Torpor

“ You could literally see them straining every baby nerve and muscle, could note the jerks with which they fairly kicked themselves along. And the opposite bank, a black wall of bush and reeds, was very near now, yet far—oh, how far, to them!
Ssee-shhrr-r-rr-r-shrhh!
As a torpedo hurtles hissing along barely below the surface of the water, so hurtled the head—the head with its wicked eyes on knobs; the head with its vast, scaly, long snout, its raised nostrils at the tip, its shuddering array of jagged teeth, its awful, armed, diabolical aspect of conscious power—straight at the king's son. ”

“ Whitehead torpedoes, be it known, are mechanical fish about sixteen feet long, carrying two hundred and twenty pounds of gun-cotton in their heads, which travel under water of their own volition to explode upon impact, but which are aimed and merely propelled from long, eighteen-inch tubes by the explosion of a small charge of powder which, compressing the air behind the torpedo, exerts a pressure just sufficient to overcome its inertia. ”

“ The body of the torpedo containing the machinery and explosive can be arranged to be any desired depth below the surface of the water, and be supported by a buoy as a shield, or be covered by a protection against shot, the displacement of the torpedo being regulated in accordance with the means employed for maintaining it the desired distance below the surface. ”

“ Even more potent than the ram is the torpedo, which of late years has been developed to a point of efficiency in range, speed, and destructive power which has rendered it perhaps the most dreaded of all the weapons of naval warfare. The modern torpedo carries in its head a charge of over 200 pounds of guncotton and has a range of 10,000 yards. Ordinarily, it is set to run at a depth of 10 to 12 feet below the water; and should it get home against the side of a ship, it will strike her well below the armour belt and upon the relatively thin plating of the hull. ”

“ To impart a thorough knowledge of the management of such an arm as the sea torpedo is a matter of easy accomplishment by personal explanation; especially so, when the arm is in the water, and practised with under conditions that would obtain in its application to the disabling of, or to the destruction of vessels against which it may be employed. ”

“ He felt like a man who, in his legitimate search for a loaded gun to help him on his way through the world, chances to come upon a torpedo--upon a live torpedo with a shattering charge in its head and a pressure of many atmospheres in its tail. It is the sort of weapon to make its possessor careworn and nervous. ”

“ No one cares to enter a conning-tower in action until driven in by gun-fire, and the captain and his officers remained without, where, though there was greater danger, there was more air and a clearer view. Leaving out the tale-bearing torpedo-boat, now far to the rear of the Russians, the two fleets were evenly matched in numbers, each consisting of two battle-ships and two cruisers; but the advantage in weight of armor and armament lay with the Russians ”

“ The Whitehead, or “fish” torpedo, is a cigar-shaped steel cylinder 14 to 19 feet in length, and from 14 to 16 inches in diameter. It is sent off, requiring no crew, against the ship to be destroyed; and if one torpedo fails to deal the death-blow it can be followed up by another, or yet a third. It consists of three compartments. The head contains the explosive—say 360 lbs. of gun-cotton; the centre holds the machinery; and the tail the highly-condensed air which works the engine. The engine is about thirty-five pounds weight, and can be worked to forty horse power! ”

“ THE WHITEHEAD TORPEDO—“THE MOST WONDERFUL MACHINE IN THE WORLD” “When you have been shown lovingly over a torpedo by an artificer skilled in the working of its tricky bowels, torpedoes have a meaning and a reality for you to the end of your days.”—Rudyard Kipling.
“The next great naval war will bestow upon the torpedo and its users a halo of romance which will eclipse entirely that surrounding the gun and the ram.”
“The arts of shipbuilders and steel-workers stand for nothing when a Whitehead torpedo succeeds in striking a ship’s bottom and tears and rends it with the explosion of 200 lbs. ”

“ When it shall have been clearly demonstrated, in actual war, that large vessels can be disabled or destroyed by small vessels, with something like impunity, torpedo warfare will then take another form, that of torpedo vessels against torpedo vessels, whose tactics will, in due time, be a subject for another study. ”

“ Observing a vast quantity of fish disporting themselves near the ship, our experimental torpedo officer armed himself with a small torpedo, pulled himself into their midst, quietly dropped the missile overboard, and pulled away again. The beautiful unsuspecting creatures still played on, unconscious of the doom that awaited them. ”

“ Torpedo vessels should, as a rule, attack under the cover of darkness. By the experience gained in blockade running in the late American conflict, we are assured that a vessel in rapid motion can, when it is dark, pass with impunity close under the fire of hostile vessels, armed with cannon. ”

“ A torpedo-boat at thirty knots is an elusive target, and though the sea about her was churned into foam by the fusillade from the Argyll, the Yesso, and the Hondo, she seemed uninjured and went on.
"Nothing but small calibers can touch her," exclaimed the captain, as he looked. "We have nothing, but perhaps the Japanese cruisers can do it. Protect them. Turn every gun possible on those Russian cruisers. ”

“ The torpedo, on reaching the water, will immediately diverge clear of the ship; the buoys being launched, as the strain comes on the buoy-rope, they will be towed clear away from the screw, and full speed may be put on at once. The men at the handspikes must veer steadily, occasionally checking the torpedo, that it may be kept near the surface, and not allowed to dive, which it will do if the tow-rope is slacked up altogether, and then a sudden strain brought on it. ”

“ It seemed as though they had hooked on to a [131] small whirlwind beneath the water, or a miniature torpedo that was in full flight around in a circle. The big fish, in its efforts to get rid of the hook, and escape that relentless pulling, was fighting with all its savage strength. ”

“ But this chaser of ours draws only 4 feet of water and so a torpedo, if it behaves itself, would pass clean under her and never touch her.
“The trouble is,” he went on, “that there never was a torpedo made that stuck to its course and it is liable to shift to the port or starboard or to come to the surface and for this reason we never take a chance but dodge them. You can always tell when a torpedo is coming by the thin white wake she makes on top of the water and while a ship can’t get out of its way, a speedy little boat like ours can make a quick turn and give it a wide berth.” ”

“ When you get a fresh supply of torpedoes, these special compensating tanks (which are really a kind of dummy torpedoes) will be emptied out, one for each new torpedo. Meantime, you have now got the tube empty, and can open the inner door and reload.
But what of the torpedo which has been fired? It is travelling towards its mark at a speed of between thirty-five and forty knots, if we suppose the range to be an ordinary one, under 1000 yards, and the torpedo to have been ‘run hot,’ i.e. driven by hot air instead of cold. ”

“ Black had not noticed me during the episode of the torpedo, but he turned round now, and, seeing that I stood near him, he beckoned me into the conning-tower with him. It was a chamber lined with steel with a small glass for the look-out, and electric knobs which allowed communication with the engine-rooms, the wheel, the turrets, and the magazines. From that pinnacle of metal you could navigate the ship, and there Black fought the battle of that night and of the days following. ”

“ The torpedo itself is destined to play a part more important than has yet fallen to its lot in war. Not only will it be launched from the tubes of the battleship or cruiser or destroyer at the distant foe, but it will be dirigible, controlled and steered by wireless telegraphy, and extra speed, or counter explosion, or gun-fire, or the disablement of the vessel sending it forth will alone be the means of rendering it ineffective. Torpedo nets may be of value when ships are at anchor or travelling slowly, but not at any other time. ”

“ Here is a sea-going torpedo boat armed with three fifteen-inch air-guns that can throw 400 or 500 pounds of high explosive to a range of a mile or more with reasonable accuracy. It is not a popular style of warship with naval officers, and so far541 as its purpose is for harbor defence, these officers are entirely right. It is the business of the army, with its forts and submarine torpedoes, to defend the harbors. For forts and submarine torpedoes are entirely sufficient for the purpose, and much more economical than ships adapted only for harbor defence. ”

“ No cruiser may withstand the fire of a battle-ship.
In the integrity of that oncoming torpedo-boat now lay the palm of victory, and the Russian battle-ships profited by the lesson, turning their guns to the Japanese cruisers; but by this time they had demolished the last of the Argyll's small rifles, leaving nothing but the heavy eight- and thirteen-inch guns in the turrets—terrible weapons when they could touch a target, but useless for quick work. ”

“ Of course if you are playing a naval war game and you are shooting at some enemy ship, it will give her [97] a good hard bump, and this counts ten points in your favor.
How a Real Torpedo Is Made.—A torpedo, as you can plainly see, is nothing more nor less than a miniature submarine boat that moves under its own power and that is self-controlled. And now that you have built and experimented with a little model it will be easy for you to understand how a real one is made and works. ”

“ But although the nets were gone, the torpedo-men carried their lives in their hands. Directly they approached a hostile vessel the guns were levelled at them, and several boats were blown to pieces before they had time to fire a single torpedo. But some did good work before they perished. Vast columns of smoke belched forth from the side of some mighty war-ship, and when they had drifted away showed a gigantic rent where the honey-combed air-tight compartments and dismounted guns were clearly visible, while showers of blood and masses of metal fell on the surrounding ships. ”

“ A plan for planting torpedoes where the water is too deep for them to lie on the bottom and explode with effect, by which they will not interfere with the navigation of the channel, and by which when the enemy makes his appearance they may, by the touch of a key be brought instantly into the required position and at the proper depth. ”

“ The sea torpedo has the advantage of exploding only [4] when in hugging contact with the vessel attacked; the levers by which it is exploded are so placed in relation to the tow-rope, that either the side or top lever is found invariably to act effectively in forcing down the exploding [5] bolt at the instant of contact ”

“ There is this immense fundamental difference between the automobile torpedo and the gun—the torpedo has no trajectory: it travels horizontally and hits below water, so all its hits are vital hits; but not so the gun—only in a few places are gun hits vital, and those places are armoured. ”

“ Numerous experiments were made in France and in this country with the object of determining the special characteristics of a vessel which should meet the rapidly altering condition of affairs caused by the increase of the power of the guns and the development of the torpedo from the stationary mine, which was so terrifying in the American War, to the torpedo which could attack a vessel at anchor, or even be directed at one moving slowly. ”

“ The theory was that the first torpedo should break through the nets or other guards, and that the second torpedo, discharged a few seconds later, should pass through the gap thus made in the ship’s defence and attack the hull itself. A comparatively recent invention is a contrivance to be carried on the nose of the torpedo to cut through the net. ”

“ It is not feasible to armour the bottoms of ships even if it were effectual—which it is not.
But the pith and marrow of the whole matter lies in178 the fact that the Submarine Boat which carries this automobile torpedo is up to the present date absolutely unattackable. When you see Battleships or Cruisers, or Destroyers, or Torpedo Boats on the horizon, you can send others after them to attack them or drive them away! You see them—you can fire at them—you can avoid them—you can chase them—but with the Submarine Boat you can do nothing! ”

“ Next to speed the most important quality is ability to turn quickly, upon which might often depend the safety of the audacious little craft.
Torpedo-boats, however, are designed for a wider service than simply to152 carry and discharge the frightful weapon from which they take their name. They are to the navy what scouts and skirmishers are to a land army. They form the cavalry of the sea, of which the cruisers are the infantry, and the battle-ships and monitors the artillery arm. ”

“ I have already told you how our torpedo 'barrage'—in forcing the English fleet to sheer off [279] until it was too late for decisive action—saved a large part, if not all, of our fleet from destruction. What would have happened in the event that the attack had been pressed, no one can say. It would all have depended upon the extent of the damage inflicted by our torpedoes. ”