Experiment at Chatham, England, 1865.—This experiment was carried out to ascertain the effect of gunpowder torpedoes on the bottom of a wooden ship.
Target:—H.M.S. Terpsichore, a wooden sloop of war.
Torpedo:—150 lbs. of fine-grained powder. Two were used. They were placed on the ground, about 13' below the ship's keel, and 2' horizontally clear of her side.
Effect of explosion:—A hole of about 4' radius was made, about 19' nearly vertical from the charge; the Terpsichore sinking a few minutes after the explosion.
Experiment in Austria.—The object of this experiment was to ascertain the effect of a very large charge of gun-cotton exploded at some distance from the side of a wooden vessel.
Target:—A wooden sloop.
Torpedo:—400 lbs. of gun-cotton, placed 10' below the surface of the water, and 24' horizontally from the bottom of the vessel.
Effect of explosion:—Complete destruction of the vessel.
Experiments at Carlscrona, Sweden, 1868.—These experiments were made to investigate the effect of submarine contact mines, charged with dynamite, against a strong wooden vessel, as well as against a double-bottomed iron vessel. They were carried out under the supervision of Lieut.-Colonel Zethations, of the Royal Swedish Navy.
Target:—The hull of a 60 gun frigate, which had been built in 1844; it had been cut down to the battery deck, and the copper removed. Her timbers and planking were quite sound; timbers of oak about 13" square, and 1" apart; planking of Swedish pine, 5-1/2"; bottom strengthened inside with wrought-iron diagonal bands, 6" by 1-1/4"; inside planking running half way up to the battery deck of oak; 6" thick. This completes the wooden target.