Torpedoes and Torpedo Warfare: Containing a Complete and Concise Account of the Rise and Progress of Submarine WarfareSleeman, Charles William
History
Torpedoes and Torpedo Warfare: Containing a Complete and Concise Account of the Rise and Progress of Submarine Warfare
Sleeman, Charles William
Torpedoes
Torpedo:--33 lbs. of granulated gun-cotton, saturated with water; total
weight of charge being about 41 lbs. It was enclosed in a 1/4" iron
case, 12-1/2" × 12" × 12-1/2", the primer being 2-1/2 lbs. of slab
gun-cotton, included in the 33 lbs. It was placed at 4' actual distance
from the target, measuring from the centre of the case, and opposite
No. 30-1/2 solid frame on the starboard side; 9-1/4' below the surface
of the water.
Effect of explosion:--Outer bottom blown in from upper edge of the
lower longitudinal to the lower edge of the upper longitudinal between
Nos. 28 and 32 frames; an area of 18 × 11 feet. The butts of the flat
keel were started and the plating broken across No. 30-1/2 frame from
the flat keel plate to the upper deck. Shelf plate at Nos. 30-1/2 and
32-1/2 frames was broken. Nos. 29, 30, and 31 frames were blown in from
first to third longitudinal; lower longitudinal from No. 28 to 31 also
blown in. Two holes were blown through the inner bottom, measuring
respectively 6 × 1·5' and 5' × ·25', making the total area of inner
bottom destroyed 10 square feet. A steam launch with steam up and
outrigger torpedo gear in place, one pole being rigged out, was placed
with the stem of the boat 22' horizontally from the torpedo. She was
uninjured and shipped very little water.
4TH EXPERIMENT.
Torpedo:--31 lbs. 14 oz. of gun-cotton in slabs, saturated with water,
total weight about 40 lbs. It was enclosed in a 1/4" iron case 12-1/2"
× 12-1/2" × 6"; primer being 20 oz. of gun-cotton, included in the
31 lbs. 14 oz. It was placed at 4' actual distance from the target
measuring from the centre of the case, and opposite No. 30-1/2 solid
frame on the port side; 9-1/4' below the surface of the water.
Effect of explosion:--Outer bottom and frames injured in a similar
manner to that described in the third experiment. Outer angle irons of
the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd longitudinals were started in the wake of the
broken place. A hole was blown through the inner bottom, measuring 9·5'
× 1', or about 10 square feet in area. The bolts of the outer bottom
plate of stern post much open, and at Nos. 16 and 17 on the port side
the upper two strakes were buckled and the shelf plate started.
A steam launch, arranged in the same manner as in the fourth
experiment, was uninjured, and shipped but little water.
_Experiments with Countermine._--The following experiments have been
carried out in England and other countries to ascertain some reliable
data for countermining operations.
1ST EXPERIMENT.
_Experiments in the Medway, England, 1870._--Countermine:--432 lbs. of
compressed gun-cotton, enclosed in a 3/16" iron case. It was moored at
a depth of 37' below the surface of the water.
Submarine mines:--A series of similar cases containing coal dust, &c.,
were moored at distances of 50' to 100' from the countermine, and 37
feet below the surface.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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