The times., 1898-07-04
TO RAISE SUNKEN WARSHIPS.
The Unique Plan of st. Louis
Inventor.


Inventor.
Appliances for placing Spanish ships al
the bottom of the sea and for keeping
those of the United States navy above
water in all contingencies are included in
the recent plans of W. Il. Cumberland. a
St Louis inventor. Since the outbreak OF
the war Mr. Cumberland, says the st.
Louis Star, who is insurance agent.
has renewed the study of the explosives
and equipments of naval warfare, which
he pursued several years ago. He is now
in correspondence with the Navy Depart
ment regarding his recent devices, and
has received replies which encourage him
to believe that at least one of them Will
be tested by the Government with view
to its adoption.
The most novel of Mr. Cumberlands S
plans is designed to prevent the sinking
of battleships by equipping them with
mammoth life preservers These appiica-
tions are to be constructed of heavy
vas and will follow on a large scale the
plan OF the small Individual life preserv-
ers in use on steamboats,. They are de-
signed to be of elliptical shape, encir-
cling the ship. and when not in use are 10
be thrown back from the water by means
! of strong iron rods resembling the spokeS
! of an umbrella. When in use the mann
moth inflated tube is TO be let down upon
| the water like an awning, and held firmly
/ in it's place by the rods which supported
| it above the water
t Mr.. Cumberland, who is a strong advo-
| cate of compressed air. believes that
| inflated tubing three feet in diameter
] would be of sufficient size to support a
| ship and prevent sinking in any emer-
gency. - Besides keeping the ship afoat.
/ it would. he believes, serve a protec-
i ton against torpedoes. which, unless
! fired from a submarine boat. would be
near enough to the surface of the water
! to strike the tubing. This. being filled
with air. would act as a buffer and would
repel the torpedo. preventing damage to
| the ship.
Mr. Cumberland's letter to the Navy
| Department descriptive of this device
| was at once rewarded with an answer.
thanking him for his suggestion and mis-
| expression of Willingness TO give the Cow
ernment the benefit of the invention
without royalty.
BY a similar plan, the insurance man
believe that Admiral MontOjos sunken
ships could be brought up from the bot
tom Of Manila harbor and placed in the
possession of the American navy. The
plan is to have the encircling tube placed
sabout the sunken ships by divers and
then filed with air by means of rubber
tubing attached to a pump above the
surface of the water. When the in
fating process had gone far enough Mr..
Cumberland believes that the Spanish
gaHeons would rise 10 the surface.
A new projectie is said TO be in the
form OF an explosive rocket, and is re-
ported 10 be capable OF infiicting much
more injury than an ordinary she'll Mr..
Cumberland, who has for some time had
similar device in mind. believes that
there is a great deal in the plan. The
chief advantage which the rocket-shaped
prOiectile possesses over the shell is that
the former will be comparatively smoke
less. whereas the firing OF shells from the
! large guns Of the Navy soon creates an
impenetrable cloud Of smoke.
The rocket designed by Mr.. Cumber-
land would have head from eight 10 ten
feet in length. containing chambers Of
scarcely equal size, separated by a cham
Der Of compressed air three or four inches
I'm thickness. The forward chamber Of
the projectile is TO be filed with dynamite
while the powder in the rear compart-
ment is 10 be ignited by a fuse. The COM
pressed air between the two explosives
would. the inventor claims prevent the
dynamite from being exploded by the
powder. and its effect upon striking its
mark would be destructive in the er-
treme The plan of the compressed air
chamber is borrowed from the tOrped0es
now in use by the United States Navy
The fondness for invention seems 10
run in my family said Mr.. Cumberland
in speaking of his devices. My father
invented a device for tying cotton bales
which brought him considerable money
and was worth much more to others. who
swindied him out of the greater part Of
its profits My cousin, James r. McCliu-
took. of New Orleans invented the first
torpedo used to blow up a battleship
which was tried effectively upon the
Union ship HOusatOnic, in Charleston
harbOr during the civil war. Some years
later McCiintock tried TO get Congress to
employ him TO raise the Housa tonic. bur
failed, through the opposition of several
Democratic members. In 1888 he was kill
ed by the premature explosion in Boston
harbOr of torpedoes which he was con-
/ veying TO a point ontsde of the harbor
for the purpose of testing their power
upen an unseaworthy and condemned yes
, sell"
Mr.. Cumberland expects to offer to the
Government in a few days a rough plan
OF his proposed rocket, which he calls an
aerial torpedo.