TORPEDO EXPERIMENTS.

Clutha Leader, Volume III, Issue 152, 8 June 1877, Page 2

TORPEDO EXPERIMENTS.

At the present moment all information in reference to means of defence against naval attack is of interest. A Home paper of March 14 gives the following- account of some very interesting torpedo experiments made a few days previously at Cherbourg with a little " submarine" vessel called the Thorneycroft. It was the first occasion of testing in French waters whether a torpedo could be launched against a ship in full sail. Admiral Jaurezj who commands the squadron, ordered a disabled ship, the Bayonnaise, during a rather rough sea, to be towed out by a steamer belonging to the navy : — " A second lieutenant, M, Lemoinne, was sent for, and informed that he had been selected to make the experiment of launching the Thorneycroft against, the Bayonnaise while both were in full sail. He accepted the mission without hesitation, picked ont two engine-men and a pilot, and went down with them into the interior of the Thorneycroft, of which only a small part was above water, this visible portion being painted of a greyish colour, so as to be easily confused with the sea. The torpedo was placed so as to project from the bow of the vetsel, at the extremity oi which were two lateen sailyards about three metres in length. The towing steamer then took up its position in front of the squadron, and the Thorneycroft also assumed the position assigned fbr it ; an interval of three or four marine miles separating the torpedo and the Bayonnaise. On a signal being given, both were set in motion, the steamer advancing in a straight line, and the Thorneycroft obliquely, ao as to take the Bayonnaise in flank. The steam-tug- went at fourteen knots an hour, a rate not attained by any vessel in the squadron. The chase lasted about an hour, the squadron keeping in the rear, so as to witness the operations. At the end of that time the distance between the Thorneycroft and the Bayonnaise had sensibly diminished, and at a given moment the former, in order to come up with }he latter at the requisite distance, had to slacken speed to eight knots an hour." The whole squadron watched this last phase cf the struggle with breathless interest, and people asked themselves whether the shock of the torpedo would not infallibly destroy 7 the little vessel which bore it. tt was feared that the lives of the second lieutenant, Lemoinne, and his three companions were absolutely sacrificed. " However, the two vessels got visibly nearer. All at once the Thorneycroft put on a last spurt, and struck the Bayonnaise with its whole force on the starboard bow. The sea was terribly agitated, a deafening report was heard, and the Bayonnaise, with a rent as big as a house, sank with wonderful rapidity. As for the Thorneycroft, rebounding by the shock about 15 metres off, even before the explosion occurred, it went round and round for a few moments, and then quietly resumed the direction [of the squadron. No trace remained of I the Bayonnaise; it was literally swal- ' lowed up by the sea." The experiment was repeated two days later,, under the same conditions, with another ship, with the same success. The Times' correspondent says : — ■ "The little torpedo boat, with its lateen sailyards, resembles a small grey lizard, and is scarcely discernible in the water. It is evident that a single boat of this kind would be unable to approach an enemy's ship unless at dusk, or when it would be impossible to discern it at a distance, for had such an attack been attempted in broad daylight, the Thorneycroft would manifestly have been kuocked to pieces by the guns of the threatened ship long before it could have carried out its project. On the other hand, it would be quite impossible for one or even several ships to defend themselves against a simultaneous attack, say, by 20 or 25 ot these Thorneycrofts ; and as these cost only a fiftieth part of the expense of a man-of-war, this experiment presents a formidable problem to state navies. What is certain is, that those who witnessed the affair were greatly impressed by it, and are persuaded that it is the starting point of an inevitable transformation in naval tacticd."