The Calumet news. [volume] (Calumet, Mich.) 1907-1938, 1911-11-02
TORPEDO GUN IS
POWERFUL WEAPON
NEW ENGINE OF WAR MEANS,
1T is SAID, ARMING OF
UNDERTOOK OF MA.
VAL SHIPS.

Washington, Nov. s.-Commandor
Cleland Davis. l.. 5. ". executive OIL
Ger Of the Mississippi. has returned {,
his vessel after his trip TO Norfolk {,
| inspect the damage done by his CUR
torpedo when fired at a specially pre-
pared caisscn representing the side OF
a battleship. Details Of this test wer,
guarded closely by the navy depart
ment but enough has become known
10 indicate that far reaching results
may be forthcoming from the expert
ment Another test Of the Davis torpe-
do gun against thicker armor on the
same caisson was made Nov. /. The
torpedo gun. fired at a distance OF one
! hundred yards. travelled along a troll
ley until ii was guided 10 the exact
spot selected for it to strike. Imme-
| diately upon contact with the outer
! five eighths inch plate Of carbon steel
the gun was discharged and shot an
eight-inch shell. Weighing 293 pounds
and containing forty pounds of gum
cotton through the armored protection.
The outer steel plate, the one quar-
ter-inch inner steel plate. the seven
eight-inch armored bulkheads Of van
adium steel were all penetrated cleanly
by the projectile which broke through
the other side Of the caisson and ex-
ploded It's charge of guncotton in the
water and mud. The torpedo did not
strike the three inch armor backing
up the structure. as II was DETECTED
from its course slightly and hit the un-
protected side, going through t. Had
the explosion taken place i'm the inter-
Tor the damaging effect. It is estimated.
would have been terrific. But the fact
that the torpedo got clear of the cais-
son before ii exploded is regarded as
a point in its favor. The width OF the
Caisson was fourteen feet, whereas the
width Of a battleship is about eighty
feet. The torpedo exploded after /;
had travelled about forty feet, signify
ing to ordnance experts that il would
have exploded in the vitals of the yes
sci 1t struck.
Rear Admiral Nathan G. Twining
chief Of the navy bureau of ordnance.
and other ordnance experts, present at
the test were unanimous in declaring
that the gun torpedo was weapon
which would be Immediately fatal To
any vessel, unless some means of pre-
venting its penetration could be de-
Vlsed. II is TO ascertain what thick
ress Of armor is necessary to check its
course that the experiment was held
Nov. /. In this test the gun torpedo
was fred at the three-inch armor plato
OF the caisson. Commander Davis said
II would penetrate this thickness with
out the slightest difficulty. The gun
torpedo has the same radius of action
and is fired under the same conditions
as the regulation Whitehead
An all-important feature Of the test
in the viewpoint of the ordnance ex-
perts Is that it demonstrates the ne
cessity OF thick armor protection
against underwater attack. This ar
NOR protection, it is said. would. of
course, add greatly to the displacement
Of future battleships. The prediction
is made freely that vessels in the near
future Of the battleship class may
reach $4,000 tons displacement as a re-
suit Of the gun torpedo's effectiveness.
The necessary weight due to the UNI
der water armor will necessitate
greater space for machinery. etc. in
order that speed and other important
of modern naval con-
are not sacrificed. The
torpedo. even the 10000
yard weapon in the possession of the
British navy. is damaging only. it is
explained, in so far as the outside ex-
olosion Is concerned. The interior
oulkheads protect the vitals of the yes
sci, so that the Whitehead depends
upon the terrific outside explosion to
Zip great gaps in the outside construc-
lion and thereby destroy the stability
IF the vessel.