s$94 Offensive and Defensive [May, 
without anything like concerted action ; but it is manifest 
that several boats which unite their endeavours distraCt the 
attention of their enemy, and augment, if they do not ensure, 
their chances of success. Hence, says Lieut. Arnault, “A 
day attack requires special boats, fast, turning rapidly, pre- 
senting as small a target as possible to the enemy’s gunners, 
and the crew of which should be absolutely protected against 
musketry. Grape and case can pierce the boat ; but the 
experience gained at Rustchuk and Nicopolis shows us that 
if the engines remain unharmed the boat escapes by keeping 
up a high speed. Hence great lightness of hull, rapidity of 
movements and turning, small dimensions, musketry protec- 
tion limited to the machinery and the fighting posts of the 
crew — such seem to us to be the principal requirements 
which boats specially built for torpedo fighting should fulfil. 
(e.) “ The use of ‘ diverging torpedoes ’ in boats should be 
discontinued.” Witness the failure of the diverging torpe- 
does despatched from the Tchesme against the Assar-i- 
Chefket, at the Sulina mouth of the Danube. The faCt is the 
slightest floating protection disarms all towing divergent 
torpedoes ; even a mere rope stretched between two booms 
will suffice to throw off the tow-line of a Harvey or other 
similar weapon. 
(f.) “ Spar torpedoes are usefully employed by boats at- 
tacking on a very dark night, or with a slightly agitated sea, 
a ship moored amongst strong currents, or which may be 
expected not to be protected by external defences.” Com- 
mander Sleeman says, “ The spar, the Whitehead fish, and 
the Harvey towing torpedo have each been subjected to the 
test of aCtual service, the former weapon being the only one 
that has under those conditions been successfully used.” 
Taking this faCt into consideration, also the high pitch of 
excellence that has been attained in the construction of steam 
torpedo-boats, and also the results of the numerous ex- 
haustive experiments that have been from time to time 
carried on in England, America, and Europe, with various 
modifications of the locomotive, towing, and spar torpedoes, 
there can be no two opinions as to which of the numerous 
species of offensive submarine weapons is the most practicable 
and effective, — and that is the spar or outrigger torpedo. 
To manipulate successfully locomotive and towing torpedoes 
in an attack against hostile vessels, the operators must be 
not only unusually fearless and self-possessed, but must also 
possess a thorough practical knowledge of the complicated 
method of working and manoeuvring those weapons — in faCt 
they must be specialists ; whilst in the case of the spar 
torpedo, which may be fired by contact, it is only necessary 
