The Somerset press. [volume] (Somerset, Ohio) 1873-1977, 1877-07-05
NUMBER l3.
IrOR-Clads and TOrpedOes.
Philadelphia Bulletin. ]

Engineers who for the past few years
have paid particular attention to the
armOr-plating of vessels, with a view to
making them impregnable to the enemy's
shot above the water line and to their
torpedoes below it, as well as those who
have made these destructive implements
of warfare their special study, have been
long and patiently waiting for just such
a conflict as has recently been begun be-
tween the Turk and the Russian. Of
late years the invention of heavy guns
has been followed by the rolling of iron
or steel plates which could with difficulty
be penetrated by this artillery, and that
again by the manufacture of still more
powerful guns, until limit has been
reached caused by the non-buoyancy of
the heavily-weighted floating batteries.
Naval authorities, since the sinking in
mid-ocean of the Captain, have been
rather chary about the weight of the
armor placed on a vessel, and it is likely
that the experience of the war Just COM
menced will teach some of the stronger
naval powers the folly of spending mil
lions of dollars on single iron-clad,
which in moment may be crippled by a
torpedo, or which may 60 down with all
own unwieldiness.
The science of defending harbor or of
rendering a river impossible by the
means of stationary torpedoes, and of
bringing destruction upon the iron-clad
fleet of an enemy by movable ones, has
made great advances with the last few
years. There are two classes of these
submarine mines, respectively fixed and
movable, and the methods of discharge
in the stationary ones, as we'll as the
modes of locomotiOn in the others, are
varied to suit the surrounding circum
stances. The primitive torpedoes were
moved on the sea bottom, allowed to float
a few feet below the surface, and ex
ploded by means of percussion caps which
were fixed on their upper ends and struck
when the vessel elscraped over them. These
were fitted only for certain purposes, sucl
as blockading the entrance of a harbo
! against the passage of the ships of al
enemy, and they were Objectionable be
cause while one of the combatants wa
kept out of harbor, the other was abou
as effectually kept in, as the torpedoe
were generally laid in so great hurr,
that sufficient time was not allowed for
complete chart, and, even with this smade
the currents of a harbor might so shift
the moorings of a torpedo that a friendl,
vessel would be sunk.
| Later, torpedoes were fixed in their pc
sitions, but instead of being fired by per
cussion were exploded by means of al
electromagnetic battery on shore. L
the various details of connection with tn
shore, internal mechanism and eXplC
sions, there is a great difference in tn
torpedoes of different governments an
manufacturers. In some gunpowder
used, in others nitro-glycerine, dynamit
or gun-cottOn. Sometimes each torped
has distinct connection with the shore
while in others the wires meet at som
one point and all are conveyed to shor
within single cable.
These electric stationary mines hav
some decided disadvantages, among whic
is the possibility of the cable or cable
connecting them with the shore bein
grappled and cut by boat party, thereb
rendering the tOrpedOes perfectly useless
In this variety of torpedo it is necessar
to know the exact moment at which tn
vessel is passing over the mine, and thi
is ascertained by two experts, one {
whom is located on shore, opposite tn
line of torpedoes, and who closes tn
electric circuit when a vessel crosses HI
line, thus giving notice to another il
dividual, whose observatory is so locate
that he can see the ships coming bow OF
and by means of a transit or theodolit
with graduations corresponding with th
lines of sight to the several torpedoes h
is observing, he is enabled to tell whethe
the enemy's ship is directly over torp,
do, to the right or left, or so far ava
that the explosion of it would do no dan
age Should there be another line {
torpedoes the same mode of operation
followed, so that it becomes almost a
impossibility for the passage to be mad
without accident. Another advantag
of torpedoes of this kind is that aftt
hostilities have ceased, and, for the ben,
fit, or rather the protection of comWerc,
the distractions are to be removed, thel
is far less danger incurred by those VIII
raise them, than there would be wei
the ordinary percussion torpedoes useC