TORPEDO BOATS.

Dominion, Volume 1, Issue 18, 16 October 1907, Page 4

TORPEDO BOATS.

Tho twelve-.-torpedo, boats in this year's naval prograriimewill (says' a Home paper) closely ordered a year ago, but there will bo iniprovenients in detail suggested by experience. '-. The fact that Messrs. William Denny and Brpthers,'of.Dumbarton, havo got an order for two boats, even before the first of last year's oontract has been tried, is proof of Admiralty satisfaction with the way the firm have tackled the problems of design and construction. " ■"■'''> '■'■'■'" '■ ■■ The vessels now building by the Dumbarton firm range in displacement'from" 2SI to 280 tons, tho. power, of the.V turbine machinery, supplied with steam, from oil-fuel boilers,, of . the express water-tube type,'. is ; 4ooo' h'.'p., to give a speed of , 26 knots. It.is' significant' of the work' of tho model experiment.tank that the displacement of Messrs. is tho lowest of those , ordered a year ago—2sl tons—and -yet her... length .is about, 'tho greatost, whil/s her beam ie exactly one-tenth the'length. Tho length" is. 180 ft.; the'others range from 177 ft. to 185 ft., the corresponding displacement being 263 arid 267 '• toils. ,The draught of tho Denny boat is therefore minimised, being sft./6m. as compared with sft. llin.. by somo of the others, although Hawthorn, by. adopting a broader beam, kept tho draught.to' sft. 4in. Yarrow has also a' lighter' boat, but shorter than the Denny's. Tho assumption is that tho longer boat was siioH'ii. by tank experiments to give less re- ' Distance, boing of groator fineness. Metals of high tensile strength have been extensively used to save weijiht, and 'therefore to minimise draught. Tho hull is only 95 tons weight, which for thn length is very favourable. Aβ a consequence the vessel carries :more oilfuel than tlio majority'of the boats —25 tons. Each of tho vessels will carry-two !12-poundor quick-firing guns, in. addition .to lorpedo-launching tubes. '.. ''"' ..'-,.,'