A serious accident took place on board the torpedo boat destroyer Bat on the 21st of February 1900. The engines of the Bat were operating at 360 revolutions per minute when the bearing cap of the low-pressure crosshead brasses on the port engine fractured. This freed the connecting rod, which knocked against, and badly bent the crosshead guide, and dinted the condenser. The piston being also free was forced up through the cylinder cover, cracking the cylinder at the same time.