Page:The Development of Navies During the Last Half-Century.djvu/251

 tons, which has proved an excellent sea boat. But our latest development in this type is a number of vessels of 735 tons. Their armament consists of one 4.7-inch gun at each end and several torpedo tubes. They thus combine a gun and torpedo vessel, which does not appear to me advantageous. A gun of this weight may be useful in the stern if a bigger vessel is pursuing; in the bow it probably reduces her steaming capability against a moderate sea. In the chapter on foreign navies will be found a brief account of what is being done elsewhere in this direction.

It now only remains to consider what the torpedo has done, and whether it is likely to influence still further the course of naval architecture. So far it cannot boast a large score of successes. But when complaint is made that torpedoes do not run straight, and sometimes disappear, it is forgotten how many projectiles lie at the bottom of the sea that never went near the mark aimed at, or how many were fired before such a puny antagonist as the 'Huascar' could be brought to submission. The number of shot and shell fired at Lissa would, if placed against the damage done, afford an instructive lesson. Too much is expected of the torpedo, still only in its infancy. At the same time I would not claim for it equal rank with the gun. We may say, however, that if successfully applied it has the power of doing infinitely greater mischief. An instance of this is to be found in the sinking of the 'Blanco Encalada' in Chili from injuries inflicted by a torpedo, of which the following is a brief account.