Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-08-06
REAL TEST OF TORPEDO.
Target Like Part Of Battleship Sunk
In Practice.

From the New York Tribune.
A short distance out from sea from Sandy
Hook one of the most realistic bits of mimic
warfare ever seen around New York harDcr
was recently enacted. The regulation tar
get shooting on land at the proving grounds
is tame compared with this thrilling ex-
pertinent.
An important problem of modern sea
fighting which has more or less remained
guesswork is the exact effect of the explo-
sion of a torpedo on a modern oattlcship
In the late Russo-Japanese war he wcrk
OF the japanese In this direction is reported
to have been extremely effective, but 1t has
not been fully made public. Government
officials however. may soon know from
actual tests just what injury the bursting
of the torpedo will do If it is sent home or
even If it is. exploded some distance from
the side of a warship.
Torpedoes of new twenty-one-.nch type,
which will travel 1000 yards are now being
built for the navy at a cost of nealy $1,000
each. and before ordering too many Of these
expensive fighting machines exhaustive
trials will be made to determine exactly
their real worth as engines of OBSTRUCTION.
For these experiments there was recently
constructed at the Brooklyn navy yard
huge arnored caisson for the ordnance de-
partment This peculiar target represented
a complete armored section Of the latest
type OF DattIeShlD. having Identical (OJu-
partments, buIkheads and interior constrac-
ton. 1t was twelve by twelve feet square
and thirty feet high. About seventeen Oh
eighteen feet of IL was submerged when Il
rested in the water in the proper POSITION
to be fired at. 1t weighed over iIo tons,
and cost nearly $1,000 To steady the cais-
son in the water a ballast of 14SGoo pounis
of pig iron was arranged on the sides and
bottom. The pigs were piled one on top OF
another and held fast by a network of
chains. The top of the target was fitted
with watertight door, permitting a mar
to enter it, and an iron ladder led down 10
the bottom, affording opportunities to ex-
anime the inside and note the effects of an
explosion on the plates The caisson was
sent down to Sandy Hook at Cost OF
81, 900 for transportation. The 2Oo-ton cleo
trio crane Hercules lifted the big steel
target from the pier in sling of heavy
chains, and lowered it slowly into the
water.
It was then righted and the ballast of pig
iron placed inside while the crane still held
firm grip on the structure to steady IT
and keep the proper balance.
After 1t arrived at Sandy Hook several
torpedoes were shot at the target. Finally
Explosive in twenty-one-inch torpedo
warhead was exploded fifty feet away
This represented the average charge that
will be fred from the torpedo tubes of
battleships and torpedo boat destroyers
with the new torpedoes. The effect demon
strated that in actual engagement 1t
would probably sink or disable the most up
to- date battleship. When the great up
heaval of water has cleared away after
the explosion the target had sunk.
A diver went below and examined the
damage done by the explosion. The whole
end of the target was stove In and it was
evident that any vessel receiving such In
jury would be put out OF commission at
once The target was raised and VIII be
used again. The tests are expected to
Yield new and valuable information re-
garding the use OF torpedoes