Book Description

Excerpt from Notes on Torpedoes, Offensive and Defensive The following pages on the subject of submarine mines have been compiled from the various papers which have been drawn up, and experiments which have been made during the last three or four years in the course of instruction carried on at the School of Military Engineering, Chatham. The object in view has been to put the officers and men instructed in possession of a hand-book, to which they may refer should they, at any future time, be called upon to put in practice what they have learned. The course of instruction has now been so far perfected, in conformity with certain principles deduced from practical trial, that the system taught might at any time be adopted for actual service, and as improvements are made, they may, from time to time, be introduced. A great deal of valuable information has been derived from Captain Harding Stewards very interesting "Notes on Submarine Mines," which was perhaps the first practical work ever published on this subject. Lieutenant S. Anderson, R. E., assistant instructor in telegraphy and submarine mining, at Chatham, and Lieutenants O. Chadwick, H. Jekyll, J. T. Bucknill, R. F. Moore, and R. Y. Armstrong, R. E., who have been temporarily attached at various periods to the School of Submarine Mining, have been indefatigable in carrying on numerous experiments, with a view to perfecting our system, and to them a great deal of credit is due. Finally, we have had the benefit of the valuable series of experiments carried on, and of the information collected, by the floating obstruction committee, of which Lieutenant-Colonel Fisher, C. B., R. E., and F. Abel, esq., F. E. S., chemist to the war department, were members. These officers have, moreover, contributed personally much valuable information, of which, in carrying on the experiments of the above-mentioned committee, they had become possessed. Captain W.Dawson, R. N., late secretary to the floating obstruction committee, has very kindly looked over Chapters XIV and XV, on "Clearing Channels of Submarine Mines" and "Locomotive Torpedoes," and Commander F. Harvey, R. N., has been good enough to furnish information for the description of his sea torpedo. Commander Harvey is about to publish a book giving a description of his torpedo, in which any further details concerning it will be found. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.