Invention The Barber Torpedo
Summary
The Barber torpedo can best be described as an improved version of the Harvey towed torpedo in which the long lever-arms used to fire the explosive charge in the body of the torpedo were replaced by six impact fuses projecting at various angles from the surface of the powder chamber. The gunpowder charge could also be ignited electrically via wires that formed the core of the towrope. Adjustable fins kept the Barber torpedo at the required depth dispensing with the need to use the cork floats used in the Harvey torpedo.
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Published resources
Books
- Gray, Edwyn, Nineteenth Century Torpedoes and Their Inventors, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 2004. Details
Journal Articles
- 'Torpedoes and the Centennial', Engineering, vol. 23, 19 January 1877, pp. 54-55. Details
Reports
- Barber, F. M., Lecture on the Whitehead torpedo, U. S. Torpedo Station, Newport, Rhode Island, November 20, 1874, 1874. Details
Sources used to compile this entry: Barber, F. M., Lecture on the Whitehead torpedo, U. S. Torpedo Station, Newport, Rhode Island, November 20, 1874, 1874; Gray, Edwyn, Nineteenth Century Torpedoes and Their Inventors, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 2004.
Prepared by: Rebecca Rigby