Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1907-10-06

the battleship in the next great naval battle.
Seventeen feet long is the weapon we
launching; eighteen inches in diameter at the
widest. The head end is clad IN kind of
phosphOr bronze helmet, containing both wet
and dry gunCOttOn, connected with detonat-
ing primer. This contains illuminate of mer-
curry and a small percussion cap, so soon to
be worked on by the torpedos nose A highly
sensitive member this, which will resent a
stroke with uproar and violence that would
move mountain. Next comes the compressed
air chamber, into which air is pumped at
pressure OF nearlytwo 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-
lating the depth of the torpedos dive during
It's run; here hes the secret sold in turn to the
nations of the world The British Government
paid seventy-five thousand dollars for the
balance chamber. and seven hundred and fifty
thousand dollars in all for 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 cordte. Should it miss its aim
in warfare, a simple contrivance sinks it, SO
that at least the enemy Is no gamer The
weapon may be arranged that it will come
to the surface after having run a prearranged
distance; and when firing for exercise a cal
C1um light Is put on its head. This 1gn1tes
when the torpedo rises to the surface and
emits cloud of smoke that reeks as it were
with garlic. Indeed, the position of a sunken
torpedo may be found accurately from the
odor of the bubbles rising from it, and it is
hauled to the surface with its four screws
inert, and its pulsing heart apparently stilled
forever. 1t carries a rudder In its tail, and the
entire marvellous automatic missile is ruled
imperiously by its gyroscope. This is like
child top, and begins to spin automatically
by the release of spring after the steel fish
energies from its shaft Should the torpedo
deviate from the instructions given to its many
parts, the gyrosCope will set it right en- route.
Every phase of torpedo work may be seen
during practice with flag buoys and floating
targets perhaps eighty feet apart. Sometimes
couple are discharged at once from kind of
colossal double barreed gun. The barrels are
at slight angle to one another, causing their
twin missiles to diverge their tracks thus Civ
ing greater certainty of striking the enemy
with at least one torpedo, by allowing a mar
gin for lnacCuracy of aim, or movement of the
huge victim. Every Admiral of to-day organ
ICES torpedo tests and competitions, and prizes
are given to those officers found successful in
attack, and whose subordinates produce genu-
inc crumpled-up soft heads, such as are sub
stituted on these occasions for the phosphor
bronze war head of the loaded torpedo. The
record for torpedo practice at Newport is held
by Lieutenant Commander Edwin A. Ander-
son, who fired ten torpedoes at moving tar
gets; and with his destroyers racing at high
speed he secured eight hits out of ten
Torpedo practice, by the way, is distinctly
perilous to navigation; for although the war
heads are removed the stroke of one OF these
flying fish, which may weigh fifteen hun
dred pounds, will easily wreck small vessel
Quite recently a steam trawler was struck by
spent torpedo outside Plymouth Harbor
and huge hole bored in her starboard bow
She began to fill instantly, and had to be
taken in tow by the torpedo boat and promptly
beached; otherwise she would have sunk
with all on board.