The Context and Origins of the Brazilian Torpedo Boat Goyaz, 1907

Roger Dence

Roger Dence Independent maritime history researcher and a member of the Society for Nautical Research. He stu- died for an MA in the History of War at King’s College, London, UK, where his dissertation focused on British Merchant Shipping in the Russo-Japanese War 1904-05. Previously he worked in technical journalism, in high-technology fields in public relations, marketing and management roles, and as a lecturer in management education and e-learning researcher.

Keywords: Yarrow & Company, turbine-engined torpedo boat, ‘steam yacht’ Caroline, ‘steam yacht’ Jeanne, Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905, Brazilian Navy torpedo boat Goyaz

Abstract

Two experimental vessels of first-class torpedo-boat design were launched by the British shipbuilder Yarrow in 1903-1904. These were turbine-powered vessels of a type of small, fast warship that had been of growing interest to the world’s navies since the invention of the Whitehead self-propelled torpedo in 1877. During the Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905, British shipbuilders were prohibited from accepting orders for vessels of war or equipping such vessels for sale to belligerents. However, the first of the two Yarrow vessels, which became known as the Caroline, was purchased as an unarmed ‘fast steam yacht’ by two middlemen acting on behalf of Russia in September 1904. After ‘escaping’ from the Thames and sailing to Libau in Baltic Russia, the vessel was taken into Russian naval service. The second vessel, known as the Jeanne, was intended to be purchased in the same way, but this further sale was halted by the British Government’s earlier actions. After remaining in Yarrow’s ownership for another two years, the Jeanne was bought in 1907 by the Brazilian Navy as a torpedo boat and training ship and renamed BNS Goyaz.