TORPEDOES. In 1805 Robert Fulton, an American citi zen, demonstrated a method of destroying ships by exploding a charge of gunpowder against the hull under water. This charge was called a "torpedo" and the difficulty of getting it to a ship retarded for many years its progress as a practical weapon. At tempts were first made to bring the torpedo into contact with the vessel by allowing it to drift down with the tide or current, or to fix it from some form of diving boat, but successive failures led to torpedoes being restricted to the form of submarine mines (q.v.) in which the charge is stationary and is fired when the ship strikes or passes over it. The inherent limitations of mines re vived efforts to take the torpedo to the ship and the first practical weapon was the spar, or outrigger, torpedo. This consisted of an explosive charge fixed to the end of a long pole carried in a boat, the pole being run out over the bow and the charge immersed on arriving near the ship. Directly the charge came into contact with the hull it was exploded electrically. Frequent use of this weapon was made during the American Civil War. On one occa sion Lieutenant Cushing took a steam launch equipped with spar torpedo up the Roanoke River in which lay the Confederate iron clad "Albemarle." Cushing found her surrounded by logs but charging this barricade he got the launch partly over, immersed his spar, and exploded the charge in contact with the hull under heavy fire. Ship and launch sank together but the gallant officer jumped overboard, swam away and escaped. When numbers of small guns and searchlights were added to a ship's equipment to counter such attacks the odds against success became prohibitive.
pellers, causing the torpedo to advance, and it was steered by varying the speed of unwinding each wire. This torpedo was used for the defence of certain harbours by the British War Office. The obvious unsuitability of this weapon for use by a ship dur ing action led to the development of locomotive torpedoes of the uncontrolled type. The Howell torpedo is of interest. Motive power was provided by connecting up an engine outside to the axle of a heavy fly-wheel contained inside the torpedo. When sufficiently spun up the engine was disconnected and the fly-wheel was connected up to the propellers so that on entering the water the torpedo was driven ahead until the energy was exhausted.
In 1862 Captain Luppis of the Austrian Navy sought the assist ance of Robert Whitehead, a Scotsman (then manager of an engineering factory at Fiume) to perfect a self-propelling floating torpedo which he had designed. Mr. Whitehead modified this first suggestion and after two years of incessant labour the first Luppis Whitehead torpedo was produced. To preserve secrecy it was made by Mr. Whitehead himself, his son and one trusted work man. The torpedo weighed 300 lb., travelled under the water, and a speed of 6 m. per hour was attained for a short distance, the engine being driven by compressed air contained in a portion of the torpedo. The charge carried was 18 lb. of dynamite. As the Austrian government were not prepared to purchase the exclusive rights of this invention it was offered to other powers. From this beginning developed the modern weapon which, in its latest types, is capable of speeds up to 36 m. per hour for 7,000-8,000 yd. and carries an explosive charge of Soo lb. of T.N.T. The early lack of speed was overcome by the adoption of an engine designed by the British firm of Brotherhood. The inaccuracy in direction was cured by the introduction of the gyroscope apparatus designed by Ludwig Obry, an Austrian subject.