Aberdeen herald. [volume] (Aberdeen, Chehalis County, W.T.) 1886-1917, 1915-09-16
MODERN TORPEDO !
TERRIBLE WEAPON
Weighs 1900 Pounds and Is
TWenty-three Feet Lone.
COST IS $4,000 TO $4,000.

WIN bO0V bUVOUOU 0sOV ~ OOVUsO
Skinned Ship and rhsn Explode.
Loaded Only With High Explosive,
Either Junction Or NitreeIyesrin.
What Happens a. Il Strikes Prey.
The up to date torpedo Is a loaded
automobile shaped like a cigar, made
to run IN n certain direction in a fixed
time and explode. when II strikes some-
thing that offers sharp resistance. A
reliable one, properly equipped with ex-
plosives and running gear. costs from
$1,000 to $1,000. according to size. A
large torpedo Is twenty-three feet long.
twenty-one inches In diameter and
weighs $500 pounds and 1t tears a
hole 80 by 10 feet In the bottom Of a
ship of two skins.
THE torpedo" said an expert Of the
navy, has four principal parts-the
war head, which carries the explosive;
the air flask or'fuel chamber. the en-
CINE and the steering gear and the bal
ance chamber. The explosive head IL
filed with some high explosive-gun-
cotton, etc.-and is provided with a per-
cussion detonator. This strikes q hard
or solid substance. and the explosive
goes of instantaneously.
ouneotton or Nitroeiyesrin.
THE explosive head IL the foremost
compartment Of the torpedo and con-
tains the deadly charge and the pistol
with which it is fred. Guncotton and
nitroglycerin are. the high explosives
generally used for submarine purposes.
There are many others. but these form
the foundation for most Of them. Gun
powder Of the sort used by the country
boy to shoot at a rabbit or q squirrel
is no longer used. The high explosive
10 more powerful than gunpowder.
Gunpowder burns quicker than the
high explosive, and 1t splutters around
II scattered on the ground. but it ex-
plodes II confined In close place.
The high explosive will burn II you
stick a match to 1t, but not SO easily
as gunpowder A sudden blow will
apply heat to IN explosive and set 1t
off
1.-THE explosive head strikes the bot
tom Of n ship. and 'detonation. not
an explosion takes place. The mass
of high explosive seems to explode at
once. and that Is what Is desired. as
the most sudden blow will knock a
hole in the ship. GuncOttOn ia det-
onated by illuminate of mercury.
which. when ignited by a blow. ex-
pands $3.50 times its original size.
The sudden expansion gives blow to
the guncotton that detonates it."
This 10 What Happens.
"What happens when the explosive
head strikes?"
"a defamation follows instantaneous
~ and blows the outside Of the ship
in. making O hole about 80 by 10 feet
In size. There il no rule about the ex.
tent Of the damage to the side of the
boat. 1t may be twice 80 by 10 feet.
The blow drives In both the outer and
inner skins of vessel like the Lusi-
tania. The double bottom is not suf-
ficient to break the force Of the tor
pedo If it strikes WELL A glancing
blow may not cause an explosion.
1.-The torpedo would have about the
same effect on collier that 1t would
on a big merchant vessel. We have
never tested thoroughly the effect of q
torpedo blow on an oil tanker such as
the Gulfight. We are doing that now.
AFTER the torpedo struck 1t would
~, t,ior,s, - bS<c ond most ~ tho rtoooo
would go to the bottom of the sea.
Some fragments might go inside and
become entangled in the splinters made
by the defamation.
1.-The torpedo must do many things
in very thoroughgoing way. 1t can
not succeed in its mission II a cog
slips on the way. for it Is primed for
automatic action. Everything must be
just right and in its proper place when
1t starts on its journey Of destruc-
tion. 1t has to run at Il certain speed
so as to get to its destination on sched-
ule time. to go certain calculated dis
lance In that fixed time. and travel in
q certain direction to make sure Of its
mark. It cannot loaf. vary from the
course outlined for 1t or dip down or
shoot up on the way. n anything goes
wrong all is of with that torpedo. and
the thousands Of dollars invested in 1t
disappear beneath the waves.
"Torpedoes run from 1000 to 10000
yards to reach the object they are sent
to destroy. It requires about eleven
minutes to make the longer distance"
"What II the torpedo struck whale
on the wayT'
1T would be bad for the whale. al.
though the torpedo might not explode
unless big solid bone was hit"
OF Many Sorts.
1.-The torpedo b not known intimate
~ by many naval officers" said one
specialist. There are all sorts Of tor.
pedoes. Some Of them have individ.
uality. No two seem to be exactly
alike. We continually improve our
knowledge Of them. Each torpedo has
to be carefully studied and corrected
for it's one voyage Of destruction. Like
the bee that stings. It gives up it, life
for one sting. The ship II strikes
sinks. The 200 pounds Of guncotton in
its warhead tears the ship 40 that 1t
cannot escape. 1t Is the most terrible
weapon Of warfare known to the
world"