A TERRIBLE TORPEDO-RAM.

New Zealand Times, Volume XXXII, Issue 5029, 7 May 1877, Page 3

A TERRIBLE TORPEDO-RAM.

The Government of the United States have caused to bo built—if the Scientific American is to be believed—a vessel which is likely to., prove the most destructive that ha? yet been floated. At present, when men talk of little besides “guns, and drums, and'wounds,” a description of such a vessel must bo generally interesting ; and wo therefore jjroppse to condense the account given ! in the Scientific American of March 15th, and to endeavor to make what we write understandable without the aid of views and diagrams. First, as to the vessel and the mode of propelling her. 'Hie Alarm, as she is called, has a displacement of about 700 tons, her length being 172 ft., her beam 27ft. dim, and her draught lift. Of her length, 32ft. is snout, or ram, so that between perpendiculars she is 140 ft. only. She is double-hulled, and built throughout of thoroughly tested charcoal iron, save that her upper deck is of thick steel. She is not an armor-plated vessel in the ordinary meaning of those words ; but within the outer shell she has three longitudinals of great strength. She is made as rigid and strong as is possible, and she is so sectionaliaed that it is believed she will not be in danger of sinking unless she is thoroughly pierced by shot at several points. She has neither masts nor rudder. Her powerful (compound engines are entirely below the water-line, and, it is supposed, can only be disabled in action by a shot clean through her deck, which, it is believed, cannot bo struck with sufficient directness for even the heaviest shot to penetrate the steel plates. She is propelled by “ the Fowler wheel,” a paddle wheel on a vertical axis, with the paddles or floats operated on by a cam, so that the angle of each can bo altered at pleasure. The Scientific American's illustrations, as the editor explains, represent all that is permitted to be made publicly known as to the construction of the Alarm, and the illustrations do not show the point at which the Fowler wheel is fixed, nor the mode of protecting it. But it is claimed that by means of a horizontal wheel in what is called “ the wheel-house” ’ the floats can bo so sot that the boat will go to port or starboard, ahead, or astern, or be sharply twisted round as if her stern-post were a pivot for that purpose. The cam operating on the floats is worked by a small steam-engine ; there is an index showing exactly how the floats are placed at any moment ; and the main engines are simplified by the omission of links to the valvegear—for whatever the boat is required to do is under the control of , the officer wbojis at the wheel, and there can never be a necessity for reversing the engines. A speed of 10 knots has been obtained, despite the shortness of the Alarm ; and she is described as an “ admirable sea boat, rising lightly and buoyantly to tire largest waves.” Now as to the Alarm’s powers of offence. Eight ahead she carries a 15in. gun ; on hor rail she lias several “machine guns,” which, it is said, can “ keep up a deadly fire of thousands of bullets a minute and she has three “ torpedo spars." One of these can be pushed out from the forward point of the snout ; the others are to bo worked amidships, one from each side. These “ spars ” are constantly in place, with tackle ready ; the 1001 b. of powder in case,forming the torpedo proper is always at hand ; wires from galvanic batteries are always laid through the tube, ready for connection. The spars are run out of holes fitted with a new patent valve, which prevents the entrance of a drop of water ; and everything is fitted for their being run out with a downward direction, so that, though the boat draws only lift, of water, the torpedo will be exploded at least 13ft. under water, and, it is said, there is no ironclad that has armor-plate at that depth. The spars or tubes are of iron; their tackle is worked by steam ; they can be protruded horizontally or with a considerable dip; and while those at the sides are 18ft. long, the one at the snout has a length of 30ft. The Alarm is, of course, to be essentially a “night bird," and she is simply to meet an enemy “stem on.” Those on board her will know no other mode of attack.' This is the authoritative view of what is to be done with her. Creeping up to an enemy until near enough for a rush, an electric light (the most powerful yet made) is unmasked. The Alarm, with her deck only 3ft. above the water lino, is hidden in a great blotch of blinding light, which shows every spar and point of the enemy. Hor 15-inoh shot or shell is hurled, and eho goes ahead at fair speed. At the proper moment, the officer in charge in tho

“ wheel-house ” touches a button, and the snout-spar is run out. If the enemy is protected by the strong rope-nettings known as torpedo guards, and the spar touches one of them, the fact is (by that touch) electiically signalled to tho officer, and means are taken for firing the guards. Whenever the torpedo touches the bottom of the enemy, that fact is signalled ; and, upon the instant, another button in the “ wheel-house ” is pressed, and the torpedo is exploded, the electrical apparatus being such that failure is made all but impossible. If the recoil drives the Alarm directly astern, she is ready for a rush under full steam to “ram” her opponent. If she gets a side recoil, or swings because entangled, one of the amidship torpedoes is out, and there is a second discharge as soon as contact takes place. And so on, though those who have brought the Alarm into existence believe that any ironclad afloat would be sunk by a single torpedo fairly exploded, so that there would rarely be a necessity for after evolutions, except to get out of tho way and leave to tho enemy a clear road downwards ! It will have been noticed that tho “ wheel-house ” is ns delicately and scientifically fitted as the operating-room of a telegraph station, and about as important, and that it must bo very liable to injury if not destruction. Of course those facts have not been overlooked : the “ wheel-house” is completely duplicated between decks, so that its loss would mean no more than the loss of a direct look-out by the responsible officer. How far the expectations of the designers of this evidently terrible little craft would be realised in actual warfare no one can safely predict. But we think the necessarily incomplete description of her now given will satisfy most people that our practical “American cousins," in devoting themselves to the development of a naval torpedo system, have done much towards proving that the European competition of guns against armor plates has been altogether senseless, as well as frightfully expensive.