The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1909-08-28
Deadly Weapon Of Uncle Sam
Adds More Horrors to
Grim War.
CARRIED. ON MoNoPLAME
LIGHTWEIGHT MOTOR HAS BEEN
PlANNED-iNvENT or De.
VICE Is EMIL eERIINER OF
WASHINGTON, D. c.

does are the latest horro that are about
to be added to modern warfare There
have been submarine mines and SUBJ
marine torpedoes, smokeless powder
and noiseless guns and airships. but
the idea of carrying 80 pounds Of gun
cotton ten miles and dropping 1t on
tho head Of an ordinarily inoffensivc
citizen looks like crowding the limit
on modern destructiveness.
This. however. is being worked out
right here in Warrington, and Emil
Berliner, known to fame in other and
more peaceful directions as an invent
or, is the man who is developing the
idea. Possibly Mr. Berliner does
not even deserve the saving clause
just noted for he is the inventor of
many graphaphones. and Judge Kim
ball. John Phillip Sousa and other
prominent citizens have ciassed them
with lethal weapons.
However the aerial torpedo is al
ready invented, and 1t will take an
other Hague conference to prevent its
use should occasion demand. 1t Is no
thing more or less than a small aero
plane. carrying a torpedo in place OF
automatic balance and steering device
to tbs same end as a submarine tor
pedo.
lieht-weight Motor Devised.
The thing about the device that has
given more trouble than anything else
IL getting q simple and hight weight
motor. This problem is now solved
and there IL q motor In the Berliner
shops that will develop twelve horse
power on the brake and weighs only
nifty pounds. The motor IL very snm-
pie In construction. This first working
model was not built for light weight
especially, and 1t Is said that It can be
cut down twelve pounds without inter-
fering with its efficiency when the next
motor is built. The saving in weight
will be due chiefly to the use of vena-
dunn steel In the cylinders. This was
not available when the first motor
was constructed, but cylinders OF this
material have been ordered and will
be ready for installation in the next
motor.
The motor Is something of the Ad-
ams-Farwell type, with revolving CYL
inders. These act as a gyroscope to
keep the aeroplane steady in the air
and make the motor run without the
vibration that would shake small
aeroplane to pieces with motor of
the same size and weight of q recipro-
eating type. It Is said that the motor
on q light wooden base has been run
without any trouble from vibration
and It was run standing still in the
sun for half an hour without overhead
ing. It is true that standing still on
q long run the cylinders get q little
too hot for efficiency, but moving
through the air will keep them just
right. One Of the cylinders has been
lifted with q copper Jacket, with cool
lng images, and this aids the cooling
without appreciably increasing the
head resistance, but 1t is not thought
that In practice 1t will be necessary to
use the jacket at all.
Machine 20 ee q Monoplane.
Mr.. Berliner has tried out a lot Of
propellers and has found a pair OF
light weight and suitable efficiency.
This and the motor constitute the chief
problems. and being satisfactorily set
tied, he is not bothering much about
the aeroplane to carry them. The
whole installation win be of such light
weight that not much wing surface
will be required. The machine will
BE- monoplane. and as It will make
atty miles an hour there will prob
ably be only about 100 feet Of support
lnx surface. The automatic balance is
worked out 90 that 1t Is simply Ques-
lion Of putting the machine together.
The aeroplane will carry q gasoline
supply for flight of half an hour.
but it IL not thought likely that it will
ever be used at anything like that dis