New-York tribune., 1908-08-14
TORPEDO BURSTSIN INSIDE
GOES INTO SHIPS TIT4LS.
Lieut.. Commander Davis Lays Sue
cess to New Light Metal.

Still another danger has been added to naval
warfare. and the inventor of this latest form Of
ship destruction, Lieutenant Commander Cleand
Davis. L. S. N, discussed it in matter-of-fact
way at the Waldorf yesterday afternoon. It is a
torpedo which carries In its interior a steel gun
barrel that discharges shell loaded with high
plosives when the torpedo strikes the side bot
tom of the enemy's ship. The point of the inven-
ton is that this explosive shell is equipped with a
time fuse, that it will not explode until il
reaches the interior of the vessel Thus the protec-
ton Of water tight compartment and layers Of coal
is overcome
Lieutenant Commander Davis who first con-
cefved the idea four years ago, been expert
mentns ever since and on Wednesday the most
convincing example of what he had accomplished
was given at Sheep Island In Massachusetts, Bay.
There were present Truman H Newberry. acting
Secretary of the Navy and Brigadier General Ar
thur Murray. chief of artillery of the army. At
this exhibition torpedo of the Davis type was
sent 80 feet TO a tank fifteen feet in diameter with
Ihree oulkheads. each of iron plate fve-eighths of
an men thick. The torpedo passed through all of
them sank the tank and went 100 feet beyond
1here was no explosive in the shell fired from the
torpedo gun. because there no need of IT, and
Lieutenant Commander Davis felt that the mere
shooting OF the shell would prove It's efficacy
Lieutenant Commander Davis was on his way
yesterday from Boston Washington where he
Is in the bureau Of equipment of the NAVY De-
partn1enI with him at luncheon at the Waldorf
yesterday were ]. NJ Flannery of Pittsburg who
Is president Of the American Vanadum Company
and S S. Wales. head of the arnor plate depart
ment OF the Carnegie Steel Company Lieutenant
commander Davis. who spoke in a deprecatory way
Of his invention. looked toward Mr. Flannery and
said:
1t was through vanadium that nv idea was
made practicable When I first started nv experi-
ment found that the ordinary steel made by the
chronne-nickel process was so heavy that a tube
or gun strong enough to shoot my explosive shell
"oulo weigh thousand pounds. Naturally no tor
pedo could carry such weight With steel made
py the vanadium hux. the tube I used in my expert
ment yesterday weighed only forty pounds"
AS Lieutenant Commander Davis pointed o1t
the torpedoes in use at present explode on the
outside OF the ship and exert a greater part OF
tnelr destructive force the water. That part of
the invading gases that reach the ship usually
strikes only bulkhead coal bunker, and the
vital parts OF the Ship such as the magazine and
the engine room. are not affected. His torpedo
however, will send in a shell that will not ex-
plode until It is far within the vitals of the
sci The difference. he said. Is that between shoot
ing man at distance and shooting him with
the ruzzle of the revolver against his head
The metal called vanadiun, to which Lieutenant
Commander Davis gave such credit, is being mined
by Mr.. F1annery's company in the district of
Junin, Peru. where it found in limestone
formation. At present il is being used by the
Carnegie Steel Company in experiments amor
plate and Mr.. Flannery predicts that because Of
the strength it gives light steel construction it
will become most important factor in the
facture Of automobiles
Lieutenant Commander Davis seemed better
pleased TO talk Of his friends success than 10
discuss his own invention. However, he said that
the torpedo would entirely overcome the safe
guards Of steel nets which are used at present to
protect batteshtps from torpedoes- In of his
experiments he sent torpedo against a steel
chain net. The torpedo gun then shot the shell
half-inch of steel whence II passed forty-fve feet
before IL sank
Lieutenant Commander Davis left this city last
night for Washington He would not discuss the
chances Of the governments adopting his inven-
ton. but there runnor that Mr.. Newberry
would make 6 favorable report