Page:Blackwood's Magazine volume 137.djvu/744

738 of which some nations are so justly proud, would be put to a test in a manner altogether different from what has hitherto taken place. The sailor, although brave and cool in a fair fight, would be in constant dread of being hurled into the air without even the chance of striking a blow or firing a shot in self-defence. The writer of this, while commanding squadrons manned by men who have not only the unsurpassed courage of their race, but who have recourse when in danger to the almighty word kismet, and only think of danger after its arrival – had only his own humble idea of courage without kismet, and thus felt all the anxiety day and night, for nearly a year, of not knowing at what moment he might receive the happy despatch by being blown into the air.

The Russians had, very shortly after I had anchored my squadron in Batoum, launched several torpedoes at the ships, in spite of my having placed guard-boats across the entrance of the harbour. One of these torpedoes struck the chain of the flag-ship, and went on shore unexploded; another struck on the armoured belt of a corvette and exploded, but the blow being at an angle, it did no material injury. After this experience, it was absolutely incumbent on me to take some steps for the safety of the vessels under my command. The means in my power for torpedo defence were unfortunately very limited, but that very fact enabled me to prove that necessity is the mother of invention. For example, the system which I had seen adopted with regard to hostile fleets in torpedo defence, comprised a system of éclairage which it was entirely out of my power to employ. Thus, instead of lighting my ships, whereby I should have become a target for the enemy, I, from force of circumstances, was obliged to maintain what was in reality the far better system of utter darkness from sunset to daylight. But of this hereafter.

I will now relate in detail the plan I applied as a defence in regard to the different points mentioned above – namely, the course to be adopted for the safety of ships of war while blockading an enemy's port, while lying at anchor near an enemy's coast, or while cruising in the neighbourhood of hostile ships blockading. I think that the ships should be always, when convenient, under way, and with their torpedo-nets out, constantly changing their positions so as not to be easily found by the enemy's torpedo-boats: no lights whatever should be shown. Should it be necessary to anchor, I think that the ships should be anchored in small detachments, and a system of defence arranged as follows, placed round each ship or detachment. (See Plan No. 1.)

By this it will be seen that boats at a distance of 400 or 500 yards will be placed round the squadron at anchor. These boats will be connected together by wire-ropes immersed about two feet in the water, and buoyed in the centre. The object of this is to catch the screw of any attacking torpedo-boat. It has been proved that common rope, used for want of anything better, has effectually checked the career and capsized an attacking torpedo-boat in her attempt to destroy a Turkish ship in the Black Sea during the last war; and I know that most satisfactory experiments with the wire-rope have been made elsewhere. The result of these experiments was, that a torpedo-boat, steaming 19 miles an hour, has capsized while dashing full-speed on to an imaginary enemy's ship.