CHIHAYA.
DESTROYERS
Japan has selected two types of destroyers, the Yarrow and the Thornycroft. The Thornycroft boats are practically replicas of similar boats in the British Navy, and the Yarrow boats do not greatly differ, except that they have the usual Yarrow stern.
Details will be found in the [Appendix].
The feature of most interest concerns the disposition of the guns—the 12-pounder being carried aft instead of forward. This is a preferable system to the usual one of the 12-pounder forward, as the bow is thus less weighted down.
Mention may also be made of the fact that a railway is fitted on deck for the conveyance of torpedoes. This is convenient, but the raised rails are apt to get in the way of the crew a good deal.
In the war with Russia the Japanese destroyers appear to have stood the strains to which they have been subjected remarkably well, and no cases of “broken backs” and similar catastrophies which had been foretold seem to have occurred.