Popular Science Monthly 



527 



unerring accuracy and deadly effect against the barbed-wire entanglements? One of these machines 

 uld cost but one thousand dollars; a modem naval torpedo costs seven thousand dollars 



errective means of destroying the enemy's 

 entrenchments. So far as the actual manu- 

 facturing cost goes, one of these torpedo 

 cars could be built for one thousand dollars, 

 whereas the modern naval torpedo repre- 

 sents an outlay of seven thousand dollars. 

 This, in itself, is an important factor in its 

 favor. Whether or not the torpedo car 

 could withstand the concentrated fire of the 

 defending force, rests entirely upon the 

 distance over which it would have to travel 

 and the material of which it is made. 



Briefly, the torpedo car consists of a 

 torf)edo carr>ing several hundred pounds 

 of high explosive mounted on a chassis. It 

 may be propelled either by gas, steam, com- 

 rressed air or a storage batter\' and electric 



)tor, all depending on its contemplated 



^' and the estimated range of action. 



Qut the most important feature of the 

 car concerns the method by which it is 

 guided and fired. This is done by means 

 of cables and wires in the hands of the 

 attacking party, as illustrated on this page. 

 The control cable is attached to a valve in 

 the supply pipe connecting the cylinders of 

 the engine with the boiler, operating the 

 speed of the car. The charge is fired by 

 means of a wire attached to the trigger. 



If it is found that the torpedo cannot 

 reach the enemy because of rough ground, 

 the control cable may be used to close the 

 valve and to draw the machine back to the 

 trench, for aiming it in a new direction. A 

 windlass is provided for this purpose. 

 Spiked wheels insure traction. 



The torpedo car is provided with a shield 

 of sufficient strength to bear up under rifle 

 fire, as there is little likelihood that the 

 enemy could train artillery on it in the brief 

 period during which it is exposed and the 

 high speed with which it is driven. 



In carrying out an offensive campaign the 

 inventors, Victor A. X'illar, of New York, 

 and Stafford C. Talbot, of London, plan to 

 supply an attacking force with a number of 

 these torp>edo cars. At a given signal these 

 war implements, suitably spaced apart 

 according to the length of the enemy's front 

 to be attacked, are released. They travel 

 toward the enemy's entanglements and 

 obstructions with astonishing speed. When 

 they ha\e reached certain desired points, 

 the torpedoes which they carr>- are auto- 

 matically exploded by pulling the wires 

 attached to the triggers, and everything 

 within a radius of two hundred feet is 

 blown to pieces, including the machines. 



i'Vc 



