TORPEDOES.

Waikato Times, Volume X, Issue 919, 14 May 1878, Page 2

TORPEDOES.

The usual Monday lecture was given at the London Institution on Monday night by Lieutenant F. Ingram Palmer, Lioyal Navy, on the history of the torpedo. Although it appears that these submarine explosives were devised by the Chinese as far buck as the thne of their invention of gunpowder, ifc is to America that Europe owes the torpedo. The first three names cojimected with its earlier history are Americans — JBnsknell, Foulfcon, and Colonel Colt, of revolver fame. In 1777, Buahnell arranged an apparatus for exploding gunpowder under water, but, when it was practically tried against Lord Howe's ship, the Lion, it proved a failure. In 1797, Robert Foul ton took the subject up, and showed to Napoleon m 1801 the first success of which there is record. In 1804, he brought his invention under the notice of Sir William Pitt, who favored him at first with very warm support, but, when a naval authority gave utterance to the remark that " Pitt was the greatest fool that ever lived to eucourage a mode of warfare which they, who commanded the seas, did not noetl, and, if successful, would deprive them of it," Foul ton received £15,000 with an expression of thanks, and a suggestion that his services were no further needed. He went back to America, and by 1810 worked out two torpedo schemes, both of which depended on the mechanical ignition of the fuse. Colonel Colt m 1841, first suggested the employment of galvanism to fire a charge of explosives, but nothing m the way of actual warfare was done till the Russian war of 1854, when both mechanical and electrical torpedoes were used m the Black Sea and the Baltic. Her Majesty's ships Fire% and Merlin were both damaged, ?nd on June 31, 1855, a torpedo fished up exploded on the poop of her Majesty's ship Exmouth. In the American war torpedos came to be recognised on both sides as instruments of warfare quite $s important as rnqs, ironclads, and big guns. . In "1860, Captain^ McEvoyinvented a buoyant torpedo so arranged that, when struck hy ft Ship, the cover, on, h,eing tilted off, fired a chemical fusa and exploded

the charge. In Daceniber last, he also invented and patented- a torpedo which could be fired either at will by electricity or could be left to act mechanically. Gunpowder, guncdjtton,- and dynamite are now all used as explosives. The latest improvement is the arrangement for steering 1 a torpedo boat .by electricity from a ship or fort, and exploding it when desired. The protections against torpodeos are networks around a ship to prevent approach, fishing them up or countermining and exploding them. One of the latest developments, is for the torpedo boats to carry an aparatus for pumping crude petroleum on to ships ml igniting it by a special rocket. The mixture of fire and smoke drives the men from the guns, the torpedo, boat can then approach closely without being fired on, can with one torpedo break away any surrounding protections there may be, and then can explode a torpedo under the ship, This crude petroleum or " Greek fire," the lecturer stated he knew on good authority had been experimentally tried by the Russians, jand he thought it was a matter cf^ngior serious consideration that 142 powerful torpedo boats, to cost about £5,000 each, had been just ordered by Russia. Some of the machinery was. contracted for m England, and the whole were to be 1 ready m the course of a few weeks. —'Times,' -Feb. 15.