Engineering Wonders of the World
Volume I

Forfatter: Archibald Williams

År: 1945

Serie: Engineering Wonders of the World

Forlag: Thomas Nelson and Sons

Sted: London, Edinburgh, Dublin and New York

Sider: 456

UDK: 600 eng - gl.

Volume I with 520 Illustrations, Maps and Diagrams

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{Photo, West and Son, Southsea.) PICKING UP A TORPEDO AT SEA. TORPEDOES. BY ALAN H. BURGOYNE. THOUGH most people must have seen photographs of a torpedo, if not a torpedo itself, it is doubtful if many civilians understand how intricate is the in- ternal mechanism of the steel missile that has been developed from the invention of the Austrian officer, Captain Luppis. Externally a torpedo presents the appear- ance of a steel cigar, 16 feet 8 inches long, and having a diameter at its widest part of 18 inches. Its nose is very blunted, and, at its apex, carries a small, sharp-bladed pro- peller. Two-thirds of its length from the front small guide-flanges are fitted in the hull, and right at the tail are twin propellers, one behind the other, and revolving on separ- ate shafts, one of which is placed within the hollow tube of the other. Then there are small horizontal and vertical rudders, which, through the movements of beautifully-arranged internal - balance mechanism, maintain the depth and direction of the torpedo after launch- ing. Beyond these features, and sundry little holes, movable valves, and screw-heads laid flush into the steel skin, nothing noticeable is presented outwardly to elucidate the working of a torpedo. We may learn, perhaps, that the weight is 1,227 lbs. ; that the speed for 600 yards is about 30J knots ; and that the effective range against moving ships is reck- oned to be 1,000 yards. Of the total weight given above the charge of dry explosive car- ried in the nose weighs 188 lbs. Finally, we may be told that the cost of a torpedo, according to its type, lies between £200 and £500. So far so good. Now let us dissect the tube, and metaphorically cut it in half from end to end and see what is laid bare. We discover six distinct and separate parts. Beginning from the nose, these are named as follows: (1) the head, (2) the air chamber, (3) the balance i. k • Divisions. chamber, (4) the engine-room, (5) the buoyancy chamber, and (6) the tail and propellers. In times of peace the torpedo is fitted for practice purposes with what is called a “ collision-head,” made of thin copper and filled with water up to a weight equalling that of the “ war-head.” In these practices an indicating light, the Holmes light, is so placed inside the torpedo that, when the head collapses against an obstacle, the influx of water causes an immediate display of smoke and flame, making it a fairly easy business to (1,408) 28