TORPEDOES AND DESTROYERS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XXXVII, Issue 10243, 4 September 1909, Page 6

TORPEDOES AND DESTROYERS.

The day has gpne by when' the "tor-' pedo can be.regarded as..*h-unreliable instrument of. war of-strictly limited use. To-day the British Navy' is about to .„ be «l«"PPfd with a torpedo which. iwiJl carry a destructive charge of'up- - "2™ eff«ettye range of'/over/ .7,000 yards',' which it, will'-be able to £pver fit" an average speed of'.: tnirty-Ane" knot'sT Such a weapon, says-CassrarV Sfaga" zinc, is bound to influence battle tactics owuig io'rte range' and^tEe'accuracy with which-it: riihs". The' 1 new ,'torpedo in- association' with- infpfovfed 'guiinery' methods has already banished'theri'mihatf 6-inch tjun from the newer battleships .and -battleshuv'crujifers. ,"'One oT the urgent' naval. protiKinft: of to.-day.is how to Employ -the~new'''torpe'do'to the' best is necessary to hnilcl soecial vessels foi its ns£; it is also realised i;bat in" view of the dangerous character of the" service which will devolve unon these craft : it is essential not onljMtnat'the' British fleet should nossoss the best type of torpedo but that itsHohld-fliAve these vessels in sufficient number to provide a margin of safety in" view of the inevitable casualties of rwar, -The ne«r destrovers .differlfirom-'anything; which has!hitheft6 r T)eeri seen ft" the' Bfltfilli Navjv; Thej-ars. to ibaVfc "men* of from 930 to 1030 tons, sp°ed of twenty-seven knots only'; "thev will; mount nve 1 "l,2-p]onndgr; guiis, -.'and. "bfejfitted'with two" tdrpedg tubes. The building of a destroyer is a special tradp ""based" upon scientific data and carried out with a deh'McT and accuracy, of wprkmanshipiwhlcli-isyiot-to be found, because it'is 'i'4t*tt&uir6d,''sn" ;la-f«or %'"essels.^'' The.:,^e%rabh'shm'enis' I which dev'dte thom£eW?s w 'to* J the con-'"' structirtft of such national : asset of no mean, importance at a time' when; the looming with increasing- : . _. v .