A SPEEDY CRAFT.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 5960, 27 August 1897, Page 4

A SPEEDY CRAFT.

There was (says a contemporary) ;m unrehearsed incident in the recent naval review at Spithead which may foreshadow a revolution in steam engines, especially in ships where great speed is a desideratum. The channels between the lines of warships were cleared of all private steamers for the procession of the royal yacht. But. suddenly there appeared from behind the cruiser Powerful a small steamer which went after the Victoria, and Albert at an astonishing speed. The fast torpedo catchers wliicn were - acting as ' patrol boats, including several of the •speediest steamers in the . world, went after' this audacious craft, but sh e . metaphorically laughed at them, rapidly increasing" the distance between herself and her pursuers until she flashed by the Eoyal yacht, leaving a sea of foam in her wake. On her return she tried the same trick, but a torpedo catcher ahead of her managed to pltice herself acrossth^courseof the stranger; who had to swerve and go out of the line astern of the French warship Potliuau. The "cheeky " little craft was the Turbinia, a torpedo boat 100 ft long with 9ft beam, built on the Tyne to illustrate the application of Parson's steam turbine to the propulsion of vessels. She is the speediest thin? afloat, ani has lately ragistered a speed of 375 knots an hour.