The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1898-05-24

boats were unable TO follow the batsleships
al q speed greater than twelve knots. even
in moderate weather. Their small storage
or coal and water. the excessive fatigue
imposed on officers and men. when sleep
and rest are out OF the question. the inn
possibility. often. OF cooking. make il nec-
essary 10 resUppiy them and 10 change
their crews every three or four days.
The Automobile Torpedo.
The torpedo boat then. does not OF right
belong 10 the sea fleet. She is. first and
last. coast defense vessel. whose function
is to attack a hostile squadron with that
most destructive Of weapons. the torpedo.
This weapon is today the automobile
torpedo; Il is so called because the power
OF propulsion IS self-eontaiued: Ike its pro-
to,ype. the fish, It can be made to run on
or at any depth below the surface. as may
be desired. The generic name for this class
and the one by which 1t is Familiarity
known. Is the Whitehead. Every navy in
the world has adopted this type OF auto
mobile. In our navy We have It, but We
also have q rival, the Howell torpedo,
originally invented by Commodore Howell,
now on the United States steamer San
Francisco. The Howell. like the White
head, IS an automobile torpedo. 1t is
weapon which, Independently OF the vessel
and irrespective Of the means OF discharge.
maintains its speed by self-contained mo-
i've poNtE. anu aus utptN ana hiiSN@ANu ~
self-contained directive power.
In both the Whitehead and Howell types
the speed Is maintained by the action Of
screw propellers. In the Whitehead the
motive power is compressed air carried IN
a tank in the torpedo, feeding the air 10
the engine as a boiler feeds steam TO an
ordinary engine. In the Howell the screws
are actuated by heavy flywheel. without
the interposition of an engine. the energy
OF the tiywheel being the motive power.
In both types the depth OF immersion IL
maintained by horizontal rudder. Con-
stancy of direction is secured in the White
head by means of adjustable vertical rud-
ders. The Howell has no such rudder, hut
maintains rigid direction through. the
gyroscopic force OF its ffywheel-
The Torpedo in Action.
An automobile torpedo should possess
four essentials-velocity. range, direction
and rending force. In these respects the
Howell and the Whitehead are to al in
tents and purposes quite similar. The
velocity is from thirty TO thirty-ive knots.
the range 500 70 l.o0e yards. The direction
Is not altogether certain, though there
seems to be little doubt that carefully
aimed torpedo. fitted with the new steer
ing mechanism, the Obry device, will give
to the weapon an accuracy equal TO that
of a great gun. The rending force de-
ponds altogether on the charge of gun
cotton. This is about 300 pounds in the
largest sized weapons.
IL should be promised that the fish, or
automobile torpedo is a weapon of untold
possibilities. but OF few successes, and
such as have been accredited as successes
are at best questionable. There can be
no doubt, however, that q wei delivered
blow from torpedo will send to the bot
tom the stoutest ship that ever foated,
and this knowledge has been so thorough
ly disseminated that the moral force ex-
erted by the weapon is perhaps quite as
powerful as any other. No commanding
officer will dare approach what he thinks
will torpedo him, however many the
chances of missing may be, and no enemy
such hidden dangers.
The actual war trials of the Whitehead
torpedo have been few. In 1877. when the
English ship Shah fought the Peruvian
ironclad Huascar, the former launched a
Whitehead against her antagonist. 1t
failed, owing TO the distance being too
great. During the Turko Russian war the
Russians fired two Whiteheads from tor
pedo boats at the Turkish fleet at Batoum.
Both weapons failed. But in 1878 Turk
ish steamer was sunk by one of the two
torpedoes fired from two torpedo boats.
The automobile torpedo Played a prom
fnent part in sinking the hattieship Blanco
Encalada. Four torpedoes and two tor
pedo vessels effected this destruction,
though only one of the torpedoes hit.
Quite similar was the sinking a year or
so later of the Brazilian battleship Aqui-
dahan.