DRIFTING TORPEDOES.
Torpedoes of this description have been used in great numbers in time of war, but only with indifferent success. The especial function of the drifting torpedo is the destruction of vessels lying at anchor, the torpedo being sent adrift at a convenient point and allowed to float either at the surface or by means of a buoy at some distance below, and by the action of the current to be carried into contact with the vessel, being exploded by a contact-fuse. There is no especial shape considered superior for this type, and generally the torpedoes are extemporized from the most convenient materials at hand. Of the many types that have been tried there are two which may be considered especially dangerous.
The first of these is a torpedo intended to be dropped by a vessel being chased, to be caught by the one in her wake. This type may be described in general as two torpedoes of a size sufficient to contain 20 or 30 lbs. of dynamite, connected by a rope or light chain bridle, and floated by flat water-colored buoys. Dropped from the stern of a vessel, the bridle is caught by the bow of the chaser, and the torpedoes being swept alongside explode against the bilges.
Lewis’s Drifting Torpedo.
Lewis’s Beam
Torpedo.
This torpedo, intended to reach a vessel at anchor and surrounded by a boom of logs, consists of a case of powder or dynamite resting loosely on a small shelf attached to one extremity of a heavy pine beam, ballasting it in such a manner that it will float on end with the top just above water. The torpedo is attached to the beam by a loose chain bridle, the ends of which are stapled respectively to the lower end and just above the centre of gravity of the beam. The shelf itself is hinged, and is held in position by a catch operated by a small bell-crank lever on top of the beam. This beam on coming in contact with a boom is canted slightly, and the lever being tripped the shelf drops from under the torpedo, which, hanging by its bridle, cants the beam almost horizontally, thus allowing it to slip under the boom and float on against the ship’s side, where the torpedo explodes on coming in contact.