New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1918-07-28


in the upper stories of
building during an air raid:
degrading epthets in order to describe
what the Boches understand by aerial war
fare-which to them means nothing else but
the assassination of old men, women and
children. But it is we'll to consider what
happens when one of their torpedoes strikes
our homes.
First of all it must not be forgotten that
there is an essential difference between
an artillery projectile and a she'll bomb
or torpedo carried by an aefoplane. The
artillery projectle is constructed so as
to resist the formidable pressure due to
the combustion of the powder charge;
consequently its walls necessarily
thick and heavy; when the explosion
takes place these walls are shattered to
pieces, each of which forms a secondary
projectile and has its own speed. The bomb,
on the contrary, and the aerial torpedo,
which is nothing but large bomb, has
initial pressure to resist, for, instead of be-
ing hurled by cannon, it is cimply dropped
in space and left to its own momentum. Con-
seouently. the walls of the bomb or aerial
torpedo without any inconvenience, may be
thin and relatively light, for it is sufficient
if they can offer resistance in loading and
transportation. Therefore, when the she'll
and torpedo are of the same weight, it will
be found that the quantity of explosives in
a she'll is less than in the torpedo. And so
the former acts by means of its splinters
and the gas of its explosives, while in the
latter the spiinters much less murderous
than the gases evolved during the explosion.
with this difference explained it is nee
essary to add that both the she'll and the
torpedo are equipped with a mechanism
which produces the inflammation of the
charge In a shell with strong steel walls
the charge acts on them like furnace on
we'll closed mine, and the internal press
ure which is generated acts in all directions
The cover is literally torn to minute frag-
ments and carried in every direction. On
the contrary, the explosion of torpedo or
bomb with thin walls takes place without
any excessive action on the walls, and the
only destructive effects are due to the
panson of the gas liberated by the combus-
ton of the charge
"Finally if we remember that in aerial
DOmDdrQINeNlS Ine QuSSblOu VI WelSHlS
transported is of primary Importance, we
understand why the Boche aviators, instead
of heavy Shells throw on our open cities,
especially on Paris, torpedoes with thin and
light walls, containing the largest possible
amount of explosives and the least of
metals.
"These few remarks are sufficient to ex
plain what happens when torpedo strikes
a house Released at height of sometimes
1000 or 5000 metres, the projectile, which
at the most weighs 100 kilogrammes (220
pounds), strikes the ground at a speed that
can be easily calculated on the basis of we'll
known physical laws. At that moment its
force is sufficient to perforate the roof and
penetrate through the ceilings of several
floors. The explosion takes place after a
few seconds, sometimes after a minute. 1t
1,526 per 2.20 pounds of explosives in the
case of nitro-glycerine and 1867 in the case
of trintro- glycerine) and at the same time
an immense quantity of gas eight to 10000
times the volume of the explosives). The
gases violently compressed at the moment
of their liberation have a tremendous force
of expansion, which enables them instanta-
neously to attain the same pressure as
that of the air. The objects least able to
resist are thrown down and shattered. The
walls and the ceilings give way in an in
slant. Below, on the contrary, the effort of
expansion is lesser For this reason the
ground floors of buildings are far less liable
TO destruction"