Edgefield advertiser. [volume] (Edgefield, S.C.) 1836-current, 1899-03-01
loRpEDoEs FOR DEFENSE.
GUARDING A HARBoR WITH THESE EN-.
GINES OF DESTRUCTION.
Secrecy of the Work of Placing the Tor.
pedoes...PIanted All Over Harbor, and
Connected With the Shores by Electric
Wlres...Yarlous Kinds of Torpedoes.

An expert on explosives in the en-
ploy Of the Government at San Fran
cisco, and who is particularly familiar
with the handling of large torpedQes,
gave some interesting information ia
Il Chronicle reporter regarding thu
manner Of placing and directing these
terrible destroyers.
1.-The explosion which destroyed the
battle-ship Maine in the Harbor Of
Havana, no matter what its cause,
he said, "has drawn general attention
to the Importance Of torpedoes as d
means of harbor defense. 1t was rec
ognized, from the very moment of the
disaster that the destruction OF tie
great armor-clad ship might have been
due to a torpedo. And so inquiries
have naturally arisen as to the extent
10 which American ports are protected
in this manner, if at all.
"No work of the War Department is
conducted with more privacy than that
which pertains to the use of toTpedoei
for harbor defense. No published re-
ports Of any bureau or department OF
the government of the United States
indicate what plans have been adopted
for the placing Of torpedoes, or at what
particular point 1t is proposed to es-
tablish them, either in the case Of wal
or at any other time
"Torpedoes are of metal, cylindrical
in form, about four feet in length and
foot or more in diameter. This GUAM
tity is sufficient to blow hole through
the bottom Of any ship afoat, If ex-
ploded Under water within fifty feet Of
her hull. The installation CT 500 or
\GQO torpedoes, the number for the COM
plete protection Of this port, could be
accomplished in a few weeks. This
would include the laying of the sub
merged wires and the establishment Oh
the necessary electric connections and
Instruments on shore. When COM
pleted no visible trace Of the work
would remain. The location OF the
electric station would be so masked as
to be wholly concealed from observa-
tion. When fixed in their proper posi-
tions, in accordance with the most i'm
proved modern methods, the torpedoes
would be 100 feet apart. AS the de-
structive area Of each is measured by
a radius Of fifty feet, to place them
closer together than 100 feet would be
to cause the explosion Of one to set off
all the others in the same line or
group. The preferred arrangement or
grouping is the quincunx, system Of
ten adopted by orchardists in the
planting of trees to insure the greatest
economy Of space.
at is the electrical control Of these
terrible engines Of warfare that makes
them most dangerous and effective.
Each Of long line of them over which
a ship must pass In entering the har-
Dor would have it's designated number,
and a chart in the hands of the opera
tor or his assistant would show the
precise location Of each, as measured
from certain fixed points Of observa-
tion. BY means of his delicate instru-
ments the operator could in moment
test the electric connections of any
single torpedo, and so ascertain If all
were in readiness for an explosion.
He could so govern the electric current
that any given torpedo would be ex-
ploded the instant 1t were touched by
an approaching siip: could %
Mode the charge at the proper moment
by the pressure Of finger upon the
kew of his instrument. If all were
in proper order and condition no enc
my's ship or fleet Of ships could pass
within the harbor, unless, perhaps, IN
the darkness or shielded from view by
a heavy fog. Even in those circum'
stances the torpedoes would be ell
fectiye If the attack were anticipated
for the electric current could be so reg
ulated that each would explode on con-
tact with ship.
"The War Department has distriDu'
ted a large number Of torpedo cases
among the ports most exposed to at
tack. And in addition to the liked anu
submerged torpedoes there are the au.
tomobile or dirigible torpedoes, oi
which there are several descriptions.
These may be discharged from ship
or the shore, attain high speed under
water by means Of compressed air or
electric energy, and are directed in
their movements by electric wires,
which are reeled off as the machine
rushes onward to the object of attack. "