720 



TORPEDOES. 



sea. Experiments were made with these boats at 

 Cherbourg in February and March, 1877, which 

 proved that they can discharge their torpedoes 

 with safety. The old hull of a frigate, named 

 the Bayonnaise, towed along at the speed of 

 about 6 knots an hour, was attacked by one of 

 the Thornycraft launches. A large rent was 

 made in the side of the wooden hulk, which 

 sank directly to the bottom. The interest of 

 the experiment centred in the effect of the 

 shock on the torpedo craft. This was driven 

 back some distance, and was entirely submerged 

 for a few moments by the great sheaf -like wave 

 which arose between it and the ship attacked. 

 The torpedo was charged with 15 kilogrammes 

 of damp gun-cotton ; it was exploded 8 feet 

 below the surface, at the end of a 40-foot spar. 

 Six launches larger than these have been made 

 for the French Government. They are 87 feet 

 in length, and 10 feet 6 inches in the beam, 

 and are guaranteed for a speed of 18 knots for 

 3 consecutive hours ; the plates and frames 

 below the water's surface are galvanized. 

 Launches of somewhat smaller dimensions, en- 

 gined for 18 knots an hour, have been fur- 

 nished to the Dutch navy, and others, armed 

 with Whitehead torpedoes, to the Italian navy. 

 The Lightning torpedo-launch, constructed for 

 the British Government, is 84 feet long, and 

 10 feet 10 inches in the beam, with a draught 

 of 5 feet, and an indicated horse-power of 350 ; 

 she has made on trial 19.4 knots per hour, and 

 has considerable sea-going powers. The ar- 

 mament is Whitehead's torpedoes, which are 

 discharged from the deck, forward. The 

 Thornycroft launches are built of thin steel 

 plates, fitted in the lightest manner. They are 

 designed and engined for the highest attaina- 

 ble speed, though several of the larger ones 

 can ride in rough weather without danger. 



An admirable torpedo-launch has been built 

 by the English house of Wigzell & Co. The 

 boat is composed in all its parts of steel ; it is 

 the very finest quality, and the hull is galvan- 

 ized inside and out, to prevent deterioration 

 from the sea-water. The launch, though 75 

 feet long, with 10 feet beam, does not weigh 

 over 12 to 14 tons. It has 8 water-tight com- 

 partments, any one of which is sufficient to 

 float the craft. The deck is covered with a 

 bullet-proof armor of crucible steel, y 8 ^ of an 

 inch thick. It is almost invisible in the water, 

 being painted a greenish-gray color : as smoke- 

 less coal is used for fuel, no smoke nor any 

 steam is seen; and no noise is made in the pas- 

 sage through the water. These launches are 

 armed with Whitehead torpedoes. The cold- 

 riveting of the seams is a work of great delica- 

 cy. The main engines, of 250 horse-power, are 

 of the compound description, and remarkably 

 small and light. Other engines drive the air- 

 pump and the circulating pump of a surface 

 condenser. The engines are lubricated without 

 oil, which would cause the decay of the boiler- 

 plates. The boiler is worked at a pressure of 

 120 Ibs. per square inch, and the boats are war- 



ranted capable of a speed of 18 knots an hour. 

 The propelling-screw is three-bladed, having 

 four different pitches to work in the water to 

 the best advantage. The interior is ventilated 

 by a fan driven by an engine made of phosphor 

 bronze, which is run at 13,000 revolutions per 

 minute. The boat rises 2 feet 6 inches above 

 the surface of the water. The commanding 

 officer stands in a sighting-turret and issues his 

 commands to the inclosed interior through 

 speaking-tubes, and steers the launch himself. 

 The Whitehead torpedo is contained in a tubu- 

 lar casing at the side of the boat. The torpe- 

 does are lowered into place by a peculiar gear- 

 ing, and are charged to travel with an accurate 

 aim for 400 yards. The torpedo is discharged 

 from the tube by a current of compressed air. 

 These launches are fitted with apparatus for 

 discharging also Greek-fire or crude petro- 

 leum for a distance of 300 feet in 18 seconds 

 of time ; the petroleum ignites by the enemy's 

 own fire, or is set on fire by a rocket. 



One of the complete and formidable systems 

 of torpedo-warfare has been developed by Ad- 

 miral A. D. Porter, of the United States Navy, 

 in the torpedo-steamer Alarm, built and fitted 

 up after his plans, and commanded by Lieuten- 

 ant Frederick H. Paine. The Alarm is 172 

 feet in length, 32 of which consist of the sub- 

 merged ram ; her breadth of beam is 27 feet 

 6 inches, and her draught 11 feet. She is built 

 of charcoal iron on the bracket-plate plan, hav- 

 ing a double hull, and is further divided up into 

 water-tight compartments. From the extrem- 

 ity of her submerged bow protrudes a spar- 

 torpedo, 13 feet below the water-line ; and 

 from each side project similar torpedoes, which 

 explode under the enemy's bottom, when she 

 swings around broadside. Nearly the whole 

 hull is under water, displacing about 700 tons, 

 the deck being only 3 feet above the sea ; yet 

 she is able, with her powerful compound en- 

 gines, of making 15 knots an hour. At the 

 bow is a 15-inch gun. With a strong electric 

 light an enemy can be sighted at night. In 

 her beams the torpedo-ship is armed with 

 machine-guns for close fighting. The boat is 

 steered by the same apparatus with which it 

 is propelled, the Fowler wheel. With this tri- 

 umphant mechanism the vessel can be turned 

 about almost instantly, as though on a pivot. 

 The torpedoes are thrust out from their recep- 

 tacles in the depths of the hold immediately on 

 the word of command. The spars are long 

 iron cylinders, having at the extremity a metal- 

 lic shell containing the explosive, a hundred 

 pounds or more of gunpowder; it is fired by 

 electricity ; the angle at which the spar pro- 

 jects can be diversified by a heavy tackle, so 

 that the torpedo may be sunk to any desired 

 depth below the surface before striking and 

 exploding. The ram must always attack the 

 enemy bows on, which, owing to the feather- 

 ing arrangement of the propeller, by which 

 her direction can be momentarily altered with- 

 out loss of leeway, she will be enabled to do 



