AN AIR TORPEDO.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 645, 23 October 1909, Page 5

AN AIR TORPEDO.

:,',KRUrPS TESTING TJNGE'S, INVENTION.' ■ Illy .Tolograph-Preti - Acsbclaitian-Copf right.) ',;•'• -■•"- '•■'• '■':'■ "''■■>■ •■ ' . Berlin;•6ctobor , 2l. : " .Messrs: Krupp, of .Essen, ore testing 'an aerial torpedo, invented'by Colonel'W.'T. Un'go, ofthe . Swodish.- Artillery, ; and formerly first assistant fe> Mr..Alfred NotieHt Stockholm;;' V'; '.-•->■■•- FOR WARVOR PEACE. '■ '^. -' : '\ : '.' -; INVENTION REJECTED BY,BRITAIN. 1 Colonel; tinge's- aerial torpedo- is of all steel construction, 20 inched long arid '4 inches in diameter, and at the rear of its case is a fixed : turbine,- through i.wliich, after- the .'-operation oi -an electrio, battery, the.'gases, of the propelling charge escape and create rotation. 1 he-propelling charge is a mixture of black powder, and vegetablo/oil. Tho total weight of the.-.torpedo..is ,251b., : .th0 steel.shell;'weighing lSlb.,- and - the -charge 71b. The patents for war'purposes, have been secured by tho Gorman hrniot truppj the patents for marine' life. saving..purpOsos 'havo been' secured by ' an English'syndicate. -It is said that Krupps have' paid a .large sum for their rights, and that the bwedisn. inventor made ono reservation in his Sale'to, fte. German firm: that the, Swedish Government shall have the full i-ightto make use of the invention in overy form. ' The English War Office tested the invention as, a weapon of war, and decided to proceed no further-with.it. It; is said.that the chief driticism directed in England at tho air torpedo is that it-can only approach its target at a moderate, speed, whilo it is thought possible that weapons:'can -bo' devised to destroy its efficiency. .'-.-', ,-.; '...': ;.,.. HiDhly -Valuod in Germany. ■ ' ;',- .Gorman experts .appear to have arrived'at a quite different: conclusion.: ■. Tho air torpedb '(says a. Berlin message'in a London journal), .which, lis. one of' the' deadliest Instruments ot destruction yet invented, will, be shortly introthe' German arniy and-uavy; which Ml-thereby:possess a-moro effective'equipment than any other, army and "navy in tho world with the single exce'ptidn of Sweden, XieutcnautColonel Ungo's..torpedo can bo- .fired without producing'any recoil, hence the,torpedo tube is light, and easy to move quickly from place to .place.; Tho,air torpedo tube, is conveyed on a motor-car, and can bo speedily unmounted and firod without any'elaborate preparations—much more rapidly than field artillery can be brought into position for firing. . -Tho..air torpedo, can bo used in everykind of,warfare In therboinbardment of-fortresses the-now weapon . will exercise a destructive effect on tho most formidable works of defence In field operations the torpedo can be hurled against bodies' of .troops as well as against troops .in covered positions. :In vicwY of tho' fact that tho .. torpedo can -bo 'fired without tho least, noise it will be difficult for the enemy •to locate tho position of the torpedo battery by, which it is being attacked. In coast defence the air torpedo could be fired in such a way as to drop on the docks of hos-tile-'battleships/:. .-■"• ■ ■ Working Described, An, English.paper's description of tho trials of: tno ungo aendl • torpedo, as a marine lifesaver, throws light on : its operation. It is stated:—"The powder is fired by ah electrio fuse : and the gases generated rush out at tho bow through a small fixed turbine, so that "in addition -to its forward motion tho torpedo is given a heavy, rotation whi6h keeps it on a steady, course in the teeth of the strongest wind. Tho rope to' he carried ashore is attached to a circular collar, which the torpedo takes up as soon as it starts, moving. Practically■ it is ah improved "steel, rocket, but more complex and infinitely:moro powerful. : ■.':. • "It rushed info, the air si though, thrown from a battleship gun. and, trailing a comet's tail of 6moke: arid sparks,, struck the sea some hundred yards distant. At the fiTst two trials tho rope 'broke, : but steel wire having been threaded into the first few feet of the rope, the third and fourth trials were successful, at the last attempt the rope being carried. 400 yards. Tho total cost of the outfit with two torpedoes will be about .£20."