The Washington herald., 1915-08-29
AERIAL Torpedo BOAT to SINK Batteps Protected arbors
Invented by
u. S. Admiral

n ATTLESHIPS seem toNbe a great
n asset to a country in the piping
times of peace, but when the war
god is rampagent, II the experiences Of
the present world war are set to prece-
dent. the chief duty of an admiralty is
to conceal and protect its huge battle-
ships from the enemy. Germany's bat
tleships are safely locked up in the Kiel
canal and in the mine protected harbors.
England keeps her superdreadnaughts in
boom-closed ports of the Irish sea. With
the exception of the Queen Elizabeth, all
the battleships battering away al the
Dardanelles are obsolete types which will
soon be junked If the Turks don't get
them first.
But comes now Rear Admiral Bradley
A. Fiske, Of the United States navy war
college, with a scheme to get at the
elusive battleships. Mines. booms and
harbor defenses protect the battleships
now against submarine attack or raids by
swift cruisers armed with long range
guns. Admiral Fiske has obtained pat
ents on an aerial torpedo boat. which can
fly over booms and ignore mines. Sailing
high above the range of the guns of a
land locked harbor. it will swoop down
to within a few yards Of the water. dis
charge its torpedo at the helpless battle-
ships and sail away at a speed defying
the aim Of the best gunners.
A single torpedo will be carried by
each aerial torpedo boat. A torpedo with
a range of 1000 to 10000 yards weighs
about 1000 pounds. but both the British
and Russian flying squadrons include
monster aeroplanes that carry a ton Of
ioh 10. xx,;ll
be set before 1t is launched and the i'm
pact with the water will start the propel-
ling machinery that will drive the deadly
weapon towards the enemy at forty knots
an hour.
Reports have leaked out Of a carefully
guarded experimental hydro-aeroplane
being tried out by the United States near
Alexandria, Va. This machine is said to
carry twenty men. A revolutionary feat.
ure Of the new craft is the mounting Of
the propellers. The machine carries two
sixty-horse power engines, placed tandem
above the aviator's head. One propeller
is at the front Of the forward engine and
the other at the rear of the aft one. ].
H. Chapman, Of New York city, is the in
ventor of the new big type American air
craft.
The development Of a type of radio
controlled torpedoes is another possibility
OF Inventions Dy Admiral F1Ske. Before
the Spanish war, while he was still a
lieutenant. Fiske obtained far-reaching
patents on radio control of torpedoes
from ships and coast defenses. At that
time the heavier than air flying machine
was little more than a dream of inven-
tors. But now that the aeroplane has
demonstrated its revolutionary efficacy
in warfare. the principle of aerial con-
troll Of torpedoes from airships will
doubtless receive more and more atten-
tion. 1t is proposed to drop from aero
planes torpedo that can be guided by
radio impulses during its fall and sent
with absolute certainty to its mark.
But until the science of electrically
controlled torpedoes is advanced further,
1t is probable that Admiral Fiske's in
vention for dropping a torpedo from an
enormous aeroplane few feet from the
water will be adopted by this and other
countries. Germany has long been
known to be working on aerial torpedoes,
both for land and water usages, and Ger
man science and efficiency may be de-
pended on to develop an effective aerial
torpedo before the present war is over.
Then it will remain to be seen il the
aeroplane and the submarine have actual
ly junked dreadnaughts, as a great many
naval experts are predicting.