Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1898-04-16
AUTOMOBILE TORPEDoEs.
Description Of Various Tyne. Emplox.
ed In the United states Navy.

| AUTOMOBILE TORPEDOES
Description Of Various Types Employ.
ed fn the United States Navy.
From the Chicago Times Herald
Automobile torpedoes and the important
part they promise TO play in future naval
engagements are discussed at considerable
| length in the forthcoming number OF Mod
| err Machinery, technical publication of
| TINS city, the author OF the paper being
w. T.. Willis, a mechan ical engineer who
mas given special study to the subject II
| is the belief of the writer that torpedoes of
the autcmobile type have been so perfected
that armor plate offers no effectuaI re-
sistance to their attack. and that they are
practically irresistible. The character and
| operation OF three prominent types of tor
pedoes are described in the article. with
c'cse attention to technical details, after
the writer has stated his reasons Tor con-
| sidering such Instruments OF naval Warfare
the most formidable today.
In stating some of the causes which have
led to the opening of a new era In naval
warfare it is noted that the weight and
| floating capacity of war vessels have ar
riNe at such stage chat little short OF a
| Emit has been reached, and THAI thinking
men are constantly looking TO new e.-
pedients with which TO annihlate their
| foes afioat.
Referring to this problem. the sri.er
| makes the following conclusions:
| Our costly cruisers and cattle ships are
weighted down with tens Of i:arrcsna i,le
arfnor, and carry INDUSTRIOUS guns t. throw
supposedly armor-pierclng shells at an enc
my. The enemy being equally well pre-
pared, IL Is more n matter of chance than
any thing else which is victorious.
1t is the old question over again. of
| what will happen if AN Irresistible force
meets an immoyable body?'
''Onc day We are Informed that our Hlr-
| Veylzed and nickel-steel plates prove in
Vulnerable to shots; another time we learn
| that some new projectile has pierced the
best of them. The common sense Of the
| matter Is that practical limits have been
reached N both directions, and thinking
| men are looking TO new rXpedeats with
which to annihilate their foes afolt.
With the marine automobile torpedo IL
| is proposed to accomplish this purpose,
ard 1t has proved Its ability 10 do SO;
| quantity or quality of armor opposes no
serious resistance TO 1t; burying the uaGe-
| zire, engine and other vital clements of
| fighting power below the water lire. sur
rounded by Goals and other material in
tended TO defend them. eGeces nothing. but
| rather insures their more speedy desiruc-
| ton, for 1t is there that the TORPEDO is
aimed to strike with as much accuracy ard
precision at target shooting
las unseen the wind, with a sreed
that is as rapid and an effect that the tor
| nado's concentrated force mas never equal
| ed, the work is DONE and the water closes
over where, moment befo-e, a powerful
| vessel was
Among the several promising types OF
automobile torpedoes. the Cunningham,
| Whitehead and Howell are mentioned in
| the article the most prominent. The
Cunningham Is described resembling a
huge pointed screw il being d cylinder with
a conical end and having on its body
series of fins arranged after The manner Of
a screw thread. In inc opinlSn of the
writer, this torpedo is perhaps the silnplcst
| in its construction. hlv;ng practically no
interior mechanism and reyuirirG 10 ex-
pensive apparatus Tor lis discnargo. Re
ing lowered into the water ami points In
the direction 1t is to take, the Cunning
ham torpedo keeps 'ts course with ;e-
markable fidelity. Its motive poac" con-
! sists of a series of discharges Of gases
| arising from chemicals arranged In pock-
cts along its sides, which causes IL To re-
volve through the wa.er Ike screw
through its nut. Its explosion depends
upon the conclusion OF Its forward end
against some hard. firm object.
The following description and comments
upon the Whitehead torpedo are given by
the writer:
THE Whitehead-an English sontrivance
lis of the fish variety, incloscd in a steel
smell containing elements of locomotion. con-
sisting of a compressed air motor driving
tandem screws at its rear end Although
ex-Secretary of the Navy Tracy has said
In his report that Ii had been successfully
domesticated. II Is doubtful, from a me
chanical point of view. II Z Is most desir-
able. for its working necess.tates a pow
erful air-compressing plant, two thousand
pounds to the square inch being demanded,
a trained force of mechanics rather than
common seamen, and constant care TO keep
its steel shell and interior free from cor
rosion-a difficult task around salt water
and the maintenance Of perfect balance.
as any deviation from the perpendicular as
regards its center line shows CORES
ponding change In its course, fatal to the
! effect desired"
The Howell torpedo, which is mos. cx-
tensively Used by the United States navy.
was the original conception Of Commodore
]. A. Howell, United States navy. II H. de-
scribed as possessing all the good qualities
Of the Whitehead and many peculiar to it
SELF being the outgrowth of extensive and
expensive experiment and eribodyiny the
condensed thought of some or the hest
American mechanics and engineers. II is a
bronze cylinder with conical ends. about
fourteen inches in diameter an eleven feet
long, weighing about 500 pounds. including
q charge OF 100 pounds o. gunc otton car
ried in the forward end. 1t is propelled
by very delicate and Ingenious mechan-
ism operating fywheel weighing 1Jo
pounds.
This f1ywheel is set revolving at a SPEED
OF 10000 revolutions 4 micute just before
being fired from the tube in rcssl, ami
Is capable of running al least one and CLe-
half hours after leaving the tube. The
energy developed py ths wheel turns a
pair Of screw propeIlars at the rear ind of
the torpedo. and by a very ingnioGs device
these screws are ma lie TO maintain a uni
form rate of speed as LING as the iorpcGo
is In motion By the action Of an Equally
ingenious device the -oroejo Is kept on its
course without any deviation from the
depth In the water which has been deter
mined upon at the time OF firing.
Reformed by u New Pavement.
From the ST. Louis Globe-Domocrat.