feet above the water. In fact it has been proved that to obtain the so-called accuracy at which they profess to have arrived, the torpedo must be fixed as close as possible to the water's edge, and in the boats now in construction the most important element is the close proximity to the water in which the tubes are placed. I myself have seen torpedoes fired from a ship's broadside, and although on one or two occasions they have been launched with considerable accuracy, I have seen one of them immediately after its submersion fly straight up in the air and endanger the safety of the ship from which it had been fired; so I think that little confidence can be placed, at present, in the efficacy of torpedoes fired from ships' batteries.
There is another essential point as regards the efficacy of sea-going torpedoes during a naval engagement. A torpedo-boat might in the mêlée mistake a friend for an enemy. Again, let us suppose that two ships are hotly engaged, and that one of them succeeds in capturing the other. If the conquering ship neglects to hoist on her prize the flag of her nation, a torpedo-boat coming from a distance, and belonging to the captor's nationality, is as likely as not, to blow the prize up. This may be rather far-fetched, but more unlikely things have really happened in naval warfare. Coming naval engagements will be soon decided, – the time would be too short and the confusion too great to allow of any accurate action on the part of torpedo-boats. Independent action would be dangerous. I should suggest that torpedo-boats of a smaller class that can be hoisted up should be carried on board men-of-war. These could be used or not as required, by responsible captains, who would be capable of forming an opinion as to the time when they should be utilised.
Now one word about offensive torpedo warfare. Torpedo-boats could be sent from blockading squadrons into an enemy's port, and if the enemy's ships were unprepared, could do, no doubt, a vast amount of injury. Further than this, I am at a loss to perceive how they can be utilised.
I have ventured in this paper to throw some doubt upon the great efficacy of the so-called fish-torpedo, inasmuch as I think its danger can be averted. I will now turn to other torpedo inventions, which I think, when perfected, will prove better adapted to naval warfare. It must be remembered that the origin of the torpedo was in America during the great war between the North and South. The torpedo used, although at that time in its infancy, proved itself to be a most deadly weapon of defence. Placed at the mouths of great rivers, in the rivers themselves, and in shoal-water, wherever an enemy was likely to be cruising, it did good service on many occasions. I think I am right when I say that more than fifteen vessels were destroyed by torpedoes during the time that the war lasted. This torpedo was, with some very rare exceptions, used as a mine placed either floating, or at the bottom of the sea or river, and several vessels were thus destroyed while passing over these snares. More than one case of conspicuous daring on the part of the Southern naval officers occurred during the war, while using most effectively what is called the cigar torpedo-boat. This was a craft which, when in motion, was entirely immersed, except the top of the funnel, and might almost be called
