Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1905-10-28
THE ART OF WAR.
Use of Star Rockets ana Aerial
Torches at Port Arthur.


Torches at Port Arthur.
In a vivid description Of night at
tack at Port Arthur an eye witness,
George KEENAN,, the Outlook's repre-
sentative in the far east, thus tells or
some novel war appliances:
AS a means Of illuminating field of
battle at night the searchllght had one
serious defect, and that was Its tend
ency to cast black shadows into ra'
vines and depressions of the ground.
In order to illuminate such places the
Russians made use Of star rockets and
aerial torches, which shed light direct
ly downward into natural or ARTIFICIAL
depresslons of the ground which the
horizontal rays of the searchlight could
not reach. The star rockets consisted
Of a tube of quarter inch iron eighteen
inches long and three and half Inches
in diameter, with an explosive head at
the upper end and long and rather
heavy stick at the lower. Around the
stick ut the base of the tube were eight
or ten half inch holes, through which,
l presume, the prOpulsive powder fore
ed its way as the rocket assembled.
When It reached it's height the burning
composition inside the tube set fire to
the head. The latter then exploded,
setting free sixty or eighty brilliantly
white stars or spangles, which fell
slowly in a silvery shower, lighting up
an area of at least square mile I'M
derneath very much as 1t would be
lighted up on q less extensive scale by
the burning magnesium used IN nash'
light photography. The stars Kept
bright for a period OF from five to eight
seconds, and the illumination Of the
ground underneath seemed to me TO be
quite as great as that caused by the
rays of a full moon.
In combination with these rockets the
Russians used what l have called "ae-
rial torches" | never had an oppor-
tunity to examine them, and l do not
know how they were made, but from
their appearance and behavior l con
cluded that they were combination OF
a bomb, a parachute and large wad
of fax or hemp saturated with some
LIQUID which burned with a bright
flame. When the bomb was exploded
In midair by means of a time fuse II
liberated q mass OF flaming material
attached by wires to small para
chute. This parachute descended very
slowly, and the torch hanging from II
burned for at least a minute, some
times a minute and half. 1t made
light which was greatly inferior TO that
of the star rocket in brllliancy, but II
i, had the compensating advantage oil
lasting longer and carrying the illu
miuation closer to the ground. II the
time fuse were cut short the flaming
wad would burn until it actually reach
ed the ground, and when there were
three or four Of these torches In the
air at once they made quite hgh'
enough to reveal the movements oil
troons in the trenches or ravines over
which they were thrown.
1t can readily be imagined that when
searchlights, star rockets and para
chute torches were all In simultaneous
operation, when bursting shrapne
cases were making FREELY flashes IL
mjdair when the illuminated slopes OF
the Russian hills were blazing with
the red fire of artillery and when the
Significance Of the illumination was
emphasized by the booming OF cannon
the pom, pom, pom of quick hrers anC
J the steady rattle of perhaps Thousand
rifles the spectacle was one of thrilling
and absorbing interest.