The Republican journal., 1917-11-15


call him to work at an early hour of the
morning will see rising above the harhor
a large hydroaeroplane. This great ma
chine cI mbs steadily into the sky so
that it diminishes in size and becomes
only a speck, describing great circles
thousands of feet above the harbor.
little later, powerful looking patrol
boat painted war gray, PUSHES out OF the
harbor at speed of 20 knots.
1t has occurred to me recently why the
hydroaeroplane ascends to its dizzy
heights and why few minutes later this
buslness-like patrol boat changes from
its straight course to the mouth of the
harbor and begins to describe figure
Fights and to play tag with the fishing
vessels coming in and out of port
When one, however endeavors to as
certain from any of the laboratory staff
of John Hays Hammond, Jr., to whom
the boat and air plane belong, what ex-
perlments are being undertaken, one en-
counters a barrier of official reticence,
which is far from encouraging. How
ever, in the hearings before the Sub
Committee on Notifications of the House
N 1917, certain hints are printed and set
forth with regard to the unusual expert
ments taking place at the Hammond
Laboratory on Lookout Hill
Prophecy Becoming Fulfilled.
General hingman, who was then
chief of engineers of the army, referring
TO the wireless controlled torpedo of MIR.
Hammond, which vention had its birth
in Gloucester harbor, said:
''No enemy, knowing that we had these
things, particularly those controlled by
aeToplanes, to contend with, would dare
to come anywhere near the coast
Any enemy would not like to go into
such places as Chesapeake Bay, Della
ware Bay, Buzzard's Bay or Narragansett
Bay, even though we had no guns to
reach him, because he would not know
whether this thing would not not come
out of some little creek or inlet and
swoop down upon him. ;"
Today the prophecy of General King
man is becoming fulfilled, for while the
hydroaeroplane is flying at a height of
over 5000 feet above the town of Man
chester, the man sitting therein, and
looking through powerful glasses is con-
trolling with accuracy the movements of
the gray colored high speed launch, eight
miles away.
Views of Naval Expert.
From conversation with wel-known
expert in naval matters with whom |
had the privilege to discuss this subject,
some light was shed upon the matter.
He stated that this development would
have an important bearing on what is
known in naval circles as torpedo tao
tics" ''Ioday" he explained, capital
ships are attacked with the torpedo,
either by flotillas of high speed destroy
ers or by submarines. The submarine, on
account of its having to be practically
submerged in order to protect itself, is
very slow.
During the present war, it has not
been effective in attacking capital ships
in naval engagements. During the day
attacks in the Jutland Bank battle, the
destroyerS suffered very serious casual
ties and injuries from the ant torpedo
boat batteries of larger ships. 1t was
only at night that these vessels could
operate with any chance of closing in on
their targets
There are certain requirements to en-
sure the success of torpedo attack
against modern warships. The first is
that the torpedo shall carry large enough
charges of explosive to ensure the de-
Struction of ship. The modern torpedo
cannot accomplish this, as recent naval
history has shown, many of the battle
ships having been struck by torpedoes,
but few having been sunk,
Larger Charges Needed
admiral Taylor, the chief constructor
of the Navy, stated recently before a
committee of Congress that the latest
types of dreadnoughts have been made
Impervious to torpedo attacks. If tor
pedoes carrying larger explosive charges
are constructed, the whole torpedo will
have to be increased in size and cost, and
the complicated launching tubes must be
reconstructed
Secondly, torpedoes should be accu-
rately directed toward their targets
Now only about 20 out of every 100 tor
pedoes under battle conditions, strike the
target Thus it will be seen that the
torpedo is an uncertain wea on at the
beS.
Being uncertain, then, it would be
costly to construct large and expensive
torpedoes, only to be able to obtain 20
hits out of every 100. If accurate direct
ing could be accomplished, it would be
highly worth while constructing torpe-
does of larger size, carrying thousands of
pounds of high explosives, to insure the
total destruction of enemy ships and
capable of being directed with greater
dCCul dCy IOWdIu IllelI IdlStIS. AS IHdL-
tiers stand today, it is necessary for both
the destroyer and the submarine to come
within close gun-range from the enemy
ship in order to be certain of striking it
with their torpedoeS.
Thirdly, to be immune as far as posi-
bic from the anti-torpedo batteries of the
big ships, it is either necessary to move
as fast as does the destroyer, or to be
practically submerged, as is the subma-
Tine, so as to present a minimum target
surface"
The submarine however, is too slow
to be important in a naval engagement.
The destroyer is too large target to es-
cape the fire of the enemy ships under
daylight conditions The ideal condition
would be found in the combination of
very hig speed, practically submerged
torpedo with only small antenna pro-
jecting above the water, this weapon to
be under the control of an observer
thousands of feet above the enemy ship
and safe from the fire of anti-aircraft