ABSTRACT
The notion of destroying ships or other structures by explosions of gunpowder, contained in vessels made to float on the surface of the water, or submerged beneath it, is not of very modern origin. It is said that thirty-nine Federal ships were blown up by Confederate torpedoes, and the official reports own to twenty-five having been so destroyed. Electric wires connect the stations and the torpedoes in the same manner as people have before described. In former pages of this article on torpedoes will be found representations of the effects produced by Whitehead's torpedo, which, being automobile and travelling altogether under the surface of the water, was capable of being made a very formidable weapon. Although it is only about few inches long, its power and delicacy are such that pressure of half an ounce on its slide admits to its piston a force equal to 160 lbs., and its introduction has given torpedo the power of steadily steering itself.
