Democratic Sentinel, Volume 15, Number 34, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 11 September 1891 — TO BLOW UP WARSHIPS. [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

TO BLOW UP WARSHIPS.

THE TORPEDO MAY RENDER IRON-CLADS USELESS. Tin Flrt Torpedoes—A British Scare at 1 httado’phla—"The Battle of the Kegs’* —Chivalrous Scruples as to the Torpe-do-The Terrible Euj nes or the Present D.»y. Torpedo Wsr'are. The invention of the torpedo, says the Qlobe-Vemjcrat, is ascribed to one David Bnshne 1, an Atneri an. who, ab int the year 1776, devised an infernal machine for the purpose of destroying a British man of-war on the American coast. The attempt proved a failure, having no effect save that of frightening the i row almost to death; but, not discouraged, he made a second essay In the same lino, this time not far from Philadelphia While the British were holding that city Bushnell, with the assistance of the Continental’forces, prepared a number of floating topedoes—kegs partly filled with gunpowder, and with a slow fuse attached. These were set adrift in the river above the city with the hope that tfaey would float down Among the vessels of the British fleet and effect cons durable destruction. Unfortunately, the fuses were all too short, the kegs exploded in front of the city and at a con-

siderable distance from the fleet. The British, in a panic, lined the bank of the stream with sharpshooters and cannon, and for a whole day kept up an almost continual fusillade at every moving ob-

ject they could discern In the waters of the river. The affair was known to the Americans as “The Battle of the Kegs, ” and gave them infinite amusement, several comic poems written on the occasion finding wide popularity. The idea of the torpedo, however, was not to die. A Frenchman who had served in America, on his return to Europe took back with him the recolle tion of Bushnell’s invention, and manufacturing several torpedoes, offered them to Napo'eon. About the same time, an Eng'i h offic r who hai served on the ship Cerberus, which Bushnell attempted but failed to destroy, offered to the British Ministry a torpedo somewhat similar to that constructed on the Frenchman’s plan. Napoleon rejected with disdain the idea of using torpedoes, as unworthy the civilization of the ase, while the British Ministry, equally chivalrous, declined the offer made them, al eging, however, an entirely different reason. “We should have every dissenter Draying and wotking against us if we should resort to the use of such' infernal contrivances. ” Chivalry was not then dead in the world, and men still believed in giving their enemies a chance for life.

The prejudice was not entirely removed ten years later, when war broke out. between England and the United States. Robert Fulton, conceiving that he could render his country service by destroying the vessels of the enemy, prepared and built several submarine boats for the purpose of working the destruction of an unsuspecting foe. But such means of warfare were regarded then much as the men of the present day look upon explosive or poisoned bullets, and Robert Fu ton’s offer was declined. His boats proved failures, but it is due to the American authorities to state that the practicability of the thing was fully believed in, and that the re fusal to use Fulton’s submarine vessels was entirely on sentimental grounds. Progress in the science of human destruction and the use of explosive shells did away with this prejudice. The ir ain object tn war was acknowledged to be the annihilation of the enemy's force with as litt e expense and risk as possible."- Mines on land had long been employed, and the difference between blowing up a wall or fort and blowing apen the hull of a ship was too trifling to cause serious qualms even to the most scrupulous. By the middle of the century military men of every nation were fully reconciled to the use of submarine mines, and were willing to employ them under any circumstances where they might be useful. Torpedoes or submarine mines were first used with decided advantage by the Russians in the Crimean war of 1854. R issia had an extensive coast line to defend, the allied fldet was of overwhelming strength, and the Russians considered themselves justified in protecting their line by any means possible; hence they laid submarine mines in every harbor, and several ships of the allied fleet suffered severely from this unexpected mode of attack. In the civil war of America the men >f the South found extensive employment for torpedoes. Their coast line was enormously long, there were few forts, and the guns were neither nnmer»us nor good. Having plenty of powder,

however, they decided that the best use they could make of it was to put it in torpedoes, and placed it where the Union vessels might receive the benefit of it in case they attempted to force an

entrance into harbors otherwise almost .undefended. The results wore by no means commensurate with the ou lay, for the ca-ualties to vess is were not nearly so frequent .as had been hoped, but the dread of torpedoes often protected a harbor better than the torpedoes themselves, for on more than one occasion a Federal fleet hesitated about forcing an entrance for fear oi these terrible engines of destruction. The first care of a naval force when entering strange waters was to send boats ahead to find and i emove torpedoes. This was done sometimes by carefully rowing along and examining the depths with a water tele eope to ascertain the whereabouts of the mines. Sometimes, however, two boats at a considerable distance from each other would “drag” for torpedoes. A strong rope fastened to the stern of each was allowed to drag beneath the surface in a sort of loop, and the boats being rowed in the same direction, hidden, torpedoes were frequently caught and harm essly exploded by the loop. When not thus dealt with they were drawn up with a tenderness of handling that might be expected from their character and transported Io the nearest beach, where sometimes adventurous persons attempted to extract the exp osive device. Generally, however, when several had been gathered in the same spot a field ' piece at a safe distance was trained on ! the pile and with a single shot the torpedoes were all exploded. I Between 1865 and 1870 there were still

further improvements in torpedoes, and in the Franco Pi ussian war the French fleet was kept from the German po tsby the gene al dread of torpedoes, a dread none the less real if sometimes ground-

less. In the Russo : Turkish war torpedoes we.e used by the Russians, both in the Black Sea and en the Danube, to prevent the movements of the Turkish fleet, and two Lieutenants in the Russian service achieved distinction by de* stroying one of the best Turkish iron-

clads by means of a torpedo. The possibilities of this formidab'e weapon were thus demonst at d, and when the English iron-ciad fleet, at the command of Lord Beaconsfield, moved through the Dardanelles and anchored in the Sea of Marmo w, the greatest feay entertained was that of to pedoes, and not a night passed without every precaution being taken, by means of nets, patrol boats, and brilliant lights, to insure the safety of the vessels. Thus it was that Bushnell's powder barrels with a slow match attached gave place to much more scientific devices. The torpedo of the civil war was ordinarily a sheet-iron tank in the form of a conical pyramid with a ring at the point, through which passed a rope fastened beneath to a heavy stone which served

as anchorage. The torpedo of Itself 'Wii of every size, from that of an egg to monster engine 7 or 8 feet in height and containing from 100 to 500 pounds of powder. The torpedo rested in the water

some feet benpath the surface, point downward; the powder was in the lowji portion of the tank, whi'e more than half of the upper part was left empty to insure great r buoyancy. From the center of the upper face projected a straight iron red, which at the top bore two or more cross-pieces, also of iron and at right angles to the rod. The lower end of the perpendicular pass'd

through the torpedo case and down as far as the powder. Hero were fixed two thin glass cases, one twice the she oi the other-*-the outer containing lime, the inner sulphuric acid, into which the perpeudicu’ar rod passed. A concussion of one of the cross-pieces near the surface o”T the water pushed the perpendicular rod out of position, the sulphuric ac d case was broken, and the acid, acting upon the lime, created Intense heat and exploded the powder. This was the most common form of torpedo, but It was extremely uncertain in its action, for wetting the powder would of course destroy the efficiency of the ma hine for damage. Its uncertainty, therefore, has led to experiments In another direction. 1 oats have been constructed for the purpose of towing torpedoes, an exceed ngly ingenious towing apparatus, composed of light beams and rigging, keeping the torpedo at a respectful distance on the boom. A light, swift boat towing one of these machines, which may bo exploded either by contact or e'ectricity, is an exceedingly formidable antagonist, but the danger of - foul ng and the possibility of the towing apparatus breaking or getting out of order, so that the vessel runs a risk of striking her own torpedo, have proved a powerful obstacle against a general adoption of the towing system. A new plan suggested some years ago was that of operating the torpedo by means of a boom carried directly in front of the boat. This is now deemed the most reliable method of torpedo attack, and every European navy is provided with bpats of this pattern. The torpedo boat is a small, light craft rarely more than sixty feet in length and sometimes not exceeding fifteen, but provided with a powerful tenglne At the end of a long pole projecting from the bow tho torpedo is borne, at a distance which does not, it is true, prevent the crew of the little vessel from running considerable risk, but the risk of the occupants of the little boat is trifling compared to what is incurred by the crew of the vessel against which the torpedo is directed. Torpedoes designed for this use are generally of iron, in the shape of a cigar, In order that they may the more readily pierce the netting with which men-of-war are now always provided. The torpedo service is extra hazardous; no insurance company would issue a policy on the life of a man who enlisted as one of the crew on a torpedo boat, but the fact of its danger does not deter men of daring from attempting what seems to be the impossible, and in every torpedo boat will be found men willing to sacrifice their lives in order to blow up an enemy’s ship. The lightness, swiftness, noiseless motion and awful destructiveness of these little crafts render them the most terrible adjuncts to a naval force It is possible that in the future a still more dreadful means of offense will be

found in the su' marine torpedo boats. Of these, many have been devised, but none as yet have proved completely Successful. No matter how sa'e their mechanism appears to be, something generally happens; the boat goes down once too often and never reappears. If the submarine boats shou d reach perfection, ironclads would be uwlew Ko net would afford protection; surface torpedo boats wou'.d stand idly by while the submarine engine affixes a torpedo and retires, leaving it to exp’ode, perhaps many hours later. All the precautions, indeed, would be valueless against a boat that travels beneath the surface, and perhaps, If perfect boats of this kind are made, naval war will become to dangerous that the fighting wHI all be done on land.

RECENT INVENTIONS.

A TORPEDO BOAT IN DOCK.

A QUICK-FIRING GUN.

TORPEDO PINKACE MAKING AN ATTACK.

BOOM OR “OUT-BIGGER” TORPEDOES.

TORPEDO BOAT SUBMERGED, AND WITH MACHINE GUNS READY TOR ACTION.