FRENCH SUBMARINE BOMB

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LV, Issue 287, 26 April 1913, Page 9

FRENCH SUBMARINE BOMB

Remarkable results were obtained recently from a series of experiments with tins new submarine bond) which the French naval authorities have been testing at Cherbourg under conditions of the greatest, secrecy. The old ironclad Neptune, which was used as a target, sank to the bottom of the military harbor as soon as it was hit by one of these bombs. When the ship was relloated for inspection it was seen that tremendous damage had been done. Tin' "■• ' -'lies had broken right through the armor plating, destroying everything in their course. One of them had got as far as the condenser, and bad blown the water-tight partitions to pieces by the force of the explosion, while, another had hit the armored tower on the lower deck, reducing it to scrap iron. The strictest precautions were taken to prevent the smallest detail of the construction of these bombs from leaking out. The Neptune since she was brought to the surface has been guarded day and night by sentries, who have refused entry to all but members of the commission appointed to make the tests. To make it certain that the report shall reach the Navy Minister without the possibility of being tampered with, a high naval ollieer travelled from Cherbourg to Paris with the document and specimen splinters of the exploded homhs.