can scarcely be imagined. We have had some slight proof of this in the two recent wars, particularly in the struggle between Eussia"

and Japan. In a single night a number of Bussia's proudest ships, seemingly safe from harm within the landlocked harbor of Port Arthur, were rendered as useless to that nation as so much scrap iron. Naturally, every kind of safeguard is made use of to prevent the destruction .of the great battleships by these terrors of the sea.. But commanders will make use of them in ways that as yet have not been even attempted and with results that may possibly bring to the world a salutary realisation of the horrors of war.