The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1898-06-30
vESUWUS AND TORPEDO GUNS.
EFFICIENCY AND ACCURACY IN THE
PROJECTION OF ARIAL TOR
PEDOES.

ger to the Crew-Future Develop
ment of War Vessels of the Vesu-
yius Type.
From the Philadelphia Public Ledger.
AT the request of the Public Ledger, |
Capt Z. L. Zalinski, L. S. \. (retired), |
the distinguished expert on dynamite |
guns, has written the following article on |
the subject of pneumatic torpedo guns as
in use at present on the dynamite cruiser |
Nesuvius
The pneumatic torpedo guns of the We |
suvus have at last had an opportunity |
TO he used In actual warfare. The accounts |
given so far are necessarily meager and |
conisctural as TO the material effects pro- |
duced. But there appears TO be no ques-
ton as TO the moral effect of their fire |
when directed on the land forUfcations.
Where the shell lands within an enclosed !
battery the physical effect is likely 10 be |
considerable, both on the guns and the |
personnel But generally the torpedo !
shells are nol commended for purposes of |
Commandment of Notifications. The role
in which their greatest effectiveness and
usefulness is to be looked for is in the at
tack of the under water hun of ships. In
other words, it is as submerged torpedoes
shat the shells of the pneumatic guns are
likely to produce decisive results upon the
enemy's ships In this role a successful
shot VIII place the most powerful battle
ship hors de combat if it does not utterly
destroy it,
The claim as to The possibilities of the
shells of the Nesuvius are based upon:
First. The known power of action Of
submerged charges of high explosives,
when detonated against or near the under
water huIis of the most strongly CON
structed warshp.
Second Upon the accuracy of fire at
tanned by the pneumatic guns, both ashore
and ahoat
Given the explosion of a stated charge
of gun cotton or other high explosive, its
effect will be practically the same, whether
is is contained in a submarine fixed mine.
Whitehead torpedo or aerial torpedo shell.
The first kind is dependent upon The
enemy getting over or very near the mine,
and. in the latter case the operator on
shore exploding il at the proper instant.
This last is not always easy of accom-
pishment
The second kind IS largely dependent
upon the torpedo boat stealing on the
enemy's ship unObserved Being detected,
is must then be so fortunate as 10 escape
fatal results from the storm of quick
firing gun missiles which the defense viii
belch forth, until it gets within 300 hun
dred yards. Even then its success is prob
lematic, as conditions of waves and cur
rents may turn it from ats course suf-
fciently to render the shot useless, di-
rect hit being essential to secure results.
Vessels at anchor, as may be The case of
Cervera's fleet in the harbor of Santiago
de Cuba, may still ward off the attack OF
the Whiteheads by wire MEETINGS which
they may have down.
The 15-inch guns of the Vesuvius throw
their torpedo shells a distance of from
600 to 5000 yards, according 10 the sizes.
These may carry from 100 to 500 pounds of
explosive The accepted danger radius of
1ba ytyha a
der water hull of a warship, varies from
ten to thirty feet. The wire netting will
not hinder or stop them. A direct hill Is
not necessary Indeed, it is The aim to
avoid a direct hit but to miss the ship
within limits. A direct hit above water
might produce local injury, but would no.
be necessarily fatal. miss, however,
within limits, so that the charge eXplOdes
under water, would be almost surely fatal
The familiar views of the Maine. after
her destruction in Havana harbOr by the
Spanish mine, would give an idea of the
possibilities of destruction by one of the
larger torpedo shells which the Vesuvius
guns could throw. In the case of the
Maine, undoubtedly the destruction was
enhanced by the secondary explosion of
one of the minor magazines of the ship.
Without this action, however, the de-
struction of the ship would have been as
sure, although disruption of the upper
WORKS would not nave Deen so compete.
A ship is protected by heavy armOr, in
its ever water hull, and this protection
may extend short distance below the
water line. But the double bottom is made
Of thin plates, and only from one-half to
three-tenths of an inch in thickness 1t
requires much less force TO penetrate
through this thin outer plate and rupture
the inner skin than through the heavy
armor, and perfOration here is more like
! al Of bO
under water hull is to be preferred
Very large charges of explosives are
preferable because they may be effective
when exploded at greater distances from
the target.
Ships are now subdlvided into numerous
compartments in order to limit the effect
of the puncture of the under water hull
Hence very large charges are desirable
in order that the effective globe of com
preston of the gases evolved by the ex-
plosiou may intersect the hulFs surface
sufficiently TO break in a number of the
compartments and render escape impossi-
BILE. The shell with which the Vesuvius
guns are provided are chiefly of 1O-inch
callibre and carry charges Of 200 pounds
of gun cotton. But they also carry full
calibre shell Of fifteen inches. containing
500 pounds of gun cotton, end the danger
radius of such charges as has been fndi-
Gated VIII vary from twenty to forty
feet
The substitution of explosive nitro-gela
tine for the gun cotton would increase the
( destructive radius of action of the shell
considerably. as 500 pounds Of the former
/ is equal in energy to about $50 pounds of
/ gun cotton.
/ To the lay reader the question naturally
/ presents itself as to how eight and Ten
! inch caliber shells may be fired out of a
! fifteen in ch gun. This Is done by attach
/ ing to the front of the shell grinding
/ shoes, which enlarge the shell body M TO
/ The diameter of the bore (ffteen incbes)
/ and attaching to the base a circular sabot
/ and gas checks also of the full diameter
Of the bore. on leaving the gun these
! charging shoes and the gas check dron
off not far from the muzzle, whilst ,he
4 sub-ca!iber projecdle proceeds in its
fight
! The question of accuracy Of fire when
ahoat is necessarily linked with the dues-
ton Of the efficiency Of the guns in the
! Nesuvius
No guns can be fred from a floating
/ platform with the same degree Of ac-
curacy Of fire as when on a fixed plat
form on land
In the former case it becomes more a
question Of the Judgment and aptitude OF
l rl,a in ba Ia