1941-09-26 — Page 24

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THE CHINA MAIL, SEPTEMBER 26, 1941

TORPEDOING SHIPS FROM THE AIR

WE ARE ALL OF US getting accustomed now to reading about ships, both merchant ships and warships, being torpedoed by aircraft. Now let us be quite clear about one fact. The torpedo which is used in these attacks is an ordinary naval torpedo, and is not any fearsome contrivance such as most. people imagine when they hear mention of: ‘aerial torpedoes..

of the airborne

was the hitting

FRENCH TO FIGHT US IN LIBYA, REPORT

SAYS

unconfirmed report says that at least two divi- sions of French colonial troops, are on their way to Libya to reinforce the Germans, who are said to be suffering from the effects of desert war- fare Associated Press.

to dive to get into position. The menace to the big ship, but so is airborne torpedo is certainly a every other offensive weapon."

Д

which annihilated the Hood. It Remember it was the gun

was the gun that crippled-the- Graf Spee. We must keep sense of proportion in estimat. ing the effect of any form of offensive power

We Destroy One Axis

Frankly, there is no such thing as an aerial torpedo. This is just à fancy term invented by an imaginative person as long ago as the last war when Zeppelins were dropping heavy bombs, both so much bigger and more destructive than the things we were then accustomed to call bombs that it seemed necessary to give them a special description. The torpedo has to travel through the water to reach its target. It is not dropped from the air direct on to a ship, writes H. C. Ferraby in "London Calling"

This marks the big difference in There was a delightful phrase technique between the airman who used by one of our Admirals is boniting a ship even in a describing a bomb: hit on the lowdive attack and the torpedo- battleship Rodney. He said quite. dropper. The bomber has come casually: "It just bounced of." down very low imteed if he is Where the Air Arm has done 150 ft. above the ship. But, that damage to big ships-at-sea, it has is much too high for the torpedo- beer by means dropper: he must come down to torpedo. The first notable success something less than 50 ft. above of this method the water before he releases the of the French battle-cruiser torpedo. Why is this? Because "the Strasbourg by a Fleet Air Arm torpedo when It hits the water machine as she was escaping from

Ship A Day naturally gets a nasty shaking. Oran to Toulon, Then followed

Remember what happens to a the dramatic night attack on the Torpedoes and bombs alike have clumsy human diver who goes into Italian Fleet in Taranto harbour, been used by us frequently in the sea

or the swimming bath though it was recognised at the the last few months in the course from even ten or fifteen feet. He time that in that case the airmen of our attacks on the German- Isn't fit for much swimming and had stationary targets. Since then controlled shipping that is ch- may even be put out of action we have had the Battle of Cape deavouring" to keep the more dis- altogether. Inside the torpedo Matapan in which the Italian tant sections of the German forces › there is a lot of very delicate battleship Vittorio Veneto was supplied with fuel, ammunition, machinery a gyrocompass to torpedoed from the air in the and stores. This German attempt steer it, fast-running engines to course of three attacks, was hit at blockade rumming is on a vastly drive the propellers, and quite a more than once, “ and was greater scale than anything that lot of other rather secret gadgets.compelled to slow up. More occurred in the last war, and the A severe shock will throw them recently we have had the similar consequence is that the amount of out of gear just as the human case of the German battleship tonnage workling for the enemy clumsy diver are Bismarck whose fate might have which we have sunk is far greater thrown out of gear, but in the been very different had the than was the case between 1014 case of the torpedo there is no aircraft from the Victorious not and 1918. natural power, no life as it were, succeeded in getting in a torpedo. You may have noticed a state- which can' gradually adjust the hit on the evening of May 24; and ment récently that in the course damage and start the mechanism so reducing her speed.

of three months air attack alone working again:

This seems to be the great-tac-ngainst this shipping had destroyed- tical value of the airborné torpedo an average of one ship-à đấy." this capacity for slowing up an The Germans are certainly not chemy ship which is endeavour running large convoys. We often ing to avold action. It is not ex-read of an attacks on one merchant pected by any naval man that one ship protected by two or even So the torpedo-dropper has to torpedo will annihilate a big three escorts, so that the destruc- come down as low as he possibly modern capital ship but a hole intion of one-a-day must represent can to lessen the shock. I have the hull, the flooding of two or a fairly high proportion of the been present at a good many tor-three compartments with anything shipping actually at sea. We on pedo-dropping exercises in the up to 600 tons of water, must the other hand have a daily course of the past twenty years. affect her speed and thus give the movement in all the oceans of I have seen a line of battleships pursuers the advantage of the something like 2.000 ships, and the attacked by eight machines. The extra knots necessary to overhaul Prime Minister indicated not long pilots of six of them misjudged her and bring her to action.

ago that between three and four their height. Their torpedoes hit Torpedo-dropping against mer-hundred of them are within the the water with a terrific thud and chant ships is in quite a different danger zone every day. when the splash had subsided category. Here one succe 1 hit there were the tornedoes up-ended may be sufficient to upset the

Important Aspect In- bobbing about helplessly like so stability of the ship to many dead dolphins, The other extent that she capsizes or

The Struggle two torpedoes which had gone founders into the water more gently ran towards the line of battleships and t

works of а

Six Misjudged Their Height

all

The reason is that the mar chant ship cannot,

one hit the after-end of the ship.pletely subdivided

It was in a very vulnerable spot. I need hardly add that the tor- pedo was fitted with a dummy head in which there was no ex- plosive, otherwise I doubt if -I should be here to-day.

tight fighting ship

£5,000 A Time

esting from

Now here is a rath figure which I have comp the various official reports chunt Ship losses by both sid In the past three months tonnage lost by the Axis Powers is very nearly 1,000,000 tons. The ton- nagelost by the Allied Powers On the other hand the merchant in the same period is about ship is by no means so resistant 1,350,000 tons; Since, the Axis The Navy became at one time to Bombs as the battleship, and Powers: had at their disposal when very doubtful about the value of since a torpedo costs-well, let us the war began only about a quare torpedo-dropping. There were so use the pre-war figure and say ter of the mercantile tonnage many failures of the kind I have £5,000 torpedo-dropping against owned by the Allies the relative mentioned that a number of anything but the most valuable loss of carrying power for Ger senior and influential officers merchant ships such as tankers is many and Italy is much heavier would have been glad to see the not encouraged. Bombs will pro- than is urs. That is, din aspect whole idea abandoned. But a bably do the work quite as offer of the struggle. for sea power that small school of enthusiasts plugged tivelyRAN

is quite

away at the problems. (and there We must, however, keep a sense may not ap were a good many other things of proportion in discussing air as the desti besides the actual dropping which attack against ships, There are or the annih had to be re-solved) and in this many attacks which fall, Your squadron.". war torpedo dropping aircraft both may recall that during the hunt of the Fleet Air Arm and of the for the Bismarck one wave of tor Coastal Command have had some pedo planes daunched from the: startling auccessés, relig

find the et owing to low visibility: And

not be

ed for that a

at sea is 'n NEAR itting target volding-action

The Bomb That Bounced Off

There Is an important differenc

Wa

ortant though it to be so dramatic, a battleship tion of a cruiser

50-YEARS TIFF LOVE AGAIN

ROMANCE STARTED FIFTY hd we have come to call it, can:PARS AGO AND WRECKED BY always be taken and“. tactically between the bomb and taken as soon as the direction ENDED IN THE MARRIAGE OF

alwaysƑA-LOVERS-TIFE HAS JUST" the airborne torpedo. You will from which the attack will de- EDWARD SMITHSON, 70, notice in studying any accounts velop can be foreseen WIDOWER. AND MISS MARION of the war at sea that horoas And there is always bombs have been able to

the smaller ships such as

era and light truisers, and even

Hanage them sa sover

cannot get bacleto

bigger ships (the)

battle cruisers) more or less unhar

that the rbour, the

ship's anti-aircraft bear in mind:ES

plane must almost to: water le half a mile of the t

an attacle.

the war HOLMES armament to T torpedo-drop-up

comedown: birth within End!! got in carry-E It doesn't resn Imagination to

which the pilot