When making an attack, it is intended that the vessel should at the instant of firing her torpedo reverse her engines, this retrograde motion being greatly assisted by the recoil, which must attend the discharge of a body weighing some 1,400 lbs. impelled by the aforesaid enormous force, and moving through a distance of 30 feet before reaching the water.[O]

Certainly this new system of submarine attack seems feasible, but it has yet to prove, in common with all other new inventions, whether its theoretical capabilities are also practical ones. At [Fig. 149] is shown a general view of this novel torpedo vessel under weigh.

[THE "DESTROYER" TORPEDO SHIP.]

Torpedo Boats.—In offensive torpedo warfare, whether using the spar, locomotive, or towing torpedo, especially in the case of the former class of submarine weapons, to ensure a successful attack it is absolutely essential to operate those weapons from steam boats, which are capable of fulfilling as near as possible the conditions herein enumerated:—

1.—They should be capable of steaming at least 18 knots per hour.

2.—Their engines should be noiseless, and easily managed.

3.—They should be extremely handy.

4.—No smoke should enable their approach to be detected, or glare from their fires.