Evening star., 1952-02-01
New Electric | orpedo
Devised for Navy Subs
Weopon Has Greoter Speed,
Con Operate From Depths
By Thomos Z. Henry

Con Operate From Depths
By Thomos R. Henry
The Navy now has an electric torpedo
far superior to the weapon which has
sometimes been described as second
only to the atom bomb IN bringing the
war with Japan to conclusion.
Not only was it the means Of sinking
scores Of japanese naval and supply
vessels but also, because Il struck with
out warning. it had . great deincralizirg
effect on enemy crews.
During the war several thousand Of
these were built. Because OF production
requirements they followed 4 standard
pattern, but IN their ntanlfacture ideas
for greater efficiency were formed which
had to be discarded for the time. All
those which proved Of practical value
now have been, incorporated in q radi.
cally new weapon, according to an an
nouncement hy the WESTINGHOUSE Corp.
which is working under q Navy contract.
Few Details Revealed.
B rev details can be revealed. IA notable
change. however, according to the West-
inghouse announcement. is q quite
radically different motor. Another Is .
welded Aluminium alloy shell to be used
in the torpedo. This effects Signffi-
cant weight saving over previous cast
aluminium and steel shells. q s
"The new weapon" says the an-
nouncement, "is vastly superior to its
predecessors. Although much smaller.
it has greater speed. longer range, can
operate at greater depths and has
new features Of tactical Importance.
Also, the WESTINGHOUSE Corp. reveals,
q new type Of destroyer has been
produced.
"After the last war;" says the an7
nouncement, "the Navy initiated pro-
gram to build a destroyer incorporat,
ing every advanced idea In naval engi-
neering, with particular emphasis on
weight reduction. The Navy did this
knowing full well that some practical
limits might be exceeded but that the
project would delineate what can and
can not be dones That destroyer was
launched last summer. The novel tech
nical features have. umderstandably, not
been made public"
New Small Submarine.
The corporation announcement also
tells Of small type Of killer submarine.
These" it says, "are only 195 feet
long as compared with the present 311-
foot craft.l For them has been provided
q completely new design Of propulsion
control that. permits new, fast opera
tion directly from the control room.
It Is no longer necessary to transmit
the instructions by telegraph to the
operator in the motor room and then
have him li1anually operate the re-
Spective hand wheels and levers as
done in the past,
This greater mechanical simplicity
permits smooth acceleration and crash
stops. It also permits q reduction Of
the operating crew"
Other naval developments described:
Al carbon arc searchlight which makes
possible about twice the hrilliance OF
the old type with half the power.
5 A signalling Searchlight which with
d light source slightly larger than q
golf ball lifts the beam candlepower
Z from less than 250.0O0 to 100000. It
also gives q sharper, narrower beam.
Says the announcement: This develop.
ment which applied first to military sig
mailing searchlights may be applied
: later to other high-powered lights for
other classes of marine use. Tt Is quite
possible that on some types Of vessels
this searchlight may replace the larger
a4-inch lamp which weighs about six
times as much. p af$ III
The corporation announcement con-
tinues:
ss~ Radio Guided Lifeboat.
s'Many lives have been lost in disas-
tiers at sea, even after the victims ha0
been discovered from the air. because
surface craft could not be directed TO
the scene In time. In the future such
losses will be greatly reduced. A life
boat can be dropped from B-29. eased
to the water by q parachute 100 feet
in diameter, and guided by radio from
the mother plane to the struggling ana
perhaps injured survivors.
'"This remarkable lifeboat Is 30-fpot
craft. It is made of aluminium and
weighs, fully equipped. $500 pounds.
It has q capacity Of is persons and ID
proyisioned for eight days at sea. The
engine has fuel for range OF 800 miles.
'aThe lifeboat has many automatic
and radio-directed controls to efIecs
rescue Of survivors who have strength
enough only to climb aboard. When
the boat strikes the water the parachute
is cut loose and the stubby wings that
stabilize the boat during the drop are
unlocked and fall away. Covers on
the engine air intake and exhaust are
removed. The engine is cranked and
the lifeboat guided by radio signals to
the survivors" 4sfes.