Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-06-14
LlMPS BACK TO NAVY YARD
Warship Badly Battered, But Not
vitality Injured.
HEAVY LIST TO sTARB0ARD
Admirals Capps and Mason, Capt.
ouinby and Crew on Ship When
Warhead Struck.
Special Correspondence Of The Star


NORFOLK. Va. June 3D. 1908.
Shot. shell and torpedoes. the deadliest
weapons OF modern naval warfare. are
powerless against the battered and
SCARED old monitor Florida. They have
no terrors for Commander John G. Quin-
by and his gallant crew of thirty.
Two hundred and twenty pounds Of gun
cotton in a Whitehead torpedo. with a
percussion cap on the head of it, was
launched against her hull this morning
1t exploded with tremendous force. tore
hole in the good ship below the water
line and flooded three of her water
tight compartments.
Her commander and thirty men Of the
crew were aboard. The only casualty
was the loss Of a leg by one OF the
wooden men placed on the flying bridge
to register the effect Of the concussion. A
flying piece of steel amputated his limb.
Result Of Tests.
The test was thoroughly satisfactory
and demonstrated that one torpedo, al
though guided by trolley to the exact
spot 1t is intended to strike, is not neces-
sarily any more fatal to ship than
twelve-inch shell fired at point-blank
range was to the Florida and her turrets
Both tests. ordinarily believed to be
fatal to modern warship. have been
undergone by the Florida without vital
injury.
The supreme test was that Of this
morning 1t was expected that the ship
would surely sink In anticipation of
having to raise her from the bottom of
Hampton roads. she was anchored near
Sewalls Point in shoal water. where 1t
would have been a less expensive job to
have fished her out.
Powerful wrecking pumps and donkey
boilers were installed upon her super
structure. 1t was expected 1t would be
necessary to use these In raising her.
On the contrary. however, the Florida
limped back to the navy yard this after
noon. a little battered. but still In the
ring. She is listed seventeen inches on
the starboard side. 1t required the eff
forts of three big naval tugs to get her
to the navy yard.
Machinery Not Damaged.
Her machinery is not damaged. The
torpedo nets effectually protected every
part of her hull except the exact spot it
was desired to strike.
The torpedo was not fired against the
Florida by the torpedo boat Morris, as
was at first intended. A barge was an
chored a hundred yards away from the
monitor and a steel cable run between
the two. On this trolley the torpedo
was sped down upon the Florida.
The object of this arrangement was to
insure the deadly warhead striking just
where 1t was intended 1t should. and also
to prevent peril to the ships present at the
test. since. had the TORPEDO by any chance
gone wild, 1t would have been a danger
Gus customer.
Capt. Quinby and his crew ELECTED to
stay aboard and note the effect of the
conclusion. The chief constructor Of the
navy. Rear Admiral Washington Caps.
and the chief Of ordnance. Rear Admiral
Mason. were also aboard. The naval
dynamite practice vessel Montgomery
was present at the test and supplied the
specially charged torpedo.
Admiral TaussiG, cOmmandant of the
naval station, whose son, Lieut. Taussig,
witness the test. The Mayhower. with the
cabinet officers aboard. was within the
closest distance ships were allowed to ap-
preach.
Torpedo Strikes Monitor.
At S:25 O clock all was in readiness and
the signal was given. Quinby and his
posed side of the monitor. ran around the
superstructure.
The deadly trpedo sped through the
water to strike the target an instant later
There was a roar like that OF hundred
guns going of at once. a shower of spray
and bits OF steel and mud fully 100 feet
high. The monitor reeled slightly and
settled almost imperceptibly on the STAR
board side.
The only serious damage. II was found
upon a superficial inspection Immediately
made. was to the compartment where the
torpedo exploded Water entered two
other compartments and the pumps were
started to clear the ship.
She was Immediately FASTENED back to
the navy yard. There she will be locked
Immediately and inspected to ascertain
the exact effect Of the blow.