The names of the 20 defensive boats are: (1) _Perle_; (2) _Bonite_; (3) _Esturgeon_; (4) _Thon_; (5) _Souffleur_; (6) _Anguille_; (7) _Alose_; (8) _Dorade_; (9) _Truite_; (10) _Grondin_; (11) _Naiäde_; (12) _Protée_; (13) _Lynx_; (14) _Ludion_; (15) _Loutre_; (16) _Castor_; (17) _Phoque_; (18) _Otarie_; (19) _Méduse_; (20) _Oursin_. All these twenty boats (which were laid down in 1901) will be constructed of steel, will have a displacement of 68 tons, a length of 77 feet, a beam of 7½ feet, and draught 8 feet. The sole motive power will be electricity supplied by accumulators, and the motor will actuate a single screw. The maximum speed will be 8 knots, and their crew will consist of an officer and four men. The price of each is £14,616, which is less than any previous submarine boat. Of these twenty vessels five are building at Cherbourg, six at Rochefort, and the rest at Toulon. They are to unite all the best points of the existing vessels, and are intended primarily for harbour and coast defence. _PART II._ FRENCH “SUBMERSIBLES,” _i.e._, THOSE FITTED WITH TWO SOURCES OF MOTIVE POWER, ONE FOR SURFACE, AND ONE FOR SUB-SURFACE PROPULSION. _The Narval Class._ In February, 1896, M. Lockroy, Minister of Marine, acting in conjunction with M. Bertin, Director of Material, invited designs for a submarine torpedo-boat from Frenchmen and foreigners. The commission appointed to examine the various projects decided in favour of the one sent in by M. Laubeuf. This decision was approved by the Minister, who ordered the construction of the vessel to be taken in hand, and awarded a gold medal to its inventor. The _Narval_ was commenced at Cherbourg in 1897, and launched on October 26, 1899, but it was not until certain modifications had been made that it was considered to be (in 1900) in a satisfactory condition to run her trials. While the _Gymnote_, the _Gustave Zédé_, and the _Morse_ rely solely on electricity for their motive power, the _Narval_ can navigate in three different ways. 1. As an ordinary torpedo-boat, with water, ballast tanks empty. 2. Awash, with the dome and chimney alone above the waves, carrying a certain amount of ballast. 3. Entirely submerged with tanks full of water. Some French writers have divided under-water craft into three classes. The first is the “Submersible”: this type is represented by the _Mute of Fulton_, the _Stromboli_, the _Spuyten Duyvil_, the _Porter_, &c. Such boats are never completely submerged, but only take in sufficient ballast to keep their decks flush with the water. The second is the “Sous-Marin”: this type, represented by the _Gymnote_, _Gustave Zédé_, and _Morse_, has no sphere of action except as a totally submerged craft.