The Swiftest Vessel in the World.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XXI, Issue 7062, 23 August 1894, Page 4

The Swiftest Vessel in the World.

I>* her trial trip the other day, the torpedo destroyer Havoc, built to the order of the British JN'avy, attained a speed of 29.1 knots, eclipsing 'he world's record. The Inventive Afje, an American scientific journal, thus refers to the Havoc and Hornet, sister torpedo boats, which have just been completed by Messrs Yarrow and Company, Isle of Dogs, London : —

"The fastest vessel in the world is undoubtedly the new English torpedo destroyer, Hornet. The official trial of the new boat showed that her speed exceeded 28 knots an hour. The Hornet is one of more than 30 vessels of a similar type ordered by the English Government. The Havoc and Hornet are built exactly alike in every detail except their boilers. The disadvantage under which ordinary firstclass torpedo bo'its labour is their loss of speed on a heavy sea. These larger and more powerful craft were constructed after the torpedo type for the purpose of overhauling the torpedo boats in a storm The Hornet is a twin-screw boat, 180 ft. long and 18ft. 6in. beam. The propellers are three bladed. The engines are of the tn-compouhd type, having cylinders 18in., 2u'in and 39$ in in diameter by lS;n scroke. The two sets of inverted triple expansion engines are capable of developing collectively 3600 h. p., each setof euginesdriving a screw. There are two surface condensers, two centrifugal pumps and engines for driving them, fan engines, steam bilge pump, evaporator and distiller, air compressing engines, and an engine dynamo for the search light, and the engine for steering the bout. The armament consists of an 18in bow torpedo tuba for tiring directly ahead and two 18in swivel torpedo tube for side firing, placed on the turntable aft. On the forward conning tower, well elevated above the water line, is a 12-lb quick firing gun, one on each side, and a 6-pounder placed on a high stand near the stern. There is a watertight flat, or lower deck, just above the water line, from the stem to the forward stokehole, adding greatly to the safety of the boat in case of a collision. The usuhl carrying capacity is 60 tons. The supply is tuiliuved to be sufficient for a run of 4000 miles at a ten knot speed. The complement of officers and men is fortytwo. The Havoc is reported to have made the marvellous average speed of thirty miles an hour on a run of a hundred Wiles/