Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

424 ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD. H.M.S. “VIPER” IN DRY DOCK. {Photo, West and Son, Southsea.) This, the first of turbine-driven destroyers, made phenomenal speeds. being heated solely by oil, as described below. The whole class to which she belongs are wonderfully fast, and have all exceeded easily their de- signed speed of 33 knots. The Tartar herself maintained an average of 35-36 knots over a six - hours’ run — a remarkable record for con- tinuous steaming. Her Par- sons turbine engines are of 14,500 indicated horse-power. Her cost and that of her sisters works out at about £145,000 for each ship. It is hard to realize that into a hull of under 900 tons are packed engines developing 2,500 horse-power more than forecastle ” is placed a small armoured conning tower, and above this again a narrow navigat- ing bridge. Behind comes the mast, carrying a little platform for a 24-inch searchlight. On the deck, in front of the conning tower, are two 3-inch 12-pounder pedestal - mounted quick-firing guns, side by side, „ a with their ammunition lying Destroyer. J ° close at hand in open cages. Behind the raised forecastle are the funnel, ventilation cowls, boats, torpedo tubes, and the aft 12-pounder gun. The Tartar has four funnels, of which the two centre ones are by far the largest. She and all her class mount but two torpedo tubes. The third 12-pounder gun, also on a pedestal mounting, is raised on a low grid-platform in the stern to an elevation almost equal to that of those in front. In the 30-knot destroyers there is, right aft, a small bullet-proof steel shield with two glass sight-holes. This protects a hand wheel, whereby, if necessity should arise, the ship can be controlled from the stern. The Tartar carries no coal, her boilers do those of the battleship Majestic of 14,900 tons ! Let us carry the comparison further. In the Majestic the ratio of indicated horse-power to tonnage is 0’8 to 1. With, the Tartar the figures are 16‘6 to 1. But high speed means much money, and whereas the cost of the Majestic worked out at £60 per ton, the price paid per ton for the Tartar was about £167. Turning to torpedo boats; the latest develop- ment of these craft is undoubtedly the class formerly styled “ coastal-destroyers,” of which thirty-six have been built for the British Navy. Taking one The Modern of the first batch built by Torpedo Boat. Messrs, rhornycroft and Com- pany at Woolston, we find that the displace- ment is 215 tons, the draught 5 feet 9 inches, the length 166 feet 6 inches, and the maximum breadth 17 feet 6 inches. The cost is ap- proximately £45,000, or £209 per ton. The speed designed with 3,750 indicated horse- power is 27 knots. In appearance the boat has much in common with her larger sisters, the destroyers, but differs in that there are