THE FLYING TORPEDO.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11511, 6 October 1915, Page 1

THE FLYING TORPEDO.

i GERMANY'S NEW WEAPON. ! \ CONTROLLED BY WIRELESS. ; Germans here are impressed by our ' establishment of an Inventions Board, : with Lord Fisher as chairman: and i observant Dutclmieu toll me that at ! last the British aro tryinsr, to meet the | enemy on something Lko level terms. ; writes .lames Dunn from Rotterdam tu ; the " Weekly Mail/' "So long as you ; were content to 101 l nv Germany in war ! inventions and appliances," said a ; clever Dutch engineer, "you bad little f chance of victory, because Germany is never content with tho thing she has: | she is always striving to go one bet- ! ter." Ever)body now realises that! this is a wsi of machines, and now - that so much inventive fertility is be- ■' iiig nsedjfor war purposes there is practically no limit to the ingenious and destructive appliances with which ; the inventor maj equip the soldier. I found the views of my Dutch i : friend all the more interesting because | a few hours previously I had received j information of two inventions in wnich j ! Germany places great hopes—the air ! torpedo and the automatic gun. Men- j : tion has already been made in official | | despatches of an air torpedo, and I } j have read several references to its ■ i construction and service, but, judging i ; from the plans I have seen, Geimany's | : new aerial torpedo differs from the j idea of its design held in England. j ; LIKE AN AIRSHIP. j I The aerial torpedo invented by a i j Swedish officer and sold to Krupps may \ \ have been the basis of Germany s new j ! air weapon, h?4 certainly it is not the ; ! finished article. The Swedish invention i resembles a huge shell fitted with a i turbino engine driven by gas pressure: j the German air torpedo is more like i an airship, fitted with propellers driven I by electricity and controlled from a j Zeppelin by wireless. The German j aerial torpedo can, ,theoretically, re-! main in the air for three hours" and ; can be controlled from a distance of ! two miles. Both weapons are discharg- j ed from a tube like a marine torpedo, j but in the case of tho German inven- j tion two propellers and two lifting'! screws are automatically started at the moment of discharge. | In shape this torpedo of the air, j which is about 7ft long, resembles the submarine weapon. It is composed of two cases, the outer of thin chrome nickel and the inner of material similar to that m Zeppelins. About l\ sixth of the space at the Tear is ooct.pied by an electric accumulafor at the bottom, and an electric motor generator secured to the top. The machinery is controlled by Hertzian waves acting on tho Telofunken system of wireless, and it is claimed that up toft distance of two rniJes the air torpedo can bo steered at will. The air torpedo isTnfiafed with water gag and compressed gas, but as it ?s heavier than the air, two lifting screwa work under the body to keep the torpedo in the air, while tne motive power is supplied by two propellers. Both screws and propellers are connected with the same shaft, which runs through the body of the torpedo. GREAT EXPLOSIVE FORCE. When the air torpedo, after Hying through th«» air. hovers immediately over the selected target, it is made to assume a vertical position, the lifting horizontal screws and propeLers are stopped, and the torpedo dives to tin* ground carrying a large quantity of high explosive charge at its nose. Tin* charge explodei on contact like an ordinary shell, and it is said that in two torpedoes there is sufficient explosive force to destroy the Tower of London. Originally these air torpedoes were destined to be carried exc.usively bj Zeppelins, but owing to cevtairt tm"ptrovements it lias now been found they can be manipulated from war- ! ships. According to my information, j Germany proposes to use torpedoes of j the air against the British fleet, and * for that purpose small, swift craft armed only \v!th 'aerial torpedoes are building, or have been already built. J So far this flying death ha-> not been employed against the Allies, but 1 I learn it is to be tried probably over London this summer. For the purpose of publication I have tried to b;> as non-technical as possible in describing Germany's new and terrible weapon of the air, but I warn j my readers that aerial torpedo is \ not a fantastic invention of tho Jules j Verne type, and destined to scare the j British people by its terrifying impog- r sibilitied. The air torpedo is a practi- j eal weapon, invented by a practical en- j gineer, and it lias been tested to the j sati fact on of tho German military j and naval authorities. Compared with j it the invention of the owede, Colonel ! Tinge, is a device unceitam in its Jritec-; tion and efleet. | AUTOMATIC BIG GCXS. ; Some months ago 1 hint-ad that tho ■ Germans were working on an improved Zeppelin weapon, and fins aerial tor- } pedo is the result of many experiments j m the works at Essen. Undoubtedly j this is the secret invention of wh:cb i we have heard so many whispers that S the Germans hare held iu reserve for | the British fleet. Against moving ; ships, however, ir> will not prove so ; formidable a. weapon as against a fixed i target. Anyhow, we may be sure that Lord Fr.her and the Inventions Board > will meet science with science; originality with originality, and the flying . death will lose its terror as it loses ! its novelty. ' Of the German automatic guns I can &s yet write little. The idea is to increase the rapidity of the lire of the big guns by an automatic feeding of , shells! In other words, the Germans are seeking to construct a big gun that., can ponr. out shells as a 31ax)m pours out bullets".