LAND AND WATER 
February 20, 191 5 
THE TORPEDO 
{Conliniud from page 295) 
z 
Rancc im Yard* 
use of heated air in the engine. The air as it issues from the 
reservoir is Iieated in a small steel chamber by means of a 
small liquid fuel burner, and this " superheated " air is 
delivered to the engine. The application of heat consider- 
ably increases the quantity of energy available, and the 
distance through which the torpedo can be driven is thereby 
greatly increased. 
Torpedoes are fired into the sea either from above or 
below the surface of the water, and are expelled from the 
tubes either by compressed air or a small charge of powder. 
As the torpedo carries its own power, only a force sufficient 
to throw the torpedo clear of the ship is required. When a 
torpedo is fired from a deck tube and strikes the water it 
immediately dives to the depth (generally about 12 feet) at 
which it is intended to run. 
It is now recognised that the submerged torpedo tube is 
the best for firing torpedoes, as it is much safer from the 
enemy's gun fire, and also because a more accurate course 
can be set, since when dropping from the deck into the water 
the torpedo is bound to be deflected to some extent. 
When firing a torpedo under water from a moving ship 
a steel bar is pushed out from the ship's side, so that the 
torpedo is protected from the rash of water along the hull of 
the ship, which otherwise would drag the torpedo out of its 
course. In some ships this bar is moved out before the 
torpedo is fired, while in others it shoots out automatically 
the moment of the firing of the torpedo and returns again 
when the tube is clear. 
A torpedo tube consists of a cylindrical vessel fitted in 
the bow or stern, or in both, as the case may be. One end 
])rojects a small distance beyond the vessel and is fitted with 
a sluice valve, so that the water cannot enter the ship. 
Suitable safety devices are provided, so that the torpedo can 
only be fired when the sluice valve is open. The torpedo is 
pushed into the tube from the inside end just as a shell into 
the breech of a gun. 
A firing director is provided so that the torpedo can be 
fired at the right moment. It is a difficult matter to fire a 
torpedo so that it will hit the object aimed at, as allowances 
must be made for the speed and direction of the two opposing 
vessels and the time necessary for the torpedo to cover the 
distance between the ships. In a running action between 
torpedo boats and battleships only some 20 to 30 per cent, of 
the torpedoes fired are expected to hit. As a modern torpedo 
costs from ;f6oo to £1,200, unsuccessful torpedo attacks are a 
pretty expensive form of warfare. 
Attempts have been made to use electric waves such as 
are used in wireless telegraphy to control the direction of a 
torpedo after it has been fired, but up to the present these 
inventions have not yet passed the experimental stage. 
The only real defence against torpedoes is gunfire against 
the craft carrying them. Against the torpedo itself there is 
no real defence except trying to get out of the way by smart 
manoeuvring. Until the advent of the submarine, a torpedo 
craft approaching a vessel could be seen in daylight, and was 
either destroyed or put to flight. In those days only the 
night attacks were likely to succeed. But the submarine is 
practically invisible, both by day and night, hence the great 
opportunity of a successful torpedo attack and the difficulty 
of destroying the submarine. 
If a ship is at anchor the torpedo net is employed. It is 
a steel net suspended from booms from the ship's side. The 
distance between the ship and the net must be such that, 
when a torpedo strikes the net and explodes, the water can 
shatter the force of the explosion 
It is doubtful whether a net is a sufficient safeguard 
against modern torpadoes fitted with a net-cutting device. 
These torpedoes are dppable. under favourable conditions, of 
paac 
piercing wire nets and leaving a hole large enough for the 
torpedo to go through. 
The subdivision of modern battleships and cruisers into 
several watertight compartments, so that when hit by a 
torpedo it can still float and probably be saved, can hardly 
be considered as a defence. 
There is great scope for naval engineers to discover a 
method by which torpedoes and submarines can be detected 
at a distance, so that there is time for the ship to get out of 
the way. Perhaps it is also possible to devise apparatus 
capable of altering the direction of hostile torpedoes after 
having been fired by the enemy. 
I 
WAR PUBLICATIONS 
'T is interesting to note that the management of " Colour," the suc- 
cessful and artistic shilling monthly, has arranged a second art 
competition for subscribers, entrance to which includes an exhibi- 
tion of the competing pictures at a London gallery. The last number of 
" Colour," by the way, is well up to the general standard set in earUer 
issues, and the frontispiece especially — " The Green Parrot " — is a 
fine piece of reproduction in colour work. Both in its artistic and 
literary items " Colour " is of such a high level of work as to give it 
a leading place among periodicals of the day. 
Messrs. Williams and Norgate's " Home University Library " 
includes two volumes by Mr. Hilaire Belloc which are of exceptional 
interest at the present time. Of these one is the " French Revolution," 
a critical study of the great upheaval with which the eighteentli 
century ended, and one which enables us to realise the chief personages 
of the great drama, since the work is free of the sentimentality which 
characterises so many of the studies of this period and deals in 
realities. The other volume, " Warfare in England," is a brief outline 
of the various wars which have been fought out on British soil, from 
the Roman Conquest to the last Scottish wars. The initial chapter on 
strategical topography is an illuminating lesson in the art of war. 
Messrs. John Murray have just issued a shilUng edition of 
Professor Cramb's " Germany and England," which, reviewed in 
these columns some time ago, has proved one of the most popular 
books on the causes of the war — as it is one of the sanest of treatises 
on the subject. 
In " The Origins and Destiny of Imperial Britain," pubUshed at 
5s. by Messrs. John Murray, Professor Cramb has been at pains to 
trace the growth of Imperialism, " whether conscious or unconscious, 
from the earUest times." It is not a book to be read lightly, but an 
earnest study of British destiny, and its author's conclusion, that 
" the purple fringe of another dawn is on the horizon," embodies the 
feeling that is gained by a careful perusal of the work. We recommend 
it as a worthy text-book for students of the highest forms of 
ImperiaUsm. 
In " Echoes from the Fleet " (WiUiams and Norgate, 2S. net) 
Mr. L. Cope Cornford has embodied a number of sketches and stories 
of the Navy of to-day. All are worth reading, and some are very good 
indeed ; the book as a whole is of such quality that Lord Charles 
Beresford describes it as " a valuable contribution towards a better 
understanding of the Royal Navy." Such appreciation, from such an 
authority, renders criticism on the part of a landsman superfluous. 
Apart from the technical value of the book it contains some very 
good stories. We need say no more. 
" Battle," by Haldane Macfall, published by Messrs. Simpkin, 
Marshall & Co., is a well-compiled work describing the work of an 
army. In these days, when those who cannot fight are thinking and 
commenting on war, it is a very useful little volume, and we commend 
it to the notice of those who wish to understand more clearly the 
way in which armies perform their tasks. 
Motor Fuel. — From personal inspection we can testify to the 
immense care taken by the Shell Company in the endeavour they 
are continually making to improve their methods to ensure that the 
quantity and quality of the spirit shall be up to the highest standard. 
To the motorist gummed up valves and dirty sparking plugs are 
often a source of serious inconvenience, and both these calamities 
arise from the use of spirit which has not been properly refined or 
which contains alien material. Motorists and aviators by using 
Shell spirit safeguard themselves against accident and inconvenience. 
(^ 
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