Torpedo Tubes.
The vessel carries four 18-in. torpedo tubes on the Armstrong-Whitworth principle, which has been fitted to all the Japanese warships built either in this country or abroad since the date of the Fuji and the Yashima, which were the two first ships to have this apparatus. The vessel will also be fitted with a torpedo tube for firing 18-in. torpedoes in the line of keel astern. This also will be a special design by the builders.
The ammunition supply to the 12-in. and 10-in. guns has been described under the heading of mountings for these guns. The ammunition supply for the 6-in. and 12-pounder guns is arranged for by supplying to each 6-in. gun an electrically driven ammunition hoist of the improved Elswick design. These hoists will bring up the projectile and the cordite charge, and maintain a continuous supply. The operation of the hoist is extremely simple, and necessitates the minimum personal attendance. The seaman working the hoist has only to start it in motion and then keep it supplied with the necessary ammunition, which is automatically discharged in a position best situated for the working of the gun. The hoists for supplying the 12-pounder guns are of similar design; eight of them will be placed in suitable positions for supplying the 12-pounder guns.
X
THE JAPANESE DOCKYARDS
Yokosuka.
Yokosuka is the oldest Imperial dockyard in Japan, and was a going concern in the sixties. It is at present expanding considerably as a building yard. There are large engine shops for machinery construction. There are three dry docks opening into the outer basin, their dimensions being—
| No. 1 (stone). | ||
| Feet. | ||
| Length | 392 | |
| Width | 82 | |
| Depth | 22½ | |
| No. 2 (stone). | ||
| Length | 502⅓ | |
| Width | 94½ | |
| Depth | 28⅓ | |
| No. 3 (stone). | ||
| Length | 308 | |
| Width | 45¼ | |
| Depth | 17¼ | |
No. 2 is able to take any ship in the Japanese Navy; but the others are not available for any of the large battleships or armoured cruisers.
There are two slips. On these, amongst others, the following ships have been built: Hashidate, Akitsushima, Suma, Akashi, Takao, and Yaeyama.