Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1904-06-09
GLIMPSE OF NAVAL VAR
What Happens When a Torpedo
Explodes Against a Battleship.
Popular Idea That the ship IA Blown
Into the Air IL Erroneous-How
the Force Of the E1pIosion
Mnnifests Itself.

1
pedo-room Of one Of the Channel Flee,
battleships. as she languidly clankcd tn,
! links of her cable to tho wash of tn,
| tIamoaze tide, writes Herbert Russell
in the London Express. My gunner,
| friend of two stripes stood at my elbow
| The soft glow of the electric lamp he
had switched on winkcd back from thre,
yards Of polished silver steel. moulded
into the form of colossal cigar.
so this is a Whitehead torpedo?" said
| ], lightly stroking the symmetrical shane
with that sense of fascination which will
come TO man in viewing a weapon
OF devastating power.
"Ay, that's one Of our cightc.n.jnct
Whitchcads" responded tho young lieu.
tenant fitting his cap. Pretty thing,
| isn't il? Costs five hundred pounds, too,
Nearly three years pay for me, but
worth Vt for the jamboree It would play
with ship If it got home"
Japanese used these things to some
purpose" said laconically.
Yes. Tho wonder IL they did not do
more damage considering they s;rur,
at least three Of the Russian shns full
in their hlges. In our service We arc
. always taught to believe that to torpodo
a vessel is to sink hcr. Tho japanese
, must have used very small BURSTING
charges"
TRUE FOR A MILE.
This eiGhtcen-nch Whitehcal-is it
the largest torpcdo?"
In our service, yes. We have two
patterns; one Is fourteen inches in
diameter. and carries 30 lbs. Of gun
cotton. Roth tho Russians aud tho jap
ancse use exactly the same weapons
as these"
Tell me. now. when do you employ
tho torpcdo?'
''WheOcyr, van tbo ,b,,,1 u.i,a
and tho ram arc tho only means OF
sinking n warshp. Gunhro will wreck
but never founder her Every battle
ship and cruiser is fitted with torpedo
tubes. This voSsol. for instance, has five
four OF them submerged
80 that torpedo attack is not cor
fined to- destrOyors7"
Not by any means. If YOU can get
within effective range Of your enemy
YOU let slip Il Whitehead at hcr and
surprising it to he fired from ono Of the
submerged tubes, She could not soc il
coming. So dolicat"ly arc our donoc-
ton and distance Instruments gradual
% that We can torpedo a ship crossing
our bows at twenty knots with as much
accuracy as though she were anchored"
'What is tho effective range of tho
torpcdo?"
"Wcll. it has heon bit exaggerated
Tho effective range Of that Whitehead
In front of you is officially given as
500 yds., with Il speed Of thirty four
knots. With the gyroscope We may
reckon upon getting a torpedo to run
dead true for a full mile. II would
travel further. but it's course would be
gin to wobble.'
How is torpedo frcd?"
There are several methods such as
by means Of dropping gear which is
used ir picket boats, and simply CON
Of To-.
ing the torpedo into tho water: revolv-
ing tubes from which torpodocs are dis
charged by powder impulse only. ana
outriCcor srars, used mainly to got off
portable observation mines which. by
tho way. seem to have hccn the weapons
employed by the japanese at Port Ar
thur
SMILE WORK.
But in hattloships. cruisers, and tor
P"do craft proper tho torpedo is invari-
ably discharged from a tube. which is
a regular RECEPTACLE like gun barrel.
built into tho ship either above or below
water. The torpedo lie placed in this
resting upon guiding bar. and the safety
pm Is Withdrawn. so that the detohator
may operate.
The actual firing Of tho torpedo is n
very simple affair. 1t is propelled out
of the tube by compressed air sudden
ly injected into tho rear end at a pres
sure of about 500 lbs 10 the square
inch
AS it leaves the guiding bar tho
s"rvo-notor is automatically set to work
and the little gun metal propeller whirls
round rushing the projoctile through the
water"
Tho explosion is caused by imracto
Just so, a very light blow suffices
10 cXplod" III" detonator, and then the