Super Stream-lined torpedo boat

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXVI, Issue 23339, 6 May 1939, Page 9 (Supplement)

Super Stream-lined torpedo boat

BRITATN has long been famous •as the home of some of the world's finest ships, and it is therefore not surprising that the world's latest motor torpedo-boat, a craft that is super-streamlined and one of the fastest things afloat, has been completed and is now under test in England. Mr. Hubert ScottPaine, known throughout the world for his skill with small, high-speed boats, is the designer of this latest speedster, which has been expressly designed for naval service, and is at present being put through a series of exacting trials by the Admiralty. Seventy feet long, and powered by threo motors-of 1000 horsepower each, the new boat has been hailed as outstanding by the nautical experts of Britain. Flat-out, she can do over 50 miles an hour, and, in increasing speed from 10 to 40 knots in eight seconds, she has very much better acceleration than many a powerful motor-car.

Crew of

Graceful as a ,kingfish from her curved bow with its enormous flare, the new torpedo-boat represents a great step forward in design, and is in many important respects quite different from craft already in existence. Tho wheelhouso is streamlined and is large enough for tho entire ship's company, consisting of two officers and seven men, to be accommodated inside it. In spite of its slim, streamlined shape, the boat offers amazing room inside. There are well-equipped quar-

ters for the crew, including mess decks and galleys, and it is "possible to pass from stem to stem .below decks. This is a most important feature when it is considered that the crew will thus have some measure ";of from hostile fire, no matter what duty they may have to perform in an emergency. It is in her external appearance, however, that Mr! Scott-Paine's latest ship provides a surprise. She has neither masts, funnels nor radio masts pro-

By JOHN HUJTON

mast is fitted. This mast can be run 1 up into position, used to give a signal, and immediately withdrawn. One of the world's most famous engines, the Rolls-Royce' Merlin, has been adapted to power the boat. Three of these fine units, each of 1000 horsepower, are fitted, the motors having been altered slightly bv their makers to render them suitable for marine work. Normally, of course, the Rolls Merlin is an aero engine, and the type

moved by means of a hand-operated steering-wheel, but there is provision for an electric; steering control which can be brought into action at a moment's notice by means of a lever. The boat responds in wonderful style to movements.of the steering-wheel, and at full speed on full helm she will turn, in a few lengths, banking inward as though on a well-designed speed track. But after all this new boat is not a mere toy) She is built for a definite purpose, as a naval craft, and thus her armament is of major importance. The boat is designed to carry three guns, two of the anti-aircraft type, and the third a heavier weapon intended for I use against submarines and destroyers. Each gun is housed in a power-oper-ated, weatherproof turret. Main items of armament, however, which give the boat its name, are tho torpedoes, carried in such a manner that they can be sent on their way in an instant: It is possible to carry either two 21inch torpedoes, or, four of the 18-inch type, which makes the little boat very formidable indeed, even to the largest and most heavily-armoured ship. Other equipment includes smoke screen apparatus, and depth-charges, the surest way of dealing with submarines. Having completed his ship as long ago as last May, Mr. Scott-Paine, who is equally well known as driver of speed-boats as he is as designer, took her out in the worst weather he could find, to see if his latest design was as good in. practice as it was in theory. The littlo boat was tested in the worst V gales in the Solent last December, with conspicuous success. Quite apart from . her ability to stand up to a tremendous battering from heavy seas, it was found that the big motors were most economical, and that with her normal load

of fuel, the cruising range at 20 knots was about 1000 nautical miles. All three engines exhaust at tihe stern, but the centre motor has a special silencer. It may be wondered why only one of the three engines is silenced, but the reason is plain when the method of operating this type of craft is fully understood. Having located his victim, the commander of the torpedo-boat does not wish to give away his-own presence until after he has fired his-torpedo. Therefore he cuts out two of the motors, running on the centre one alone. The special. silencing arrangements enable the boat to approach close to the unsuspecting victim in uncanny silence at about eight knots, a most valuable attribute in night attacks. Once the torpedoes have been fired, the need for silence and concealment are gone. The commander orders full speed, the helmsman shoves the three throttles oyer to the wide-open position; and in eight seconds the speed is 40 knots, the boat simply flying across the dark water as she makes good her escape. "The ship's acceleration is terrific," wrote one passenger after a trial run. "Scottv just turned all three taps on full. The bow didn't rise, but the whole ship did as she went straight up from. 10 to 40 knots in less than eight seconds. Only a tight hat will stay ou when that happens."