TORPEDO ATTACK

Wairarapa Times-Age, 9 July 1938, Page 9

TORPEDO ATTACK

NEW FIGHTING BOAT DESIGNED.

A torpedo boat, only 100 ft. long, but capable of firing 80 miles per hour torpedoes, was planned by Lawrence of Arabia, and he was working on the designs when he was killed three years ago in Dorset.

Edward Spurr, the only man who knew Lawrence’s secret, carried on the work and has now perfected the boat. ’

Recently he revealed some of the secrets of the invention, which he believes will revolutionise sea fighting. “The boats,” he said, “would operate in squadrons, like the R.A.F., and they would attack enemy ships from all angles. If we had had these boats in the Great War, the Battle of Jutland would have been over in ten minutes,” he claimed.

Each boat will carry four 21-inch torpedo tubes, powerful gunnery and depth charges. Torpedoes could be released from under the boats without being seen by enemy vessels. One boat could settle four hostile battleships with direct hits in eight seconds!

When the idea of these death ships came to Lawrence, he and Spurr worked for months making models with match sticks and old metal. “Lawrence and I found most of our inspiration in sleep at my lodgings at Southampton,” Mr Spurr said. “Lawrence had a great analytical mind. Although he was not an engineer, he had amazing mechanical understanding, and could put his finger on a weak spot and suggest modifications to get out of difficulties.

“The great secret is that torpedoes can be fired fore and aft at two-sec-ond intervals without being detected. The boats can ship 200 men at a time from point to point at great speed, which would make them vital in a blockade.”