The Air-Lock Principle Applied to the Battleship 



Foiling the Torpedo with an Armor of Air 



The broken-away section at the left shows how the 

 compartments in the way of the boiler-room would be 

 filled with compressed air were the vessel hit amidships. 

 Similarly, the section at the right shows how the 

 compartments would be filled if the boat were hit near 

 the bow. At the left it is noticed that the intact 

 compartment nearest the damaged area is filled with 



compressed air at a pressure of fourteen pounds to the 

 square inch. Adjacent compartments are filled with 

 air at the lesser pressures of nine and four pounds, ac- 

 cording to the distance from the punctured section. 

 A ship thus injured could proceed to port under its own 

 steam. The air locks permit men to descend into 

 the injured compartment to make temporary repairs. 



887 



