Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1916-02-01
IORPEDO-PROOf
SHIELDSLATEST
WARSHIP DEVICE
Invention Designed to Make
Big Vessels Immune From
Submarine Attacks

Long. floating steel shields, paral-
leling the vessel from bow to stern,
may be seen on American hattleships
visiting Honolulu a few years in the
future, according to dispatches from
Washington to the New York World.
The shields are the latest device TO
protect dreadnoughts from submarine
attacks. They are intended to form
q defensive bulwark from wateriine
to keel level
Such is the plan of Philadelphia
inventor, who has filed with the navy
department plans for thus safeguard
ing American battleships from torpe-
do attack in case Of war.
Theory of II. -
The idea of a steel shield, car
ried from 20 to 80 feet out from the
side of the vessel is based on the fact
that a submarine usually has a
chance to fire but one torpedo at a
ship. The shield would receive the
blow of the torpedo and cause the
projectile to explode far enough
explosion practically harmless in so
far as the battleship itself is con-
cerned OF course part of the shield
would be hopelessly demolished, but
the whole shield, long as a battle
ship, can be furnished, it Is estimat-
ed. for $4,000. ..:.... =
These shields need only be carried
when the battleship enters war
zone where submarines are known or
are expected to be operating. One OF
the clever features of the plan Is to
disguise the floats, supporting the
shield in the water by its upper edge,
as submarines The float, under or
binary circumstances. is a long tube
of steel, which Is but little wider,
comparatively speaking. than the
width of the shield itself
Assuming that these floats are
made much larger and painted to re-
semble submarines, an enemy SUBJ
marine, rising for observations to port
or starboard probably would be de-
.ceived by the looks of the dummy"
on either side of the vessel, and, if
she attacked at all would attack
by torpedo only from q distance which
would greatly diminish accuracy Of
aim. Should the torpedo strike the
defense screen it would appear that
"a submarine itself had been struck
and the attacking craft would, in all
probability, escape before discovering
the mistake.
Particularly, however, Is the shield
adapted to the protection of vessels in
harbors, where submarines have occa-
sjonally penetrated and wrought great
havoc to vessels of all sorts.
Advantage Over Chain Net.
When vessel equipped with one
of these shields goes into action the
shield can be cast adrift and picked
UP after the engagement.
Another plan suggested is to equip
these shield floats with life-lines,
which, when the shields are cast
adrift at the beginning of an engage
ment, would serve as a support for
survivors of vessels which might be
sunk.
The greatest objection to the tor
pedo nets carried on vessels at the
present time Is their tendency to rise
to the surface as the vessel gains
speed, besides materially reducing the
speed Of the towing vessel.
. The shield offered to the navy can
be manufactured and delivered in
quick time to any naval base. and II
requires but little time to attach it.
1t is proposed also to equip trans
atlantic liners with the shield An
other use proposed is to tow three or
four screens behind destroyer, keep
ing them separated, of course, to
sweep" areas of sea free from mines
If the screen hits mine, the mine
may or may not explode, butsit makes
no material difference to the destroy
er as the explosion would be so far
astern as to be harmless to the vessel
itself.