The daily morning journal and courier., 1904-12-31

for Certain Distance.
 'The firm of Messrs. Whitehead. whose name is borne by the most ter rible engine of destruction that has ever been invented, supply nearly all the navies of the world with their famous torpedoes, says Chambers Journal. Great Britain and Russia are the exceptions, although the French. Germans. Danes and Italians make a certain proportion of torpedoes at home, and even the Japanese, resourceful in this as in so many other directions, manufacture d few for themselves.
 Though there are many types of tor pedoes, yet the standard dimensions may be taken at diameter of IS inches and length of 16 feet 5 inches for all ships of war except torpedo boats, and these carry torpedoes having a, diameter of 14 inches and length of fl feet 10 inches. The Russian torpedo has diameter of 15 inches. and Is 19 feet long.
 As with all ships and weapons, inn proyements are being constantly made in the Whitehead torpedo and ceaseless experiments, combined with applica- tion of untiring energy and the highest skill have made the present day torpedo the beautiful and marvellous weapon that it is. The improvements are in the direction of speed and in the tor pedo's range of action. The speed chiefly depends upon the pressure at which the torpedo can, in it's air vessel, carry the compressed air which is used for propelling it through the water. Until quite recently this pressure did not exceed one hundred atmospheres (about fifteen hundred pounds square dnch) but Messr Whitehead have now produced new torpedo in which the pressure is to be no less than about 2,25O pounds a square inch.
 "A torpedo is constructed in the fol- lowing parts: The head, which inclose in war time the charge of guncotton or similar high explosive; the air cham Der, which is about eight feet long; the balance chamber, for regulating the depth at which the torpedo travels; the engine room. the after part of which now contains the wonderful gyroscope, which is literally the brain of the tor pedo, and the tail. Indeed, the torpedo is by no means unlike a human body, for in addition to it's brain, it has it's lungs, in the shape of the air chamber, and it's heart, in the form of the engine room. And very tough lungs they are, too, and a very stout heart it is for the little engines develop no less than 45- horsepower
 ''The charge of explosive in the head has varied good deal with different patterns or makes of torpedoes but it has never been less than 125 pounds or more than 18O pounds The lesser charge would probably either disable or sink ship, however large; while the greater charge would, if properly ex- ploded, almost certainly cause her to, sink at once.
 The charge is fired by a percussion ar rangement which is safe until the tor pedo has travelled for certain dis tance. The violent blow with which the point of the torpedo would strike a ves- sel is enough to fire the primer and charge by means of simple rod or. striker impinging on a detonator. The safety gear, to prevent premature ex- plosion, consists only of a screw nut on the striker, which is fitted with small blades like a screw propeller, which screw back the nut as the torpedo pass es through the water, and so allows the striker to have play enough to strike the detonater.
 ''The air chamber is made from a steel forging; it's walls are three eighths of an inch thick, and after hav- ing been -nnachined as a hollow cylinder, the ends are screwd in and soldered to make them alright. The forgings for these chambers have to be most care fully made, and have to pass elaborate tests. They are manufactured either in England or in Austria.
 ssThe capacity of the air chamber for an 1S-inch torpedo is about ten cubic feet, but for the latest one hundred and fifty atmosphere torpedo this capacity has been increased to about eleven cubic feet. Tn other wors, the process of charging an air chamber of ten cubic feet to one hundred atmospheres means that all the air in a room 10 feet long, 10 feet broad and 10 feethigh IS pTHSSGO HUI ct " NC0oCl " IVY sACA@s5s foot high and 1 foot broad
 ssThe balance chamber was in the first days of the torpedo often called the "se- cret' chamber, because MT. Whitehead allowed the secrets of it's mechanism to be explained only to those who signed a paper promising not to divulge what they learned. The secret is now so well known that it is no breach ofconfidence to explain that the mechanism consists of a combination of hydrostatic valve and pendulum which controls horizontal rudders in the tail of the torpedo. The hydrostatic valve is supported by springs against the pressure of water due to the depth at which the torpedo is travelling, so that the depth can be regulated by increasing or diminishing the compression of the springs.
 With fast running torpedo the pressure on the rudders themselves is so considerable as to render it necessary to use an engine to work them. The balance chamber combination of hy- drostatic valve and pendulum there fore operates a small valve in 3 servo- motor engine, the piston of which moves in obedience to the valve, and in its turn moves the horizontal rudders. The servo motor is worked by com pressed air and is to the torpedo what steam steering gear is to the steamer. The engines are triple cylinder, single