Page:The Development of Navies During the Last Half-Century.djvu/245

 and the torpedo boat. I am unable to agree to this. There never was a time when blockades were not broken through over and over again. Steam will now enable vessels to remain in positions which dependence on wind in former times prevented them from keeping with certainty. The torpedo boat is a new danger to blockading squadrons, but it can be met by a line of other small craft whose special mission it would be to paralyse the attack before the boats could reach the main body. It has been shown recently that a special vessel of 600 or 800 tons, suitably armed with numerous light guns, forms the most efficient protection to a battle ship, grappling and subduing the small assailants before they can effectually launch their torpedoes. A striking feature of the fleet of 1900 will probably be the great increase in the number of its satellites, as this view receives further confirmation.

Although by adding to the length and displacement of torpedo boats better seagoing qualities have been secured, they have thereby become more conspicuous objects by night or day, whereas formerly, being small, they were not easily seen or hit. The difficulty of getting within range without detection has once more led people to seek a solution in submarine navigation. The idea of travelling under water in an hermetically sealed boat has engaged the attention of many enthusiasts, but hitherto without much practical success. When a submarine boat is in such a state of equilibrium as to freely rise or sink when its buoyancy is increased or diminished, this equilibrium is easily