Torpedoes and Torpedo Warfare

TORPEDOES AND TORPEDO WARFARE. 33 The PRESIDENT introduced Lieut. O. L. A. Burford, C.N.F., to Members, and said that the lieutenant was the Commonwealth torpedo expert, and that in listening to his lecture on "Torpedoes, and Torpedo Warfare from its Earliest Inception" they would learn the views of one thoroughly sound in the theory and practice of his subject. Lieut. O. L. A. BURFORD delivered the lecture, which was profusely illustrated by lantern slides and the exhibition of torpedo gyroscopes and their governing action, etc. The PRESIDENT, at the conclusion of the demonstration, said that at that late hour it was impossible to discuss the many points of vital import raised, however interested they might be in the matter. He moved that Lieut. Burford be accorded a very hearty vote of thanks for his informative lecture. The motion was carried by acclamation. Lieut. O. L. A. BURFORD briefly responded, and the meeting closed at 10.35.

LECTURE.

ABSTRACT OF LECTURE ON TORPEDOES AND TORPEDO WARFARE. Delivered by Lieutenant O. L. A. BURFORD, C.N.F. The torpedo as a weapon of practical utility first came prom- inently into notice during the American Civil War. They were in the form of casks and cases filled with gunpowder, and moored in such a position as to endanger any ship navigating in their vicinity, and they were fired by means of a chemical fuse or clock- work arrangement. In 1861 they were used with more or less success by the Southern States. During the course of the war, it was found these mines could be removed when not supported by guns on shore, so a further development was made by taking the mine to the enemy's ship by means of a boat. A charge of powder was placed on the end of a long pole fixed in the bow of the boat, and under darkness the boat sought its victim. The end of the pole was dipped in the water, and the charge put against the ship's side, and then fired by electricity. This arrangement acquired the title of the "Spar" torpedo. The danger of being sunk by gun-fire was so great that attention was turned in the direction of a torpedo which could be discharged from a vessel from a moderate dist- ance, and Whitehead then induced the naval authorities to test his invention. The board of officers appointed to carry out the trials reported that in their opinion maritime powers failing to adopt locomotive torpedoes would be neglecting a great source of 34 VICTORIAN INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERS : power of defence and offence. On the strength of the board's re- port, Mr. Whitehead received £,15,000, and during the next few years experiments were carried out with torpedoes of different sizes, and in 1877 the 14 inch torpedo was the one adopted. The speed was 18 knots for boo yards. The charge was 26ibs. Dur- ing the same year it was found necessary to build special boats to carry the torpedoes, and these were built with low freeboard and high speed. They were adapted to be also carried by war- ships. The boats were fitted with a frame for carrying the torpedo, and when ready to fire the frame was topped out over the boat's side, and the torpedo was fired mechanically, its engines being started at the same time. In this year (1877), H.M.S. "Shah" fired a torpedo (one of the older 16 inch ones) at the "Huascar, The speed of the torpedo being only g knots, the "Huascar" was able to avoid it, as it could be seen coming through the water. Torpedoes were also used by the Russians against the Turks at Batoum. The result is not known, but in the following year (1878), the Rus- sians used torpedoes with more success, as they were supposed to have sunk a Turkish steamer at Batoum. The next record we have of torpedoes being used in active service was in 1891 (the speed of torpedoes had been increased by this time to 24 knots, and the charge had been increased also) in the Chilian Civil War, when the "Blanco Escalada" was attacked in Caldera Bay by two torpedo boat catchers, as they were then called. One of the torpedo boats fired three torpedoes, which missed the ship, the other torpedo boat then fired her first torpedo which missed, the torpedo passing under the ship. She then fired one from her port tubes at close range. This struck the ship, which sank in about six minutes. The size of the hole made by the torpedo was 15 ft. by 7 ft. The actual result of the above attack was four torpedoes lost without doing any damage to enemy, at a cost of about £1000; on the other hand one torpedo exploded, sinking an enemy's ship valued at about £200,000, not counting the loss of life. In 1895 the Brazilian ironclad "Aquidaban" was struck by a torpedo fired from a torpedo boat. The torpedo struck the ship under her armour, making a hole to feet by 5 feet, and the ship sank in shallow water. Great advances had been made in the speed and range of torpedoes by 1881, and the 18 inch torpedo, with a range of loco yards, and charge of 2oolhs. of guncotton, and speed of 27 knots, was adopted for ships and torpedo boat destroyers, and although at the present time (lgog) we still have the 14 inch torpedo for torpedo boats, and the 18 inch for destroyers and ships, the speed (now 4o knots) and range has been greatly increased, and the direction made almost perfect. The range is increased by making the air chamber of stronger metal (nickel steel), thus enabling it to carry a charge at higher pressure, i.e., 2000lbs to the square inch. The direction of the torpedo is absolutely controlled after discharge by the introduction of the gyroscope, which steers the TORPEDOES AND TORPEDO WARFARE. 35 torpedo automatically. The advantage gained by the gyroscope is so great that it has increased the efficiency of the torpedo 75 per cent. The gyroscopes are standardised and interchangeable with any torpedo in British use. The speed of torpedoes can be reduced, and a longer range in consequence attained. In trials carried out at Weymouth, in August, 1908, with the new 18 inch torpedo, it ran 4000 yards at 23 knots. Being fitted with a gyroscope, the greatest error was only 19 yards to one side of the target in one case, and three shots out of five passed right under the target, which consisted of a canvas screen, 8 feet long and 6 feet high. The charge of guncotton is 20olbs. for such a torpedo. The 14 inch torpedo carries a charge of 77lbs. of wet guncotton, and has a range of i000 yards, at 27Z knots. They can all be adjusted to go on the surface or down to 1 5 feet depth, and can also be made to float or sink at the end of their run. The means of firing torpedoes are by submerged tubes, fitted in ships, and by above water tubes (fixed), also fitted in ships, and in destroyers by above water tubes, which can be trained in a similar manner to a gun, and enables the torpedo to be fired on the bow, beam, or quarter. In torpedo boats of the harbour defence type, they are fired from dropping gear, which hangs over the boat's side, and are dropped mechanically. The torpedoes are discharged out of the tubes by a cartridge consisting of 42 ounces of powder for the 14 inch, and 72 ounces for the 18 inch, fired electrically from any desired position in the ship. When it is desired to hit a ship that is travelling at high speed, this speed must be allowed for, and the allowance is called "deflection." An instrument called a "director" is used. This consists of a segment of a circle marked in degrees, a radius bar, "speed of enemy" bar, and speed of torpedo bar. It is also fitted with sights in a similar manner to a gun. In use the speed of torpedo must be put on speed of torpedo bar, and the radius bar adjusted to the angle of fire required, then the speed of the enemy must be estimated, and put on "speed of enemy" bar, and this bar kept parallel to the course of the enemy. When the sight comes on the enemy, if within range, the torpedo is discharged. Great advances have also been made in torpedo boats ; their size has been increased and they are armed with light Q.F. guns. The larger types (torpedo boat destroyers) have a higher rate of speed than the earlier torpedo boats, and to meet them the torpedo gunboat was introduced in 1892. These were armed with Q.F. guns, and were of shallow draught. They were of about 1000 tons on a shallow draught, and had ,a speed of sixteen to eighteen knots. These were soon fund to be quite unsuitable to attack torpedo boats, as the latter had increased their speed so much that the torpedo gunboat could do very little in repelling the former, so in further VICTORIAN INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERS : 36 advance, out of the torpedo gunboat evolved the torpedo boat des troyer, now called "destroyer." The first of these were the "Havoc" and her class, 220 tons, and 20 knots speed, and each year saw increase of speed and tonnage. In 1894 we had the "Ferret" and "Lynx," all of 27 knots speed; in 1896 to 1903 came the 3o knot destroyers (64 of them), 300 tons, 6000 h.p., using coal. 1903 to 1905 saw the introduction of the river class of destroyers, named after the rivers in Great Britain. They run to about 55o tons, 7000 h.p., 26 knots. There are 34 boats of this class in the Royal Navy, and they have proved themselves very good boats at sea, and have a radius of 2000 miles at econ- omical speed; they can maintain their top speed for about 8 to io hours. Torpedo warfare has advanced so much in the last few years, that the science of torpedo work has become quite distinct from that of gunnery, and torpedo schools have been initiated, and officers and men are more or less specialists at this most important work. In the year 1895, when the war between Japan and China was in full swing, on the 5th February of that. year, the Japanese made an attack on the Chinese fleet, then lying in Wei-Hai-Wei Harbour, that being the Chinese naval base. There were seven Japanese boats ; eight torpedoes were fired on the first night of attack. The Chinese ships were moored close in shore, and the harbour was protected by booms and guns on the east side, and by mines and guns on the N.W. entrance, and the Chinese flag-ship, the "Ting Yuen," was hit under the starboard quarter, and so badly damaged that she had to be hauled into shallow water, where she sank the next day. One torpedo boat was put out of action, a projectile exploding her boiler, and killing eight men; in retiring another boat was wrecked on the rocks at the entrance, when trying to get round the end of the boom defence. On the next day the Japanese again attacked with the remaining five boats, in two divisions. The first division attacking the ships and the second division attacking the guard boats. The ships had been shifted closer in shore and search lights were used by the ships. Nine torpedoes were fired by the first division, and the result was three Chinese ships sunk. The Chinese ships used all their guns, both large and small, to repel this attack. The fact of the Chinese using their big guns with black powder to repel a torpedo attack, was greatly to the advantage of the Japanese boats; the smoke from the black powder was so great that after the first round was fired, the boats attacking could not be seen, and the Japanese boats came off scot free. In the con- fusion of battle, the Chinese fired at their own guard boats, and sank two of them in mistake for Japanese. Actual result of 15 torpedoes fired by Japanese—torpedoes valued at £4,5o0 lost, and two torpedo boats, valued at £ioo,000 lost also. On the other side, four Chinese ships destroyed, value £800,000. In lives, Japanese 8 killed, some hundreds of Chinese were drowned. TORPEDOES AND TORPEDO WARFARE. 37 1907-8 saw the introduction of a still faster and larger torpedo boat destroyer (of the Tribal class) in the "Afredi," "Saracen," "Cossack," etc., all 33 knot boats, of 850 tons, using oil fuel (84 tons of oil are carried), and developing 15,000 h.p., and fitted with Parsons' turbines. There are 12 of these ships in the Royal Navy. Then came the "Scout" class, high speed vessels used for scouting purposes, and armed with 18 inch torpedoes and Q.F. guns. The "Foresight" and "Forward," which belong to this class, are 25 knot vessels, fitted with wireless telegraphy instruments, and are about 2,800 tons displacement. To keep pace with other nations the speed had to be increased. The latest addition to this class is the "Swift," built in 1908, of 1,80o tons, 345 feet length, drawing only 1o* feet of water, with a speed of 37.3 knots at 30,000 h.p. All these modern torpedo boats and destroyers are fitted with turbine engines, and the fuel used was, in the earlier boats, oil, and now they are fitted to burn oil and coal alternatively. The advantages of the turbine over the reciprocating engine are :- 1 st. Greatly increased speed. znd. Turbines being so low in the water, they are better protected from gun fire. 3rd. The total weight of machinery is much less and there is almost a total absence of vibration. The advantages of oil fuel over coal are :- 1st. It can be stowed in parts of the ship that could not be used for any other purpose, and takes up much less room than coal. 2nd. It requires no trimming, as coal does, thus saving the cost of trimmers. 3rd. There is no smoke when burning oil, which is of very great importance on active service. In 1898, Japan imported two torpedo boats (150 feet) from England, built by Yarrow and Co., and two years after they imported, also from Yarrow and Co., the pieces of two torpedo boats, which were put together in Japan, Yarrow and Co. send- ing out people to supervise the work, and since that time all torpedo craft for the Japanese navy have been built in Japan. The British Navy has at the present time, 72 torpedo boats, stationed in England for Home defence, and she has also 142 destroyers, 65 of these in full commission, some of them in the East, and 77 carrying nucleus crews for Home defence. This brings the total number of torpedo craft (including submarine) in the Royal Navy, up to 259. These figures show the great importance attached to the torpedo branch of the service. England has 259 vessels for torpedo work exclusively, and only 178 fighting ships of other classes, consisting of 6o battleships, 59 first class cruisers, 35 second class cruisers, and 24 third class cruisers, and all these ships are fitted with torpedo tubes (at least two tubes each). This gives a total of over 800 torpedo tubes in the British 38 VICTORIAN INSTTPUTE OF ENGINEERS

service. - Allowing five torpedoes for each ship, this gives a total of about z000 torpedoes in commission. The Whitehead torpedo is considered such an important matter, that officers are specially detailed for that branch of the service. The number of such officers in the Royal Navy is 277. In regard to Submarines. For very many years submarines of some primitive form have been experimented with, in fact we can go back to the times of the Siege of Troy, and find some form of submarine. For some years France has been paying great attention to submarines, and has spent large sums of money on them. In 1891, M. Zedi designed his surprising little craft, and on the results of the trials of this vessel, the French devoted much time and money to the perfecting the type. Other nations were slow to take advantage of the knowledge and experience of France; but eventually this class of warship was adopted; but, owing to the peculiar capabilites of this class of ship, they have been maintained for duties quite distinct from the ordinary duties of battleship, cruiser, or torpedo boat. As the radius of action is lim- ited, and speed only moderate, in most countries they are assigned duties of a defensive nature, such as protecting ports of refuge, or ports whose harbours are such that submarines can enter or leave at any state of tide or weather, not only on the surface, but when submerged. They are not suitable for making long passages. In fact when making passages of zoo miles, they require the services of a "chaperon." The French are great believers in this form of defence, and all the French ports in the English Channel, and in the Mediterranean Sea, have fleets of submarines for their protection. England has at the present time, 45 of this class of vessel. They are all stationed in ports, Sheerness, Chatham, Portsmouth, etc.

APPENDIX. Torpedo service strength of the British navy :- Torpedo boats 72 Torpedo boat destroyers 142 Submarines 45 Total 259 The present strength of the Commonwealth Naval Forces is as follows for the six States :- Victoria.—"Cerberus," arrived in 1871 (out of commission), 5 torpedo boats, all old, but still in commission. They are about 20 years old. New South Wales.—No defence vessel of any kind, having sold two torpedo boats (locally built) a few years before Federa- tion came into force. Queensland.—Two gunboats and two small torpedo boats, all over 20 years old: OBITUARIES. 39 South Australia.—One gunboat, one small torpedo boat, both over zo years old. Western Australia.—Nil. Tasmania.—Nil. The torpedo boats mentioned are not large enough to take part in an action at sea. The only naval defence maintained by the Commonwealth for our 8000 miles of coastline, consists of two small gunboats in Queensland, and one gunboat in South Aus- tralia. The Lecturer illustrated his subject by many lantern views of the various types of vessels, their structure and use, and by plans of ports, harbours, etc. Unfortunately these illustrations cannot be reproduced. The directing gyroscope was also exhibited and explained.

OBITUARIES.

PROFESSOR W. C. KERNOT, M.A.,M.C.E., PAST PRESIDENT V. I.E.

Born 1815, died 1909. DISCUSSION-TORPEDOES AND TORPEDO WARFARE. 61

DISCUSSIONS.

TORPEDOES AND TORPEDO WARFARE. Extracts were read from a letter from Major G. F. WILKINSON as follows :— "Thanks for giving me the opportunity of contributing. The subject is essentially naval, but as submarine mining had in As early years a close relationship, association with the latter has naturally induced an interest in the former. From an Engineer's point of view, undoubtedly the attractive force lies in the control mechanism, the details of which are naturally kept as secret as possible. This charm is strengthened by the fact that the secrets are homely first principles delicately and ingeniously applied. That the result is a dreaded instrument of offence does not as much concern him unless he happens to be a lucky inventor, who hopes to reap a due financial harvest. In reading through the interest- ing paper I note the absence of any reference to a controlled and dirigible torpedo. Mr. Louis Brennan's dirigible torpedo, which has not been added to the responsibilities of the naval officer, but retained in the hands of the Engineers, is still a factor in coast and harbour defence in British home ports. Although successfully directed and operated from a moving vessel its use in such a way in a fight between ships has obvious difficulties. The control of torpedoes without the connecting wires of the Brennan appears to be within the region of practical possibilities. It is not, however, thought that a controlled torpedo can be of value to a ship in action. Were it possible to calmly watch and direct its course in a journey of, say, 4,000 yards, its value would probably be admitted and a place found for it in a ship's armament. But at present range, rapidity and accuracy of armour piercing gun fire and speed of ship hold the sceptre of fashion. There can be little doubt that as an instrument in naval warfare up-to-date developments have placed the naval pattern torpedo in a sphere of potentiality higher than ever. That the .'e- velopments have been consummated by the personnel of our British navy augurs well for a continuance of that position which it holds in the interests of humanity." The PRESIDENT said that Lieut. Burford had, in his paper, dealt with the alternative use of coal or oil as fuel for torpedo boat boilers. But he did not think that attention had been directed to the possibility of suppressing the boiler altogether and using the oil direct in suitable engines. That was, however, being accom- plished, and very high speed results had followed. No doubt ex- tended tests would be required, but there was much to be said in favour of the system. The boat was always ready, and there was a complete absence of smoke. Suction gas was also in the field. 62 VICTORIAN INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERS: In the appendix to the paper the author had summed up the units of the Commonwealth naval defence. Admitting at once the high efficiency and enthusiasm of the staff, yet the statement of the meagreness of the coastal defence of a continent made pitiful reading. They were weaker now—not only relatively but absolutely— than they were a generation ago. Then they had ironclads and gun boats, which had a fighting value, while the torpedo craft were then modern. It was then the nucleus of an efficient defence; it was so no longer. Without doubt they were living in a "fool's paradise." I. was inferred that the guns at the Heads would deny the entrance to an enemy, but they must consider the armour that might now oppose the gun. For instance a recent test of a British-made plate was as follows :- Attack : 9.2in. gun of modern construction. Service armour piercing projectile. Charge, 53 to 55 lbs. cordite. Striking velocity, 1900 to 198o feet per second. Striking energy, 9,300 to 10,300 foot tons. Four shots fired. Defence: Plate, loft. by 7ft. by about gin. thick ( = 360 lbs. per square foot). Results : Four hits within a aft. square. Extreme penetration of 21- inches. No cracks. No bulging. Plate practically intact. Should ships so defended engage, Lieut. Burford would have to show what the torpedo craft could do. But it was certain that to be effective more boats, and thoroughly modern boats, were essential. Further, artisans thoroughly trained to deal with matters of service waste were needed, and such men could only be so trained on actual boat construction. The PRESIDENT exhibited the following lantern slides :- 1. "The English Mercurie," 23rd July 1588 ; Proclamation of the sighting of the Armada. 2. U.S. " Gloucester" engaging the Spanish torpedo boats, " Furor " and " Pluton. " 3. Sinking of the "Furor" by 3 and 6 lb shells. (Snapshot photo.) 4. The same. Sketch by an eye-witness on the` `Gloucester." 5. British 18o ton " submersible," A type. Running awash at 9 knots. Etc. Lieut. BURFORD said Major Wilkinson had referred to the dirigible torpedo and the Brennan. The latter was used for a number of years for the defence of the Portsmouth harbour. It could DISCUSSION—TORPEDOES AND TORPEDO WARFARE. 63 only be used from â fixed base—not from a ship. There was a general War Office order notifying its disuse. No doubt Major Wilkinson had overlooked that point. That was why it had not been mentioned in the paper. The submarine had taken the place of the Brennan torpedo. Major H. V. CHAMPION said he did not think he could add anything material to the discussion, as he had not had an opportunity of carefully reading the paper. There was no doubt the question of naval defence and land defence was being forced upon them to a serious extent. It was not only necessary for those who were taking part in military and naval training in this country to be interested in the question, but it was necessary for all people in this country to take a very great interest in anything that con- cerned the naval or military defence of Australia. It was very difficult to discuss matters that had a somewhat confidential as- pect. With regard to naval defence, whether it were by the addition to the British navy, or whether it were by the establishment of an independent naval defence, it rested with them and with the men of this country to do their utmost to give to whatever policy was ultimately adopted their whole-hearted advocacy and attention. Personally he would be extremely glad to see not only a torpedo flotilla established in connection with the defence of our harbours, but also cruisers of sufficient calibre to deal with the enemies of the sea-going commerce of Australia. Apart from any other question it was absolutely necessary that they should begin to build a navy for the defence of these shores, as far as their means would permit, and thus release that portion of the British navy that was confined to these shores. Any one who read with intelligence the facts that were placed before them day after day must know it was necessary to look at the question very seriously and carefully, and give it their utmost attention. In regard to land defence, if he might introduce such a subject into the discussion, it appeared to him to be eminently desirable that every man in the country should take an active interest in the training, of soldiers. It would be within their knowledge that even if a country had command of the sea it was not always possible to conquer an independent and warlike people. It was attempted on one occasion. A nation which had command of the sea endeavoured to conquer an intrepid people of its own race, and the result was that the nation in command of the sea was ultimately defeated. He strongly advocated a large extension of the training, and time of training, of the citizens in the land force. He thanked the President for the opportunity of discussing the question. It was not his intention to deal with the details of the paper ; he might do so on a later occasion. They all knew that the torpedo formed a very important element in naval warfare. They had had the benefit of an invention of .a native of this country—the Brennan torpedo—which had been superseded

64 VICTORIAN INSTITUTE OF ENGINEERS:

by the submarine. It was impossible for him to give more in- formation than the expert officer who had already so ably dis- cussed the matter.

The PRESIDENT said if there was no further discussion he would ask Lieut. Burford to reply. Lieut O. L. BURFORD said that in discussing a matter of such magnitude there were many subjects which, through the shortness of time, he had not been able to bring in. For instance, the matter of heated air for the torpedoes was omitted altogether. By means of a very simple arrangement—a superheater—placed in all modern torpedoes, increased efficiency of the torpedo by increasing the speed was attained. The PRESIDENT asked if it was permissible to say what that speed was. Lieut. BURFORD said it had increased the speed zz per cent. The older torpedoes had a very sharp head; the newer ones had a blunt head and a fine tail, which was found to give better results. Compressed air, when being released from the air reservoir into the engine, generated cold, not heat. It froze everything. It blocked the passage of air and reduced the speed considerably. The superheater did away with all the difficulty. Kerosene of 150 deg. test was used. The whole apparatus was automatic in start- ing and stopping, and was very simple indeed. Lieut. BURFORD illustrated by blackboard diagrams the principle • involved. Briefly this consists in interposing a combustion chamber in the course of the compressed air passing from the reservoir to the engines. A fine spray of kerosene there meets it, and this is fired, at the moment of discharge, by a cartridge exploded by the mechanism which simultaneously ejects the torpedo and starts the engines. In the combustion chamber, heat is thus imparted to the air, in anticipation of that which disappears as work during expansion in the cylinders. The freezing action is thus obviated. During the Japan-Chinese war the Japanese, before their attack, had endeavoured to avoid, in a measure, the freezing difficulty by playing hot water from the boilers over the torpedoes prior to their discharge. Mr. R. O. THOMPSON said if we had a fleet here it would be a very small one. Lieut. Burford had given an instance in which five torpedoes were fired ; one took effect and blew the vessel up. If a torpedo flotilla could manage to get in here and find our fleet lying in close, they could soon destroy it. He in- stanced the indifferent practice made by torpedoes in the Chili- Peruvian war. Lieut. BURFORD said when that fight took place in South Amer- ica they used Fiume torpedoes. They had no gyroscopes, and they could not be gauged to run twice alike. They were guaran- teed to run once only straight. They had run them repeatedly for practice 200 or 30o times, but without gyroscopes they could not DISCUSSION--SOME NOTES ON WATER MAINS. 55 be expected to run straight. It was the sanie with the 'Japanese. Their result was very poor ; but they now had the torpedo running to ç000yds. at a much increased speed and carrying a much larger charge of gun cotton. Last November they had locally fired 72 shots at a target 8 feet long, and there were only three shots that would have missed a ship of very moderate size. The failures were from defective manipulation. Since the time spoken of there had been great improvement in torpedo warfare. The PRESIDENT said that for the defence the parallel advance of the quick-firing guns must, of course, be considered. Lieut. BURFORD, continuing, said no one would think of tackling a fleet of ships with one torpedo for each ship. The boats were supposed to move in flotillas of six. Six torpedoes tackling three ships was a fair proportion. They would never put six boats against a fleet of six ships and let each boat take a ship. And they would never attempt to attack a fleet of ships in the day time. Their place was under cover of darkness, when, if they were discovered, they could make a dash to get away. The PRESIDENT asked what type of boiler was used on the torpedo boats that had been illustrated. Lieut. BURFORD said water tube boilers were used. The PRESIDENT said one point that Major Champion had raised was important, that of reticence. For instance, in the engage- ments in a recent war, the course adopted might not have been taken if—according to recent memoirs—there had not been abso- lute knowledge from agents aboard the enemies' vessels of the very ineffective preliminary . battle-firing practice before the fleet left its coast. On the other hand it was well that there should not be reticence as regarded those matters which were already known to possible foes, and in regard to which our own people should be. educated. Discussion closed.

SOME NOTES ON WATER MAINS. The PRESIDENT said there was one point only in Mr. Fowler's paper to which he wished to draw further attention; that was the thickness of pipes. The question of thickness was not dependent wholly, or perhaps not even in the first degree, on the bursting pressure. There was a question of sufficiency of thickness for workshop reasons. There might be .a shifting of the core, which would give rise to weakness. The core might not be initially straight or concentric with the mould; in either case there would be thin places. There was also the question of corrosion at, perhaps, distant dates. The point, then, was, how long was the service to last? If the service was in a growing town, where early augmentation of volume was certain, it might be wise to use the thin pipe. If it were to last two or three generations in a city

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Title: Torpedoes and torpedo warfare (Abstract of Lecture)

Date: 1910

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