The record-union., 1898-03-27
iOhpEEEDOES III WARFARE.
HOW OPERATED AND THE DE-
STEuCTTON THEY CREATE.
Advance From a Floating Keg of
CunpowGer to a Perfect En-
gine OF Demolition.

Torpedo warfare has been advanced
to suth scientific basis in these days
that the destruction Of the Maine would
have been an easy undertaking for
some treacherous Spaniard or unscru-
puloUs Cuban determined upon forcing
a crisis between the United States and
Spain. The modern torpedo is as ter
rible an engine OF destruction as tie
mind OF man has conceived for the pur-
pose of warfare From the floating
kegs loaded with charges of gun
powder which Captain David Bushnell
set adrift in New York Harbor TO the
CONSERVATION of the British feet, in
Revolutionary days, the torpedo has
advanced by rapid stages to the dignity
of machine Of the most perfect and
skinfuI construction. capable of demoi-
ishing in an instant the largest and
most powerful battleship. Once re-
Garded as experimental devices, the
torpedoes have become recognized
weapons of maritime warfare, admit
ting Of varied application
IN a general way torpedOes may be
divided into two classes. They are
either contrivances propelled through
=
ship or more or less stationary sub
merged mines, each so arranged as to
be set off when a ship is over it. The
germ Of the idea is found in the Greek
of the ancients, from which the tor
pedo has been developed since the in
PRODUCTION of gunpoWder into warfare
The first demonstration upon a grand
scale OF the important part which the
n ~ In
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
responsible for tremendous destruction
and the eXertion of a worldwide infiu-
ence upon NAVAL operations Seven
United States ironclads. thirteen wood
en- war vessels and seven army trans
ports were destroyed by torpedoes, and
eight more vessels were more or less
injured. The Confederates lost four
vessels by their own mines and a fine
irOnclad, the AIbemarle. by the counter
operations of the United States fleet
The Paraguayan war of 1SG4-GS fur
nished the next occasion for the EN-
plOyment of the torpedo in warfare.
| Immediately after the Brazilian fleet
entered the waters of that State a fine
ironclad, the Rio de Janeiro. was sunk
by two torpedoes against which she had
struck. subsequently division of the
feet ran past the batteries of Curupai-
ty only to find itself entrapped between
two lines of torpedoes, but the de-
fective nature of the machines pre-
vented a serious disaster.
FIRST BAD DISASTER.
In the Russo-Turkish war of fS77-7S
the Russians made very decisive use
of torpedoes. Through their agency the
armored feet on the Danube was held
in check without the aid of q single
Russian WaTship, and successful inva-
sion was rendered impossible Eight
attacks were made by the Russians
with torpedoes, two of which were sue
cessful In one a steamer was sunk
at Batoum by q Whitehead torpedo,
the first triumph of the weapon on rec
ord
In the war between Chile and Peru
in 1SS0-S1 both sides made use of tor
pedoes without noteworthy results.
During the Franco Chinese hostili-
ties in 1SS4-S5 two naval vessels We're
sunk by the French by the use OF
tion of 1891 the battleship Blanco En-
calada was sunk with crew of 1J0
by a torpedo During. the war between
China and Japan in 1S94-95 submarine
operations played a subordinate part
until the japanese attacked Wei-Hai-
Wei with a torpedo hotiIla. Attacks
were made on two successive nights
which resulted in sinking four vessels.
nf ph e.J,;
war.
In this country and some other coun-
tries possessing an extended sea coast
the service of torpedoes has been Gi-
vided between the navy and the enci-
neers of the army-the former operat-
ing Extensively ahoat, and the latter
defensively from the shore While in
general the line of demarcation be-
tween the two services is thus plainly
marked, some of the weapons. such as
fish torpedoes steered by electricity.
may be operated either from land or
from shipboard, and may be used in
war either by army or navy as oc-
casion might offer.
One OF the most successful types of
torpedoes, and one which might have.
caused the ruin of the Maine. is known
this torpedo has been purchased bv
the United States and by most Euro
pean nations. It consists IF an iron
and steel vessel in the shape of =
spindle, and is driven by n propeller
moved by compressed air 1t can he
projected from a launching tube or
started by hand and is capable of
regulating and preserving it's depth
and direction. within narrow limits. in
still water, such as the Havana Har
Dor offers. The latest British patterr,
Of the Whitehead carries Il charge Of
200 pounds Of GUn-cotten. enough to
blow any ship out of the water.
THE FISH TORPEDO.
The fish torpedo is essentially a boa
of the Whitehead class, which carries
and unreels a coil of insulated wira
through which an electric current from
a battery on shore or on shipboard can
be passed at viii, and made to con-
troll its motions perfectly. The boat
may be set to move at the surface ~.
below it. Her position is made known
to the operator by two small flags car
ried near the water level, which at
night are replaced by two lanterns
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