The semi-weekly messenger. [volume] (Wilmington, N.C.) 1897-1908, 1898-05-10
To Destroy Spains NAVY.

Ahc oIOOhlyu GdSIe mas received a
letter from Hudson Maxim, of London,
England, containing a remarkable Of
Ter TO the United States government
TO furnish TO il, at a cost of half a
mlilion dollars, a ship which he claims
u he capable of destroying the entire
spanish navy. The plan involves the
use of aerial torpedoes, invented by
Mr.. Maxim. The writer is a brother
OF Hiram Maxim, the famous inventor
OF weapons Of destruction. Hudson
MAXI has worked in cooperation
With Hiram, and is a man of good
~Standing n repute in the scientific
world. He expresses his desire to serve
MS native country. Just n cruiser,
built and equipped complete with tor
pedo guns according to his system he
says, would be sufficient TO destroy ev-
cry Spanish warship which it might
encounter at sea. The cost of such a
cruiser would fbe about $500, 600. He Of
fers the United States government, or
any of its patriotic fellow citizens who
may be willing to furnish the capital
necessary for the construction and
equipment of one such cruiser, the free
use, without royalty, of all his inyen
tlons for the purpose, and says he will
come to America n superintend the
building Of the cruiser without any
charge for his service. An opportunity
to serve on board in an engagement
will be very acceptable to him..
ARMOR RENDERED USELESS.
Mr.. Maxim holds that if his inven-
tons are put into practice armor will
be rendered absolutely useless. Navies
will make everything subservient to
speed and mobility. The projectile, in
stead of being an armOr piercing shot,
will he a thin shell intended only as
a cover for the explosive which 1t will
carry. MIR. Maxim points out that
pneumatic guns for throwing high ex-
p~losives necessarily have a limited
range. He says it is obvious that a
practical system OF throwing aerial
torpedoes must have a range substan-
TALLY equal to that of high pO,.-- guns.
SENDING TORPEDOES NINE
MILES.
Owing to the fact that these guns are
not intended to throw armor piercing
projectiles, and that, therefore, a fat
projectory is not necessary to their
successful operation, the charge of
powder to prOpel the shells may he less
powerful than that used in high power
guns. The torpedoes, which carry half
a ton of explosive, according to Mr..
Maxim's theory, may he sent nine
miles, while a ton of gun cotton can be
thrown five miles. These ranges are
equal to the effective ranges of high
poWer guns on :ba~ttleships.
TO FIGHT HEAD ON.
Mr.. Maxim believes that ten torpedo
cruisers, equipped with his guns, may
be built at a cost of $4,000 0 each, or,
in other words at the same cost of
building n firSt-clasS battle ship. He
would equip each of these cruisers with
one "a inch torpedo gun Weighing As
tons, and two torpedo mortars, weigh
ing 20 tons each. The cruiser would
fight head on, the exposed portion of
the vessel being protected by detecting
armOr sufficiently thick to turn aside
the projectiles of a battle ship, save
those from the II inch guns.
He says that the fatal area present
ed to a ton of gun cotton is 1872 OPS
square feet. The cruisers would have
a speed of 20 to "a knots, and could,
therefore, choose their own positions
with respect to battle ships.
COULD DESTROY ONE HUNDRED
WARSHIPS.
Mr. Maxim has made many expert
ments both with regard to suitable eX-
plosives for the tOrpedoes and a proper
powder to propel the projectiles, and he
believes he could put his system into
effective operation. He divides the aV-
erage fatal area of the target present
ed by the cruiser, and finds that the
latter is contained in the former at
least 100 times. One cruiser, he argues,
would therefore be able, on an average,
to destroy 100 battle ships. Mr. Maxim
admits that this is an aStOundlng fg
ure, but he says it is based on such
foundation of fact as to at least war
rant placing them in a category OF
practical probability.