The Works Of Messrs. Schneider And Co.

TUGBOATS FOR THE RHONE; TORPEDO BOATS. 157 18.200 metres (59 ft. 8^ in.) in length, which has excited a keen interest. When spar torpedoes were first adopted, the torpedo- boats were 18 metres (59 ft.) in length, and were arranged to carry one torpedo ; the speed of these tørpedo-boats ranged between 14 and 15 knots. Shortly afterwards their speed was increased to 15 and 16 knots, and the spar torpedo was replaced by a Whitehead torpedo. These small torpedo-boats, classed in the fleet under the name of vedette torpedo-boats, were shipped on the large war vessels, and were to be used for coast attack or for attacking ships in open sea. This dass of torpedo-boats has been, so to speak abandoned, and has been replaced by another type, the dimensions and speeds of which have been succes- sively increased. The length has been carried from 26 metres (85 ft.) to 33 metres (108 ft.) ; then to 35 metres (114 ft. 10 in.) and 36 metres (118 ft.), 41 metres (134 ft. 6 in.), and 45 metres (147 ft. 8 in.). These are the These torpedo-boats are entirely built of galvanised plates and angles, and are of the following dimensions : Length between perpendioulars Extreme width amidships Depth of hold to bottom ,, bottom amidships ... Displacement loaded ... 18.200 m. 3 m. 1.280 m. .700 m. 14| tons 59 ft. 81 in. 9 ft. 10“ in. 4 ft. in. 2 ft. in. 14| tons They are fitted with a fixed torpedo-launching tube, .355 metre (14 in.) in diameter, for torpedoes 5 metres (16 ft. in.) in length, which weigh 320 kilogrammes (705 Ib.). The tube covers a room provided with lockers and chests, and which serves as crew space ; aft of this rootn are the stokehold and the engine-room, the officer’s station and that of the steersman, surmounted by a wheel- house, in which all the manœuvres are centralisée!. The last compartment is an after-peak, which serves as store- room. The engines are vertical, direct-acting, two-cylinder compound, of 250 horse-power. The boiler is on the Du Hoisting Toi-pedo Boat. first and second-class torpedo-boats, for service on the high seas. The vedette torpedo-boats could with difficulty keep the sea, as they were too light ; they would only have been used in time of war, as in peace they were too eumbersome to be borne on deck of large men-of-war. Hoisting Torpedo-Boats.—The new hoisting torpedo- boats (Fig. 516 to 518) are, like the torpedo vedette-boats above mentioned, 18.200 metres (59 ft. 8^- in.) in length ; like them also, they are intended to form part of the armament of large men-of-war. Far from constituting a step backwards, their use corresponds to a real pro- gress. 1. Because they are not unsteady, as were the torpedo vedette-boats; their radius of action is 100 miles, and, owing to a judicious form given to the huil, they can keep the sea as well as the large torpedo-boats. 2. Because, instead of being fitted for use in time of war only; they can render services as a launch in time of peace, and, therefore, can be used daily; experiments have shown that they can steam 17-’ knots even in a rough sea. Temple system, of 14 kilogrammes (199.122 Ib. per square inch) registered pressure, arranged to work under forced draught. A special arrangement enables the heating of the water in the boiler, with the steam generated in the vessel which carries the torpedo-boat. The rudder is balancée), and the boat can turn on a circle of 40 metres (131 ft.) in radius in 45 seconds. Four rings serve for lifting the torpedo-boat in and out of the water. Two of these small torpedo-boats, styled “ A ” and “ B,” are already in service, and have been very favourably reported upon by the French Admiralty. Five others, designated by the letters “ D ” to “ I ” are now in course of construction to complété the armament of the torpedo-boat eruiser La Foudre. Floating Docks.—Messrs. Schneider and Co. having made a speciality of the designing and building of torpedo- boats, they have been naturally led to construct fioating docks, for their maintenance and repairs. Among these, we may mention a double-berthed fioating dock built for the French Navy in 1888, designed to raise a load of 130 tons, and a dock they delivered in 1894 to the