AERIAL TORPEDO.

Taranaki Daily News, 8 July 1918, Page 3

AERIAL TORPEDO.

U.S. INVENTOR'S CLAIM, '"COULD BLOW BERLIN OFF MAP." Mystery attending the long range bombardment of Paris from an unknown source recalls reports printed recently concerning an aerial torpedo, the inventor of which, Leter (P. Barlow,, of Philadelphia, .made astounding assertions in describing its potential destructiveness. In an account of his invention, which appeared first in the Philadelphia "Public Ledger" on March 14, Mr Barlow, who is the inventor of an anti-sub-marine depth-bomb, used with good results against German U-boats, said that his new device, which is deadly at a range as long as 500 miles, is "the most terrible destructive engine of warfare the world has ever seen." "I offered the torpedo as a gift to the Government," the inventor was quoted. "Two weeks ago one of the foremost aeronautical engineers and myself were told to go ahead with the first one of the full-sized aerial torpedoes and not to wait for a contract. The authorities in Washington admitted, when the plans were shown to them, that Berlin could be blown off the map, and that the German nation could be whipped in 30 days. "They also admitted that thousands of these devices should be on hand before their use was commenced, because so simple is the principle on which they are operated that the German inventors more than likely would discover it after a few thousand of them had levelled some of their cities." Mr Barlow was quoted as having said that his aerial torpedo had a range of 500 miles, and was positive on going to its target. 'Tt carries more than half a ton of the highest explosives that can he manufactured," he added. According to Mr BaTlow, General Squier, head of' the United States Army's airplane service, had inspected the plans for the torpedo more than six weeks ago.