beautifully. They rolled a good deal, of course, but with a good oil streak to windward they shipped no water."

The following extracts are taken by permission from a valuable paper, "Notes on Handling Ships," by Captain D. WilsonBarker, published by the Shipmaster's Society, London:

66

Captain A. H. Brown, S. S. Hunstanton, writes:

In December, 1886, being in ballast, I was running before a westerly gale and high sea for Memel. Knowing that port could not be entered, and that my vessel could not steam against such weather, I decided on rounding to when about 50 miles off shore. The helm was put down, but the steamer would not answer it; she came to the wind about every half hour, immediately fell off again into the trough of the sea, and drove to leeward at an alarming rate. After about two hours I determined to try her stern on, and did so with most satisfactory results, for although the engines were going slow astern we held our own, rolling ceased, and she lay steadily quarter to sea. After a while she paid off to nearly right before the wind, and nothing could be better than her behavior; the helm was kept amidships all the time. So satisfactory was the manœuvre that under similar circumstances I have always adopted it since."

Captain J. G. Groombridge, writing of a spar-deck steamer, 3123 tons gross, 400 H. P., says:

"Off Cape Horn, Bar. dropped 29.60 to 28.80 in. during four hours, the wind increasing to a hurricane, it and the sea abeam, the vessel rolling very heavily and shipping much water, fore and aft. I decided to put her before the wind and stop the engines. She then lay with wind and sea on the quarter, and never shipped a drop of water. After this and two other experiences of like character, let wind and sea be ever so violent, I shall never hesitate to act in a similar way."

Captain Jackson of the S. S. Palamed, writes:

“I have had one experience in a typhoon. I found the ship making very bad weather whilst steaming slowly ahead, so after consideration, I stopped the engines and let her take any position she chose. She gradually fell off until we had the wind about four points on the quarter, and there we lay until the blow was done. We did not take any seas on board from the weather side, the cross swell rolled aboard over the lee side, but there was not the least damage done."

Captain Slessar, of the S. S. Pecheli, writes:

"I was caught between Shanghai and Nagasaki in a very heavy gale and high running sea, the ship at the time in ballast trim. As she was continually falling off I at length decided to let her remain so. She laid with the wind a little on the starboard quarter, the helm amidships, if I remember aright; then the engines were worked slow astern, with no appreciable difference as regards ship's position. In this way she lay for 30 hours, riding easily."

The following extracts are taken by permission from letters by shipmasters of high professional standing, published by the Nautical Magazine,' as part of a discussion of this subject:

One shipmaster writes:

"The question of riding out a gale with engines stopped is a big one and the answer depends upon the type of vessel and her trim; but this I will say, that on no occasion, when in consequence of break-down of machinery or stoppage of engines from other causes, the vessel in which I have been serving has been allowed to take up her own position, has she shipped any heavy water. Many years ago, in mid-winter, when one of the large Atlantic Liners in which I was serving broke down when homeward bound, during an exceptionally heavy gale, and drifted for more than a week, rolling out gale after gale, the only occasion on which she shipped any heavy water was when an attempt was made to bring her head towards the wind by means of a sail, for in those days the Atlantic Liners had masts and yards and could spread a good deal of canvas. Then she relieved the deck of two boats and a house.

Another shipmaster writes:

"Some few years ago, I was running right before a very high N. W. sea, off Belle Isle, in command of a deeply laden tramp. I never remember either before or since seeing so high a sea running in the Bay of Biscay. When abreast of Belle Isle light, distance seven miles, she pooped a tremendous sea, which washed all our deck gear adrift, and started the after bulkheads of both deck bunkers. I at once came to the conclusion something must be done, and that very quickly, or the ship would founder. I then ordered all hands to lower bridge, all deck openings being battened down, intending to bring her head to sea; I therefore eased the engines to slow, to take the way off her prior to bringing her head to sea. Directly the vessel began to lose her way, the effect was simply magical; she shipped no heavy water at all; so I kept on going easy all night, the vessel making splendid weather of it till dawn, when the storm moderated."

Still another writes:

"On Sunday, Nov. 24th, 9 P. M., very heavy gale and very high sea. Ship scudding dead before the sea. The ship, although a very fine seaboat, kept continually filling her fore well (74 feet in length), chock full from rail to rail.

Before putting my oil bags over, I thought, 'here is a grand chance to try how she acts dead slow.' So I eased the engines to dead slow. The moment she lost her strong headway, the effect was magical. The fore well became nearly dry, only a lipper went over occasionally as it rolled along her side, and the ship was as truly comfortable as she could be wished for."

1 See an interesting discussion on this subject in the Nautical Magazine for 1895 and 1896.

CHAPTER XXI.

THE HANDLING OF DESTROYERS.

1. Design. As preliminary to a discussion of the handling of Destroyers, attention should be called to certain features of the design of such vessels which influence their behavior and which, in many cases, call for altogether different handling from that which would be appropriate for other vessels under similar conditions.

The development of the Destroyer has passed through several well-marked stages of design, from the Decatur class, of 420 tons, designed in 1898, to the Modern Flush Deck class, of 1,200 tons, with a horse-power identical with that of the superdreadnought Colorado. The last-mentioned type is that to which a large proportion of the destroyers belong which for ten years to come (1920-1930) will be in active commission; but there are still a few belonging to the types designed between 1911 and 1916, which, if not in active commission, will continue for some years in reserve and thereafter in the coast defense flotilla. The characteristics of all of these types are shown in the following table.

GENERAL CHARACTERISTICS, COMMON TO ALL CLASSES.

Beam, 31 ft. (approximate).

Mean draft, 9 ft. 6 inches (approximate).

Maximum draft with full load,2 10 ft. (approximate).
Funnels, 4, except Stockton, Gwin, and Conner, 3.

Masts, 2.

Propellers, 2, except Conner and Stockton, 3.

Fuel, Oil.

Boilers, Number: 4 (Two in each fireroom).

Types: Yarrow, Normand, Thornycroft, or White-Foster. Engines, Types: Geared-Turbines; Parsons, Curtis or Westinghouse.

Steaming Radius:

1911 to 1913 types, approximately 3000 knots.
1913 to 1915 types, approximately 4000 knots.

1916 to 1918 types, approximately 2400-6000 knots. Development. Early destroyers in the United States Navy (Decatur Class of 420 tons) had a flat stern with no after deadwood, the bottom rising from about the deadflat section in almost a plane surface, so that the draft of the hull itself at the stern was only a few inches. The beam at the stern was greater than in other types and the entire above water afterbody very full. None of the United States destroyers now in active service are of this type but the effect of the features described is instructive, and as these features exist in other types of vessels, space will be taken to discuss them. The advantages of the design are two-fold: to prevent racing of the propellers and to reduce the diameter of the turning circle. In a following sea, the stern keeps close to the water, since a drop of the sea of only a few inches leaves the entire weight of the stern unsupported, so that it follows the water very quickly. In the same way a rising sea, in lifting only a few inches over the full-bodied quarter, greatly increases the buoyancy of the after part of the vessel and the stern responds immediately. The general result is that the stern sticks to the water, and racing of the propellers and the probability of pooping are reduced to the lowest degree possible with a vessel of the size. The reduction in the turning circle results from the absence of

1 Also 2-3" A.A. guns.

2 May be considerably increased when running at high speed, by the tendency for the stern to "squat."