126 



Professor H. S. Hele-Shaw 



[March. 31, 



sober engineering pictures, I show a picture taken from an American 

 motor journal, illustrating a motor vehicle and locomotive at top 

 speed, the former passing on a level crossing in front of the latter. 



The foregoing are the record speeds so far obtained of mechanical 

 locomotion, and it will be interesting to see what are the record speeds 

 attained in the other elements. Until the other day, as Mr. Parsons 

 told us in his lecture, the speed on water which has never been ex- 



FiG. 4.. 



-Speed Records for Thornycroft Warships and 

 Motor Boats. 



ceeded was that of the ill-fated turbine boats, Viper and Cobra, of 

 about 43 miles an hour. The ship which at present holds the record 

 for speed is the torpedo destroyer Tartar, built by Messrs. John Thorny- 

 croft, this, under Admiralty tests, giving a speed of 41 miles an hour. 

 The diagram, Fig. 4, shows in an interesting manner what the 

 progress in speed has been for this class of boats during the last few 

 years, and may be taken as typical, and about which curves Sir John 

 Thornycroft writes as follows : — 



