Los Angeles herald., 1892-06-15
|HARB0R DEFENSES.
ANTINo DEADLY EXPLOSIVES TO
PROTECT THE COAST.


- vast Amount Of Labor. SKIN.
x,ns ana Money II Needed to Conn
slsts Thorough System Of Coast Do
es-Advantaees Of the Torpedo.
There is q very widely diffused idea
nong people who have not made
6ocial study of the subject that torpe-
- and torpedoes alone, can defend
~ harbor against a hostile attack.
The destructive effects of a few tor
40 explosions under the most favor
blo circumstances have caused this
fnnch Of warfare to assume an undue
mportance, an importance wholly un-
nrzanted by the results and created by
6nefalixations from isolated instances,
htirely without regard to the natural
mutations Of the efficiency of any tor
eao system, however perfect.
II e the object of this article to en-
loayor to show the actual capabilities of
<rpedoes, the results attainable by their
,se. and the restrictions inevitably at
mding their indefinite expansion into a
cmplete system of defense.
Great guns must play an important
at in all harbor defense, but for the
oroper and adequate defending of navi-
zable chennels bouyant mines, exploded
81 contact, are the mainstays.
With their use, however, a host of per-
Iexing conditions arise, the twisting
md wearing of the cables and moorings,
he depression due to the currents, the
danger Of sympathetic explosions, the
leaking Of the cases, the obstruction of
The channel for friendly navigation-all
these have to be overcome as best they
may be.
Where port has several navigable
channels, and it is practicable to sacri-
dec one or more, their closure by means
of self acting torpedoes is easy.
Where channel, however, cannot be
entirely abandoned, self acting mines
srp useless, for in order to be thorough
| " reliable they must be as dangerous to
u friend as to an enemy. Furthermore,
their planting, and much more, their re-
&moval upon the cessation of hostilities
/ = to be accomplished only at great risk.
The limited applicability of ground
mines is well known. Torpedo science
furnishes two other types for harbor de-
Tense; the buoyant mine and the dirig-
ible torpedo, although the latter proper
/ II forms distinct class.
Great nicety in planting torpedoes
cannot be expected, and this fact, cou-
! pied with the inevitable shifting of the
mines from various causes, leads direct
IL to the conclusion that a great num-
ber Of mines must be relied upon rather
than precision in their manipulation.
Despite the number of mines, vessel
attempting to pass the lines may still
fail to strike mine hard enough to
work the circuit closer. To meet this
contingency a perfect torpedo system
must provide means for firing the mines
ct will in groups of three or four. 1t
win always be possible to accurately To-
cate vessel within dangerous space
of this number of mines, and their stimuli
taneous explosion will have the desired
effect.
To furnish passage for the electric
current many cables are needed, and to
avoid confusion some regular method of
planting must be adopted. It is con-
venient to plant the torpedoes in groups
capable of being fred by Judgment,
these groups. constituting the units,
which are combined into the larger unit
whose limit is generally the number of
mines that can be operated through a
single seven core cable.
The grand groups thus formed are ar
ranged in lines, the latter radiating in
such manner from the operating case
ments that the separate units can be
easily located by triangulation. The
intervals between the lines are filed with
skirmish lines single mines strung on
single conductor cable and exploding by
contact only.
Many forms of movable torpedoes for
harbor defense have been tried in differ
ent countries with varying degrees of
success. For: accuracy Of direction and
range Of destructive power the Sims-Ed-
ison fish torpedo is perhaps unexcelled.
Extended trials at Willet's point have
satisfactorily demonstrated its ability to
carry 200 pounds of dynamite to dis
tance of two miles at a speed of about
twenty miles per hour. The charge is
exploded upon contact with the vessel
or by the action of the operator on shore.
The dirigibilty of the torpedo is per-
feet. It follows its prey as though
endowed with life, swerving to the right
or left as necessary, diving under booms
or other distractions, cutting through
nets, and never slackening its great
speed until the end of its cable is
reached. At present two mile radius
is deemed sufficient, although this could
be increased if necessary by enlarging
the 's6sh" itself.-Cosmopolitan.