The San Francisco call. [volume], April 24, 1898, Page 17, Image 18

About The San Francisco call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1895-1913

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THE CALL Sunday Edition
THE LATEST NAVAL WONDERS FOR DESTROYING BATTLE-SHIPS
INVENTOR HOLLANDS PROPOSED NEW SEMI-SUBMERGED TORPEDO BOAT.
This new mari r will be protected by being sunk four feet under the surface of the water. The small exposed portion will he surrounded with
[mentor Elolland declares that such a vessel will be practically irresistible and invulnerable because she will combine all
boat and a torpedo l-<.at destroyer, arid can also be used as a destroyer of torpedo boat destroyers.
INVENTOR HOLLAND'S TWO NEW SEA FIGHTING
MONSTERS, THE SUBMARINE TORPEDO BOAT AND THE
SEMI-SUBMARINE TORPEDO BOAT.
INVENTOR HOLLAND has • just
ith another ma
■ a
submerged torped
6 up and
y in an interchange
[uip
rr.r-nt and make-up is, therefore,
what difi"
This i I >s not
wholly disappear vi
the water, but is only semi-s
Just enough for what is consid
Bafety in a fierce sea :\ ght.
In both I . Mr. Holland's idea
■ ction
to g ■ striking distance of an
y's ship. In tii ■ submarine boat
tms : making an
attack from beneath the water, v.
rh^ i.s safe, becau In- 1
semi-submerged t . edo-boat part of
the vessel is protected by being sunk
four feet under the water. The small
exposed portion is surrounded with ar
mor at least as heavy as that on the
armored cruisers of the present day.
President TV. H. Jacques of the Hol
land Torpedo-boat Company describes
the new semi-submerged torpedo-boat
as follows:
"We all know how difficult it Is to
adequately protect a ship with armor
even by a most careful distributii
weights. The semi-submerj
presents a type in which you can ar
mor BUch parts as are necessary.
armor, because you
have : to a minimum the parts
expo:-- ing submarine
qualii , lof a boat
that will do this, as you well know
there is ■ •• in exist
ence to-day that will meet these condi
tions.
"In such a craft you can get close
up to your ship and fire the torpedo
into her, while an ordinary torpedo-
THE SUBMARINE TORPEDO-BOAT BEGINNING THE DIVE.
I boal will bo pimply rlddied and sawed
: into pieces bj rapid-fire ammunition.
Further, ;i submerged armored torpedo
boal will be able to get so near her
target that by greatly reducing the
she will eliminate many ■
vantages of the present 1"! ;^ ranges
required '■■:■ the Whitehead torpedo.
Again, >• giving ;i well-dtecip
lined crew a chance to do something,
! for their quarters will be infinitely more
comfortable than those they at pres
eni occupy in the torpedo-boat. They
will have a feeling of Bafety which
they do not now enjoy, and they will
. know that they will land their tor
■ lose ci ough to blow up the shi?».
". y uch a craft may be compared with
:•■•: •■• automobile torpedo, one of suf
; size to carry a crew and yet
possessing not only similar automatic
i for controlling the position, but
ng them supplemented by direct
hanical ones under the direct con
j trol of the brain of man.
"Such a boat will be practically ir
resistible and invulnerable; will even
resist the attack of heavy ordnance,
and is a type that it will be impossible
: t«i avoid."
Inventor Holland proposes to build
of these all-around fighting sub
marine machines as follows: A vessel
220 feet long, 24 feet wide and draw*
U feet of water. Its displace
ment will be 1000 tons; the engines
will have 10.000 or 12,000 horsepower
and develop a speed of twenty-five
knots. The armored superstructure to
t the smokestacks and oompan
onway is to be between 30 and 40 feet
long and 10 feet wide in the middle, the
being made half round The arm-
Ist of four large rapid
fire guns of 10 or 12 pound caliber in
revolving turrets. The armor will be
••is heavy as the vessd can carry, but
not less than 12 inches. When light
the superstructure will be only 15
inches above water in the middle; in
action it will be covered by 4 feet of
water, and the guns will be but 5 feet
abeve the water line.
Such a boat as this combines all the
qualities of a torpedo-boat and a tor
pedo-boat destroyer, and can also be
as .i d( stroyer of torpedo-boal de
stroyers. Not only this, but it can
move fi ::.-'. Bsly right up within
torpedo range of ■■ line of batt le-shipj,
which can only train their rapid-fire
guns upon the Little craft, and the pro
jectiles from such guns will strikeharm
lessly upon the heavily armored super
structure, if they could hit so small
a target as the vessel exposes when in
action.
THE news which come? from New
York of the successful trials
made by the Holland submarine
boat has set men considering
Beriously the possibility of u;-inp
this terrible weapon of offense in the
war which now seems inevitable.
. Naval experts of course are divided
on the question, they always are when
ever any new instrument of destruc
tion is introduced. The more conserva
tive shake their heads gravely and
dwell on. the many limitations which
natural law imposes on submarine nav
igation; the younger and more enthu- I
siastic members of the profession make !
light of these difficulties and claim that
we have here a weapon which, in dead
ly effect, will outrival even the torpedo.
And we know from sad experience what
terrible destruction can be wrought by
even one torpedo or submarine mine.
As a matter of fact, we are all in the
dark as yet as to what may or may not
be accomplished by a submarine tor
pedo boat. We know little enough about
the behavior in real warfare of vessels
which maneuver on the surface, and it I
remains to be seen what those moving I
in the depths will achieve. All we know,
so far, is that the Holland boat has
proved herseif able to travel for several |
A LITTLE DEEPER.
miles under the water, to riso and sink
at the will of her operators, and to dis
charge a torpedo at a target. She pre
sents no target at which an e»emys
quick-firing puns can aim: sho is prac
tically Invulnerable, and naval science
has not yet devised a means of defense
against her attacks. So that if any
Spanish vessels come within her range
She may, under favorable circum
stances, revenge the loss of the Maine.
The Holland boat was tried at Perth
Amboy, N. J., last month, and sub
jected to four severe tests. While run
ning full speed she was submerged by
simply filling her tanks, reappearing
' gradually after traveling some distance
under water. In addition to her capa
city for submarine work, the Holland
can make a good tight on the surfajc .
! She can lire an aerial torpedo contain
ing 100 pounds of guivotton for a dis
tance of a mile. Also she is supplied
with three 18-inch Whitehead torpe
does, fired from a tube under water.
Further, there is a submarine gun at
the stern, designed to fire a projectile
five hundred yards through the water.
When on the surface she is propelled
by gasoline engines, when below elec
tric storage batteries do the work. Hor
izontal rudders regulate the depth to
which the boat is sunk, but to be kept
under water she must be constantly
moving. The boat is 55 feet long by 11
feet in diameter, and it is claimed that
she can run for fifty miles without
coming to the surface for breath.
So far, the Holland boat promises
well; but the main question is. Will the
conditions favorable for the use of a
submarine vessel ever occur in real
action?
That is the whole point. The world,
or at least that portion of it which is
looking anxiously forward to the
I Amerieo-Spanish conflict as^a means of
solving many unsolved problems in
naval construction, watches with in
terest for the first real trial of the boat.
A trial under merely peace conditions
does not count. The enemy must be at
anchor and at not too great a distance
ALL UNDER WATER; ONLY THE TIPS OP THE FUGS SHOWING.
SAN FRANCISCO, SUNDAY, APRIL 24, 1898.
from the coast, the water must be com
paratively smooth and clear, the tor
pedo must be discharged with absolute
accuracy. The slightest breakdown in
the delicate machinery, the slightest
NEW SUBMARINE BOAT HOLLAND AS SHE APPEARS ON THE SURFACE OF THE WATER.
Sketched from a Photograph.
COMING UP AFTER THE DIVE.
mistake on the part of the officer In
command may spoil everything and
doom all on board to a terrible death.
i Continued on Page Twor.ty-alx: