Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

422 ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD. little Turbinia. Since the advent of Mr. Parsons’ astonishing yacht, destroyers have taken two distinct paths— The r • ,, those of the turbine and the “Turbinia.” reciprocating engine. It re- quired no great intuition to realize that the latter type of engine was approaching finality, and that in the former would be found the motor of the future, until such time as the electrical or the internal combustion engine shall have proved its superiority. Turning to British turbine-driven craft we find the following :— Viper. Cobra. Velox. Eden. Mohawk. Amazon. Swift. Date of Launch,.. 1899 1900 1902 1903 1906 1908 1907 Displacement .... 812 tons 400 tons 440 tons 540 tong 765 tons 890 tons 1,825 tons Length 210 ft. 223 ft. 210 ft. 220 ft. 270 ft. 280 ft. 345 tons Beam 21 ft. 20-5 ft. 23 ft. 23 ft. 25 ft. 26'5 ft. 34’25 ft. Draught 8’2 ft. 8-5 ft. 8’5 ft. 8'75 ft. 8-9 ft. 8-25 ft. 10-5 ft. Designed I.H.P. .. 10,000 31 knots 11,500 31 knots 8,000. 27 knots 7,000 14,500 15,500 30,000 Designed Speed... 25 knots 33 knots 33 knots 36 knots Trial Speed 37-113 knots 36'63 knots 27’124 knots 26’22 knots 35'294 knots 36’8 knots. 38-3 knots Armament { 112-pr. Q. 112-pr. Q. 112-pr. Q. 4 12-pr. Q. 3 12-pr. Q. 2 4-in. Q. 4 4-in. Q. 5 6-pr. Q. 5 6-pr. Q. 5 6-pr. Q. —- — — Torpedo Tubes.... 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 Complement 66 62 63 70 60 68 Fuel Capacity .... 88 tons 107 tons 130 tons 130 tons 185 tons 185 tons 200 tons Here we see the commencement of a new era. The Velox and the Eden are examples of the turbine “River” class, resulting from the Cobra disaster scare. Though Very engined on the Parsons prin- Speedy . . „ Boats ciple, their hulls were so moulded that a speed of more than 27 knots could not be obtained. For three years the critics, both naval and civilian, waged war against the policy of low speeds, and the Tribal class, represented above by the Mohawk and Amazon, is the result. These vessels have a displacement equal to that of the later torpedo gunboats, and the Swift is the logical sequel. Whilst strides were being made with de- stroyers, torpedo boats also had been in- creasing their displacement, their speed, and their armament, as may be seen from the following figures:— BRITISH. Lightning. No. 74. No. 039. No. 041. No. 080. No. 091. No. 098. No. 6. No. 31. Date of Launch... 1877 1882 1885 1886 1889 1894 1901 V 190G 1908 Displacement 27 tons 17 tons 40 tons 60 tons 85 tons 130 tons 178 tons 247 tons 280 tons Length 84'5 ft. 60 ft. 100 ft. 127’5 ft. 130 ft. 140 ft. 160 ft. 166-5 ft. 178'5 ft. Beam 10'8 ft. 7’5 ft. 12-5 ft. 12’5 ft. 13’5 ft. 15‘5 ft. 17 ft. 17’5 ft. 18’6 ft. Draught 5 ft. 3’6 ft. 5 ft. 6 ft. 5'5 ft. 7'5 ft. 8’4 ft. 5’8 ft. 5’9 ft. Designed I.H.P... 460 170 500 700 1,100 2,400 2,850 3,750 (T) 4,000 (T) Designed Speed .. 18 knots 17 knots 19 knots 20 knots 22 knots 23’5 knots 25 knots 26 knots 26 knots Armament — 1 Machine — 2 3-pr. Q. 3 3-pr. Q. 3 3-pr. Q. 3 3-pr. Q. 2 12-pr. Q. 2 12-pr. Q. Torpedo Tubes. .. 1 2 1 4 3 3 3 3 3 Complement 15 7 15 15 19 18 32 35 35 Coal Capacity .... 7 tons 1 ton 10 tons 18 tons 20 tons 25 tons 20 tons 20 tons, oil 30 tons, oil FOREIGN. Kam ore. Calliope. Penguin. Söbj ornen. G5. Eliagot. Goyaz. Merino Tarpa. Nationality Date öf Launch, Displacement... Designed I.H.P. Designed Speed. Armament. .. £ Torpedo Tubes.. Japanese 1904 150 tons 4,200 27 knots 1 6-pr. Q. 2 3-pr. Q. 3 Italian 1907 200 tons 3,000 26 knots 3 3-pr. Q, 3 Austrian 1907 197 tons 3,000 26 knots 4 3-pr. Q. 3 Danish 1898 142 tons 2,300 23 knots 1 47-in. Q. 1 1-pr. Q. 3 Dutch 1906 144 tons 2,000 25 knots 2 3-pr. Q. 3 Turkish 1904 165 tons 2,200 26 knots 3 3-pr. Q. 3 Brazilian 1908 150 tons 3,000 26'5 knots 2 3-pr. Q. 2 Chilian 1902 130 tons 2,000 25’5 knots 3 1-pr. Q. 2 It will be seen from the above tables how Powers with aspirations to naval strength great an advance has been made in the last are following the general upward trend in ten or fifteen years, and how even minor displacement and other essential features.