Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1908-07-22
A THING OF THE NIGHT
The Dark and Deadly Mission OF
the Modern Torpedo.
ALMOST HUMAN IN ACTION.

1t Starts itself, Regulates Its Speed
and Depth and Steers Itself to Its
Unsuspecting Prey DiaboIical In
Its Dosaed Determination.
Unseen and unheard, the torpedo is
thing of the night. The gun an
nounces its presence with thunder and
flame. but the torpedo steals silently
from the side of an unseen craft and
only those who released its deadly
energy know that the missile is on its
way.
Look at it lying upon the deck, the
FURNISHED body glittering in the sun.
1t is hard to believe that an object
only sixteen feet long and weighing
1,200 pounds contains sufficient locked
up force to sink a battleship of many
thousand tons displacement and cause
tile loss of hundreds Of lives and mil
lions Of dollars.
And yet there is a suggestion Of ire
mendous force about the cigar shaped
body that looks so threateningly solid
and strong Indeed. the torpedo at
once attracts and repels the observer,
having much the same effect as
beautiful snake.
Deadly as are its powers, a child
could prepare the weapon for its MUIR
derous task. Nowadays simplicity is
Synonymous with implements of war,
and mans ingenuity has made it as
easy to kill our fellow men as to she'll
the proverbial peas. So everything
about the torpedo works automatically
Unlike other marves of machinery,
it is not even necessary to press the
button. The torpedo presses the but
ton for itself. From the moment it
enters the sea it is freed from human
interference 1t sets itself in motion,
regulates its own depth below the sur
face and even steers itself with Ger
tainty that is almost human.
You can see the steering as you
stand upon the deck by watching the
double line of bubbles which mark its
course, bending first this way and then
that. but soon steadying into an IN
, swerying line straight to the distant
target.
There is something diabolical in the
: logged determination with which this
{ mass of metal refuses to be diverted
from its goal
The little rudders in the tail are al
d. ways working, keeping the head point
ing on it's path. One might we'll mag
. inc that diminutive man were secret
ed within those shining walls, so accu
i rately is the missile steered.
e Strange as 1t may seem. this devilisb
! ingenuity. for it is nothing else. owes
its being to a child's toy. Think Of the
{. incongruity. The most deadly weapon
= the mind of man has ever conceived
g owes its practical existence to mag
4 ic top" primarily designed to amuse
f children.
a But such is the case, for here again
+ we find the wonderful gyroscope using
t its we'll nigh human intelligence for a
: sinister purpose.
{ This terrible ingenuity, however, has
y one great advantage, and that in a
n peaceful direction. Practice can be
Y carried out effectively and without
e danger For this purpose the war
head containing the charge is replac-
ed by a dummy" filed with wood to
bring it up to the exact weight.
Three buOys are usually moored d
: mile or so away as a target. and the
torpedo seems to spring from the YES
3 Sci like a living thing. eager TO reach
the center buoy
x Two rows of bubbles streak from the
ship in an ever lengthenin9 line. The
center buoy heaves slightly as they
pass, and several hundred yards far
Their on the bubbles suddenly cease as
!. a silver head protrudes for a moment
: from the sea.
Then, with engines at rest the slim
| ing body heaves gently up and down.
consciously waiting, as it seems, for
the boat to tow it back to the ship
{. More than this, lest it should be over
q looked in a heavy sea the torpedo
breathes a spiral Of smoke and flame
: into the air to show the seekers its
n whereabouts.
Harmless. as we see, in practice,
but think of its powers in war-dead-
e ly certainty of action, human intelli-
a gence added to superhuman powers
n working in secret! At any moment a
4. veritable 'bolt from the blue" may
shatter great battleship from stem
to stern.
e Imagine the terrible uncertainty of
it all-night following night of anxious
, watching. long hours passed peering
e into the darkness to see if a black
craft is lurking in the shadows! Every
+ speck dancing before tired eyes con-
! stitutes menace to the weary brains
behind.
And then when fears are luIled. since
the danger never comes and vigilance
is relaxed, a gentle heaving. the pre-
lude to deafening roar. and the split
ting Of steel plates and the rushing of
water, brilliant flare in the dark
ness, the cries of men on the verge of