The Birmingham age-herald., 1911-07-04
LARGEST TORPEDO
 PLANT IN THE WORLD

1 by which the engine is propelled. The l forward chamber contains a draining de-
 vice for removing any water which the
 condensed air may create. The after | chamber is the location of the driving
 gear and alcohol bottle from which the l fuel for heating the compressed air is 1 supplied Starting and Charging Valves l In the main compartment there is also
 a starting valve and a charging valve. | When the torpedo leaves the launching l tube the starting valve is operated by 1 the tripping of a small latch at the top
 of the torpedo. This results in the ig- l hitting of the super-heating apparatus and 1 the compressed air is permitted to enter and operated the turbine propelling en- l zine. The object of the superheating of 4 the compressed air is to increase its power thereby increasing the range and speed of the torpedo in it's flight. This
 range is thus brought up to about two
 miles at a speed of 2S knots an hour. | The charging valve is an ingenious arrangement for setting the firing l hammer of the torpedo's nose into prop
 CT position for exploding the cap and
 so the main charge of 200 pounds of
 gun cotton. When the torpedo is first
 launched this hammer is separated from l the cap so that should the torpedo
 strike some object at closer range than l intended the explosion could not occur.
 Only after this hammer has been
 screwed down into plate by a small
 auxiliary engine in the time set by the
 launching officer does the torpedo be-
 come ready for its destructive busi- ness.
 1 The turbine engine which drives the
 torpedo through the water is of the
 balanced type; that is, two turbine wheels revolve in opposite directions,
 each driving two four -bladed propellers
 in opposite directions. This Is to prevent | the torpedo from rolling in the water
 and keeps 1t on an even keel. The en- l zine weighs 45 pounds and develops as
 high as 125 horsepower.
 Keeping Torpedo Beneath Surface The driving gear is a mechanism for
 keeping the torpedo at a constant level
 in the water at about six feet below I the surface It is a pendulum scheme
 which controls lateral and horizontal | rudders. Should the torpedo slant l downward the swinging out of place I of the pendulum sets the rudders into proper position to restore the torpedo | to it's proper level
 The most wonderful, perhaps. of all | the intricate mechsnisms in the Bliss L Leavitt torpedo is the gyroscope, which Automatically steers the torpedo. As | nearly everyone knows. the gyroscope wheel Is a peculiar defer, seemingly of | the laws of gravity. A rapidly rotating wheel within rings. 1t will tend r to | maintain the original axis at which the | spinning wheel was started Therefore, | If for any reason the torpedo should | be deflected to the right or left from l its original course. the gyroscope, keep I ing true to its original direction, will | operate vertical rudders, bringing the torpedo back to its first line of flight 1 The gyroscope might with truth be call ed the pilot of the craft.
 | The afterbody is the compartment wherein is contained the turbine engine l and the gyroscope.
 The tail of the torpedo, like the tail of | fish. Is intended solely for propulsion
 purposes. Within it passes the shaft to
 the screw propellers. It also contains 8 reversing mechanism, Which Is necessary
 to drive the propellers in an opposite di- | rection to prevent the entire torpedo from
 rolling about. On the outside of the tail
 are four large fins designed to keep the torpedo square in the water.
 Exhaustive Tests Made So exacting are the requirements in tor pedo construction, and so accurate must they be in the performance of their tasks, that the most exhaustive tests of
 each finished torpedo must be made both in the factories and in the ocean by the Bliss company before it can be delivered to the government.
 There are over thousand men em- ployed in the factories of the Bliss com pany--all expert mechanics in their par | ticular branches. Before taking the fin- | ished torpedoes out for a sea testing they
 are rigidy tested by specially designed
 machinery to determine the accuracy l with which each working part is adjust ed. In fact, all through the process of | manufacture each piece or part is care fully tested for it's strength and perGec- ton.
 | The final tests are made under the scrutiny of the United States government engineers at the company's proving grounds, or waters, rather, at Sag Har-
 Dor, Long Island, in Noyac Bay. These | requirements must be positively compiled with: At range of 4000 yards buoy | Is set at which the torpedo is fired. and | which it must strike in three successive | shots. A horizontal deviation of 50 yards | and vertical variation of IS inches from
 the center of the buoy is all that is al lowed
 The torpedo Is launched or shot from
 It's tube by means of compressed air, at
 an initial velocity slightly in excess of
 the required speed of the torpedo when
 under it's own propulsion
 These tests at Noyac bay are conducted
 until the freezing over again the follow Ing winter. This is necessary because of
 the large number of torpedoes which the Bliss company manufactures-about 200 each year-every one of which must be put through series of rigid tests. The company maintains for this purpose a specially built and equipped barge or "gunboat," called the Elihhalet w. Bliss, and fleet of small launches which are
 used in gathering up the torpedoes after they have been shot out to the target
 The launches tow tire projectiles back to the "gunboat," where they are hoisted aboard for further testing.
 Occasionally 8 tordepo runs wild in the
 bay from some derangement of it's mech
 anism, and long, careful search is insti- tuted for the disobedient subma rine float ing a few feet under the waters surface
 Then, Ntoo, a torpedo has acted so badly
 once In while as to take in water and sink to the bottom of the harbor. In these rare eases the company has to send down a diver to search and recover the torpedo.
 A Bliss-Leavitt torpedo is worth from s50O0 to $7O00. so extreme measures are taken when necessary for their recovery In this connection it should be stated the torpedoes in war time are expected to sink should they fail in their mission.