The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1878-05-17

An Invention That May Revolutionixe Naval
Warfare-The Man Who Built the Monitor
sill nt Work
[From the New York SUM-

| lfrOin the new 1orh sum-
Yesterday reporter for the Sun found
himself in the presence of hale old
man, whose name has gone around the
world; who built the first steam fire en-
CINE and the first undetermined steam
vessel; who invented the caloric engine,
and gave TO naval warfare the turret
ship; who has spent many years and
800, 900 upon models of engines to be
driven solely by the power of solar heat;
who has succeeded in measuring the
heating power of different portions OF
the suns disk, and in the last fifty years
has perfected over ], 900 patents for vari-
GUS mechanical inventions. His name
is John Ericsson, and he is now in this
city constructing apparatus for torpedo
warfare, which, he believes, will revo-
lutionize the defensive methods of the
world, and render harmless the iron
clad navies on which so many millions
have been expended.
Capt. Ericsson's plan involves, first,
the invention of new torpedo of ire
sistible power, and, second, the con-
struction of conductor that will carry
this torpedo almost to the very side of
an enemy's vessel with deadly accuracy.
To this country, where coast-and-harbor
defenses are of the first Importance, such
a torpedo will be invaluable.
Capt. Ericsson conducted a series OF
experiments on the Hudson in Decem-
Der last. In the concluding trials tor
pedo twenty-five feet six inches long,
weighing l, 400 pounds, was propelled
horizontally under water by means OF
compressed air at mean rate of fifty
three nautical miles an hour for the first
25O feet. In another experiment the
torpedo discharged at a certain inclina-
ton, making it take an upward course,
and, after passing through about forty
feet of solid water, performing a fiat
trajectory in the air, entered the water
again at distance of 200 feet then.
moving near the surface, it traversed
the next 400 feet in ten seconds at the
rate of twenty-three and three-fourths
nautical miles an hour.
Capt. Ericsson says that he can ex-
plode half a ton of dynamite under the
fastest iron-clad; that no iron-clad ship
has yet been built fast enough or strong
enough to escape or resist the new tor
pedO. In making it he has taken advan-
tage of the fact that the armor-plating of
ships extends only short distance be-
low the water line, and cannot be ex-
tended further without making them too
heavy to float. The swiftness with
which the torpedoes will be carried by
the conductor will prevent any accurate
aim being taken at them, so that the
conductors may get within 800 feet of
the enemy's ship with safety, and, of
course, retire at leisure after their work
is done.
The torpedo conductor, sometimes err
roneously called boat, is now at the
works of Delamater & Co., foot of Thir-
teenth street, North river. The vessel
is 100 feet long, twelve feet beam, wedge
shaped at the bow, sharp at both ends,
covered with heavy inclined plating, and
intended to show only about one foot
above water when in fighting trim. The
framework is already completed. The
ribs are of finished angle iron the stern
post is single mass of iron, containing
an orifice for the propeller shaft there
is an opening in the bow through the
solid iron stem, through which the tor
pedo will be worked. The vessel will
be propelled by peculiarly fashioned en-
gines OF new design, invented by Capt.
Ericsson, developing more power within
a given compass than any others ever
built-estimated at 1000 horse power,
something unheard of in vessel of such
small size. The design is to run this
steam torpedo conductor swiftly, end on,
within a short distance of an iron clad,
and TO discharge the torpedo by the
power of compressed air. The sub
merged conductor, presenting but a
small surface TO the fire of the enemy,
will be further protected by its heavy
iron plating, as impregnable as that Of
any iron ship afoat.
Although Is years of age, Capt
Ericsson is, in look, robust man of 80.
He is as strong as an OK, 1.-THE and active,
and has voice of great compass and
force-strong enough to break phono-
graph. He says he can work twelve
hours day, and does SO, because other
wise he would not know what to 60 with
his time. He eats moderately, brown
bread and vegetables for the most part ;
drinks cold water, and occasionally tea
never smokes, and sleeps with his win
dow open ali the year round.
Capt. Ericsson made his first model,
which was that of saw-mill, at the age
of 10 years, and took out patent for
fame engine" in England in 1926.
In the year 1929 he produced a loco
motive which beat Stephenson's famous
engine, "The Novelty" and ran at the
rate of fifty-fve miles an hour. His
caloric engine was brought out in Lon
don in 1888 /; and in the great crisis OF
the civil war in 1862, when the rebel
iron-plated vessel, the Merrimac, was
spreading havoc among the United States
shipping in Hampton Roads, he thrilled
the world by the achievement of his
famous monitor.
Capt. Ericsson felt somewhat slighted
at being overlooked by the Centennial
Commissioners, and printed, at his own
expense, a SIS, 900 work, illustrating his
various inventions, and reciting the
honors that had been paid him.