Note 171 — Chapter X · THE IRONCLAD (continued 2)

Hitherto the torpedo had been used in warfare only in the form of a stationary mine, or motion had been given to it either by letting it drift on a tide or by attaching it rigidly to the bow of a vessel. After the American Civil War, in which conflict three-fourths of the ships disabled or destroyed were so disposed of by torpedoes, efforts were made to give motion to it, either by towing or by self-propulsion. In ’69 Commander Harvey, R.N., brought to the notice of the Admiralty his invention of a torpedo or sea kite which was so shaped that, when launched from the deck of a steamer and towed by a wire, it diverged from the steamer’s track and stood away at an angle of 45°. It could be exploded either electrically or by contact. The possibilities of this weapon were illustrated in a volume published in ’71, one picture of which showed luridly “an ironclad fleet surprised at sea by a squadron of torpedo craft armed with Harvey’s sea torpedoes.”

The towed torpedo was overshadowed by the fish or self-propelled torpedo. In ’70 Mr. Whitehead came to England and, prosecuting experiments under the eyes of naval officers, with a 16-inch torpedo successfully sank an old corvette anchored in the Medway at 136 yards’ range. The result was the purchase by the Admiralty of his secret and sole rights. In ’77 the first torpedo-boat was ordered.