The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1898-02-18
HAVOC OF ToRpEDoEs.
How They Are Operated and the De-
structiOn They Create.

|
Torpedo warfare has been advanced to
such scientific basis in these days that
the destruction of the Maine would have
been an easy undertaking for some treach-
| erous Spaniard INSCRIPTIONS Gu
ban determined upon forcing a crisis be-
| tween the United States and Spain says the
| Chicago Times-Herald. The modern tor
| pedo is as terrible engine of destruction
| as the mind of man has conceived for the
purpose of warfare. From the floating kegs
| loaded with charges of gunpowder which
| Capt. David Bushnell set adrift in New
| York harbor to the CONSERVATION of the
British fleet, in revolutionary days, the tor
| pedo has advanced by rapid stages to the
| dignity of machine of the most perfect
and skilful construction, capable of demol-
| ishng in instant the largest and most
powerful battle ship. Once regarded as ex-
perimental devices, the torpedoes have be-
| come recognized weapons of maritime war
fare, admitting OF very varied application
In a general way torpedoes may be di-
! vided into two classes. They are either
| contrivances propelled through the water so
| as to strike the enemys ship, or more or
less stationary submerged mines, each so
arranged as to be set off when ship is
over it. The germ of the idea is found in
the torpedo has been developed since the
introduction of gunpowder into warfare
The first demonstration upon a grand scale
of the important part which the modern
torpedo can be made to play in maritime
warfare was given by American engineers
| during the war of the rebellion
During the last two years of that war the
torpedo service of both forces was respon-
| sible for tremendous destruction and the
exertiOn of worldwide influence upon ma
| val operations. Seven United States IRON
| clads, thirteen wooden war vessels and sey-
en- army transports were destroyed by tor
| pedOeS, and eight more vessels We're more
or less injured: The Confederates lost four
| vessels by their own mines and d fine iron
| clad, the Albemarle. by the counter opera-
tons of the United States fleet
The Paraguayan war of 1S64-1s6S furnished
| the next occasion for the employment OF
| the torpedo in warfare. Immediately after
| the Brazilian fleet entered the waters Of
| that state a fine ironclad the Rio de Janet
| which she had struck. Subsequently a di-
| vision of the fleet ran past the batteries of
| Curupaity, only to find itself entrapped be-
| tween two lines of torpedoes but the de-
| feetive nature of the machines prevented
| serious disaster.
FIRST BAD DISASTER
| In the Russo-Turkish war OF 1S77-1s7S the
Russians made very decisive use of torpe-
does. Through their agency the armored
fleet on the Danube was held in check with
| odt tAAS esiu VI d ciHSlS RUSSIAN war SD1p.
| and successful invasion was rendered i'm
| possible. Eight attacks were made by the
| Russians with torpedoes, two of which were
| successful. In one steamer was sunk at
Batoum by Whitehead torpedo, the first
| triumph of the weapon on record.
In the war between Chile and Peru in
losV-lSel, both sides made use of torpedoes
without noteworthy results. During the
Franco-Chinese hostilities in 1SS4-lSS5 two
naval vessels We're sunk by the French by
Lhe use of spar torpedoes and
| IN the Chilean revolution of 1891
| the battle ship Blanco Encalada
was sunk with crew OF 100 by q torpedo
During the war between China and japan
| in 1S94-lS95 submarine operations PLAYED a
subordinate part until the Japanese attacked
| Wei-Hai-Wei with a torpedo hotilla At
tacks We're made on two successive nights
| which resulted In sinking four vessels two
or which were armored ships of war.
In this country and some other countries
possessing an extended seacoast the service
OF torpedoes has been divided between the
navy and the engineers of the army-the
| former operating extensively ahoat and the
| latter Extensively from the shore. While in
| general the line OF demnrkatiun between the
! two services Is thus plainly marked. some OF
the weapons. such as fish torpedOeS steered
By electricity may be operated either from