Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-04-06
TORPEDO BOAT MARVEL
Great Claims Made For a Sub.
mersible Craft.
DAN BE SENT MANY MILES TO SEA

Manufacturers of Vessel Claim She
/ Can Make Endurance Hun Under
| Her own Power of Four Hundred
MtIes-Able to Fire Torpedoes While
| Travelling and submerged-Reaues
| For Appofntment of Naval Board GO
Witness Tests.
| The Lake Torpedo Boat company.
p, which manufactures submersible
torpedo boat OF the even keel type, has
made an offer to the United States gov
eminent through n bill introduced In
/ the house recently by Representative
John j. Gardner of New Jersey, which
Is bound to attract the attention of
naval men everywhere. says a Wash
ington correspondent of the New York
Post. Naval experts have usually con-
sidered the submarine as fitted only
for harbor defense The Lake people
offer to send one of their boats 400
miles to sea. They ask that the secre-
tary Of the navy appoint board to
witness the following maneuvers OF
one Of their boats:
''Submerging to a depth of 125 feet;
to run submerged at sea for a distance
of 10 knots without coming to the sur
face except for observation with the
emniscope; to make an endurance run
under her own power of 400 miles at
sea, or from Cape Henry to Newport.
K. l., without convoy; to fire torpedoes
while submerged and under way at
sea, without coming to the surface; re-
load and fire a torpedo while under
way, submerged, and in waters of any
depth; to remain at sea unaSSiSted for
at least three days, with entire crew,
self maintained and without convoy;
to have a member of the crew leave
the boat through the divers door while
the boat is entirely submerged.
ALSO to locate, pick up and cut
submarine cable, thus demonstrating
the ability to clear a channel of mines:
to run submerged with safety In wa
tiers Of any depth; while running en-
tirely submerged to take observations
with the omniscope without exposing
any part of the vessel; to run between
the surface and bottom at slow or
varying speeds; to remain at picket
duty at sea submerged for at least two
days with only the sighting instrument
occasionally out Of water for observa-
ton purposes; to establish an under
water cable, pick up same and hold
telephone communication with the
shore station while entirely submcrg-
ed; to charge storage batteries while
running on the surface. Also to place
torpedoes within the boat while on the
surface without disjointing or wetting
them; to ASCEND TO the surface by
means of releasing drop keel; to ascend
to the surface by lowering the anchor
weights; to run under gasoline engines
while practically submerged with only
the sighting hood and omniscope above
the surface"
To demonstrate the simplicity of con-
troll of its boats the company guaran-
tees to train in one month a crew OF
naval officers and men to handle the
boat successfully while under the de- |
scribed tests. 1t asks in return that |
If it successfully performs these ma
neuvers the government shall purchase |
the tested boat, paying for it S275,000. :
Also that the secretary of the navy /
shall contract with the company for !
four additional, even keel submarine |
boats, two, of these boats to be not |
less than 100 feet or more than los |
feet III length. to have a surface speed
of at least 10 knots and to nave sub
merged speed of at least 61a knots. to
have q normal radius of action OF at
least 500 knots, surface cruising ra-
dius of at least loo knots and to cost
100000 each. The other two boats to
be not less than 135 feet in length, to
have a surface speed of IA knots,
speed of knots and a nor
NAL cruising radius of $500 knots.
1t is made condition of acceptance
that one of these cruiser class; of boats
shall first make voyage under her
own power across the Atlantic ocean
DR. from a point on the Atlantic coast
100 miles seward and return at the
expense and risk of the builders.