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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434 ENGINEERING WONDERS OF THE WORLD trace the projectile for recovery by night or by day. We now come to the forward end of the head—the small screw already mentioned. This is part of the safety device to prevent the accidental explosion of the torpedo before a pin which, until withdrawn, prevents the operation of the other safety arrangements. In the excitement of a torpedo at- tack or a battle, it is conceiv- Safety Devices. able that the withdrawal of this pin might be overlooked, and the result would DIAGRAMMATIC SECTIONAL VIEW OF A TORPEDO, INDICATING ITS VARIOUS DIVISIONS. it has been discharged and is on its way to- wards the enemy. A torpedo is exploded by the force of its own momentum, which on impact drives a thin steel rod, projecting from the nose, into a detonator tube of fulminate of mercury. This fulminate, in its turn, ignites the dry charge just behind it, and causes an explosion of the whole mass of explosive in the main body of the head. Since a mere tap would fire off this enor- mous charge, three means of safeguarding against disaster are provided. First, there is A WHITEHEAD TORPEDO PARTLY INSERTED IN DISCHARGE TUBE. Note the hinged after portions of the horizontal fins for vertical steering, and the tiny vertical rudders in the same fins for horizontal steering. (Photo, 8. Cribb. Southsea.) be that the torpedo would rub its nose harmlessly along the hull of the enemy, or would be recovered in an innocuous condition from the meshes of the torpedo net. After one of the Japanese destroyers’ raids outside Port Arthur, no fewer than eleven unexploded torpedoes were disentangled from the net of a single Russian battleship. Secondly, there is a small thumb-screw threaded along the striker-rod, which, if left screwed tightly home on the nose of the torpedo, prevents the rod from being driven into the detonator within. This also must be removed before firing. Thirdly, and lastly, comes the little pro- peller of phosphor-bronze referred to above, screwed through the body of the pistol into the striker, thus locking the two together. When the torpedo has been fired, and has run, perhaps, a hundred yards, this propeller (the safety-pin having, of course, been already removed) is unwound by the action of the water as the torpedo is driven forward, thus leaving the striker free to be pushed back into the detonator. True, a small shearing-pin remains, but this is cut through by the force of the blow. A net-cutting device is worked into the propeller, and with this it is hoped wire nets may be pierced, leaving a hole