New-York tribune., 1907-10-06

the battleshIp IN the next great naval battle
Seventeen feet long i the weapon we are
launching; eighteen inches IN diameter at the
widest. The head end Is cad III a kind OF
PhoSphor bronze helmet containing both wet
ana dry gunCottOn, connected with detonat-
ing primer This contains illuminate OF mcr-
curry and small percussion cap SO soon to
bc worked on 10y the torpedo's nose. \ highly
sensitive member this which VIII resent a
stroke with uprOar and violence that would
move mountain. Next comes the compressed
air chamber, into which air Is pumped al a
pressure OF nearly TWO thousand pounds to the
square inch This escapes through a valve
leading to the tiny engines that drive this
strangeSt OF weapons through the water The
mechanism comes next, automatically regu-
latlng the depth oi the torpedos dive during
Its run, here hes the secret sold IN turn to the
nations Of the world. The British Government
paid seventy-tve thousand dollars for the
balance chamber and seven hundred and fifty
thousand dollars II all Tor the Brennan torpedo
especially useful for guarding narrow channels
and harbor entrances.
When shot from its tube. the torpedo Is
controlled by miracles OF mechanism, one
would say its war head contained brains IN
stead OF wet Cordlte. Should Il miss its ann
IN warfare. a simple ContrIvanCe sinks II, so
that at least the enemy Is no gamer. The
weapon may be so arranged that II Will come
TO the surface after having run a prearranged
distance, and when firing for exercise a cal
cum light i put on Its head. This ignlteS
when the torpedo rises TO the surface, and
emltS a cloud OF smoke that reekS as II were
with garlic. Indeed, the position OF . sunken
torpedo may be found accurately from the
odor Of the bubbles rising from II, and il Is
hauled to the surface with its four screws
inert. and Its pulSlng heart apparently stilled
forever. II carries q Tudder IN Its tail, and the
entire marvellous automatic missile IS ruled
lInpcrCuSlV 10y is gYrOSCOpe. This IS like a
II
by the release OF Z spring after the steel FISH
energeS from Its shaft Should the torpedo
deVlate from the instructions given TO its many
parts, the gyrosCope Wi! set Il right en- route.
livery phase OF torpedo work NAV be seen
during practice with flag buoys and floating
targets perhaps eighty teet apart. Sometimes
a couple are discharged At once from a kind of
colossal double tarreled gun. The barrels are
Al a sllght angle TO one another, causing their
twin missiles 10 dlverge their tracks thus giv-
ing greater certainty Of striking the enemy
with al least one torpedo, 10y allowing a mar
gia Tor InaCCuTaCY Of aim, OF movement OF the
huge victim Every Admiral Of to-day organ
lzes torpedo tests and competitions, and prIzes
are gwen 70 those officers found successful IL
attack, and whose subordInates produce genu-
Inc crumpled-up soft heads, such as are sub
Stltuted on these occasions for the phOsphor
bronze war head Of the loaded torpedo. The
record tor torpedo practice II Newport = held
by Lieutenant Commander Edwin 4 AuGer-
son, vino fired ten torpedoes al moving tar
gets; and with ms de~trayers racing al high
speed he secured eight hts out ot ten.
Torpedo practice. by the way, Is distinctly
peTNOuS TO navigation: tor although the war
heads are removed the stroke Of one ot these
flylng nh, which may weigh fifteen hun
dTcd pounds, VIII easily wreck small vessel
Quite recently q steam traWler W. struck tv
spent torpedo outside Plymouth Harbor
and huge hole bored n her starboard tow
She began t. I'll instantly and had 70 te
taken II tow by the torpedo boat and promptly
beached; otherwise She would have sunk
with all On board.