The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1892-02-01

North, in self-defense, to Include 1t IN their
offensive operations. Dung Cushing, IN
his brilliant exploit CT blowing up the
Albemarle, showed that he realized 1t was
necessary to fight the devil with fire"
Il was naturally expected that the two
methods employed with such success during
this war, viz, that OF submarine mines Tor
defense and star torpedo for ottense, would
be afterward carried TO state Of perfection
by all nations Strange as this may seem,
experts eliminated these methods almost
entirely from their experiments and have
since confined themselves to the develop
ment of the automobile torpedo, that IS,
one in which the power OF propulsion Is
sef-cOntained.
A question of vital interest to the Ameri-
can people is, How would torpPdoes be EN-.
ploved to protect US against invasion?
The defense Of the harbors OF the United
States is intrusted jointly to the army and
navy. Were a foreign ironclad to make lis
appearance in the of1ing it would become
the duty Of the naval officers to meet her on
the high seas and give battle it, ship for
ship. they were in any way equally matched.
should the enemy be too powerful, however,
then, under cover Of the night or a log,
fotilla of small boats, consisting OF every
available tug, steam and naphtha launch 10
the harbor would be fitted with spar tor
pedoes and sent out IN one great cloud.
The rigging of these craft would he simple
and REQUIRE only a few days. The steel
spars. measuring fifteen feet in length and
four inches in diameter, would extend Tor
ward from each bow. Upon the end OF
these would be placed metallic cases con-
tanning gun cotton, which would be lgniIed
by means of electric batteries.
/ II is, of course, safe TO presume that this
hotilla would scarcely act on the offensive
except II could do so unpeTceiyed. Though
many brave volunteers might be found will
ing to make brilliant dash, even In broad
daylight, how long would their light craft
live before q shower of shot and she'll from
the gatIings and rapd-tire guns OF mon
ster battle-shp2 Again, even though some
Of them might pass unSc8thed through this
fiery ordeal, il is questionable il their
torpedoes could totally destroy the enemy
il his nets and boOms were properly adj
justed.
This method Of attack, then, would be q
most hazardous one for the United States,
and unless attempted under cover, should
he last resort. If the enemy could be
taken unawares, however, the triumph
would be complete, and a ship valued al
many millions could be rendered a total
wreck by the expenditure OF few thousand
dollars.
called upon to take in the defense of a sea
BESIDES the armament OIL ships and boats
for purely naval purposes there Is another
distinct function OF the torpedo which
would be employed in defending the Sea-
nort cities. This consists in sinking sub
marine mines and sending out automobile
torppdoes, which may be controlled from
shore stations.
The method of firing by actual contact
with the ships bottom Is almost obsolete
now, for it is dangerous to friend and foe
alike Possibly few mines might be
placed at strategic points that control a
vast territory, but are unimpOrtant for pur-
poses of commerce.
The latest Improvement in the self-acting
mines, and one that Obviates many Difficult
ties, is that Of making connection with the
shore station. The shock of the passing
vessel, instead of firing the mine, is COM
municated to the shore and rings little
hell The observer now knows that his
I torpedo is in contact with something, and
uses his discretion whether to close the cir
cult or not If it be an enemy's vessel her
doom Is sealed If one OF our own or neu-
trail one she may pass on in peace. The
metallic case that forms the mine contains
charge OF dynamite varying from 100 to
200 pounds, according to the nature of the
exulosive effect desired
In addition to the above methods of de-
Tense by submarine mines it is fair to pre-
sumo that the naval operations will include
the launching Of few automobile tor
nedoes from some vessels OF the light tiotlla
and that the engineer officers Of the army
will dispatch n number from shore stations.
The type of torpedo used by the navy will
he either the Whitehead or Howell, while
that adopted for army purposes will prob
ably be the Sims-Edison.
The Whitehead is what is known as fish
torpedo of the uncomfortable type-that is,
the projectile receives its direction while
seated in the firing tube. Once started upon
tia deadly path the sender no longer cor
trolls it, either by electrical or mechanical
means. There is no connection between the
vessel and the weapon. 1t Is in reality like
the ram, projectle of slow velocity.
The Whitehead torpedo consists of
cigar-shaped case of phosphOr bronze 11h
feet long having diameter OF 17h inches.
These dimensions vary in different coun-
tries, but ii feet may be taken as an aver
age length and IA inches as an average
diameter. The torpedo is divided into
series of compartments. The destructive
effect is accomplished entirely by the head,
wherein lies the explosive, consisting of
sixty or seventy pounds of gun-cGtton.
The gun-cottOn is divided up into a number
of disks, which are thoroughly dampeued.
These are pierced, and through them Is in
serted primer, consisting OF dry gun cot
ton. Just before the torpedo is launched
small decorating primer is screwed into the
head This explOdes upon impact, and
thus the charge is ignited.
The other automobile torpedo which has
been adopted by the United States is the
Howell, named from its inventor, Captain
J. A. Howell. United States Navy The
weapon is similar in shape to the White
mead, but is an Improvement upon it ia
every way. Though its directive force is
said to be greater it is in the motive power
that the Howell shows plainly its great
superiority.
The power Is derived from a heavy fly
wheel in the main compartment, mounted
with its axle at right angles to the longitu-
dinal section. Tho axle projects and a
steam motor attached to the flywheel is spun
I'D TO 5000 revolutions per minute. The
power is conveyed by means OF shafts to
twin screws in the after end of the torpedo.
The following is a table of the relative di-
mansions and performances of the White