Harvey torpedo

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The Harvey torpedo (English: Harvey torpedo , also Harvey's torpedo ) was a simply constructed towed sea ​​mine introduced into the Royal Navy in 1871 .

details

The sea weapon was developed jointly by Captain John Harvey and Commander Frederick Harvey . It consisted of a box-shaped copper canister that held either 27 or 76 pounds of black powder or gun cotton, depending on its size . The Harvey torpedo was towed behind the ship on an approximately 140-meter-long line , using the otter board principle to veer 45 degrees to each side of the course of the towing ship. The mine should be used by crossing the course in front of the stem of an opposing ship. When it hit the enemy ship, the mine was detonated by an impact fuse filled with sulfuric acid .

The Harvey torpedo was never used in a real battle, as it was soon considered obsolete due to the rapid development of "real" torpedoes . The name torpedo for a weapon that is actually to be regarded as a mine can be traced back to the rapidly advancing development of naval warfare technology at that time, in which the naming of the new weapon system had not yet become generally accepted.

literature

  • Kemp, Peter (Ed.): The Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea . 1st edition. Oxford University Press, Oxford 1976, ISBN 0-19-211553-7 , pp. 359 .

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