Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 92.djvu/887

 Wouldn't This Puzzle the Enemy?

��A mine or torpedo that zig-zags under water to find its prey

��AMINE which travels under water in a zig-zag fashion, somewhat Hke a drunken man on the sidewalk, and which therefore makes a terrible nuisance of itself, has been invented by a foreign

officer, a noted

authority on mines and ex- plosives who is co-oper at i ng with the U. S. Government. The mine con- sists of two parts fastened together, but separated by a wall. One of the chambers, that in front, contains the explosive charge and has at its forward

end the contact trigger which explodes the charge when it hits the object for which it is intended. The other compartment contains the motor and a mechanism which alternately drives first one then the other of the two propellers, thereby giving to the mine a zig-zag course, but tending in the general direction of the objective point, while crossing and recrossing the medial line at oblique angles. It is the theory of the inventor that by this zig-zag

5e&cocK / L&vir\chir\q tackle

— -^=-^.=.^.=^ ^'"^^ mecharvism

���This piciai\, :3uovvs the zig-zag path which the new submarine mine follows in its under-water course

��motion the chances of the mine's hitting the objective are greatly increased. A weighted keel maintains the mine in the desired depth under the surface and also prevents its rolling. As it may sometimes

be desirable to

drive the mine at a differ- ent depth, the keel is remov- able and may be supplanted by a heavier or lighter keel or fin, as the case may require.

Any kind of explosive may be used in this mine, but the inventor fa- vors T. N. T., wet gun-cotton or dynamite, additional use which, when

���Contact firit\gfir\

��Weighted heel

The front part of. the mine contains the explosive; the rear part the propelling mechanism and control

��and also advocates the

of mono-nitro-naphthalene

the mine is exploded, gives off a dense

black smoke, which will envelop the vessel

struck and prevent signaling, repairs or

rescue.

As the presence of such a mine in the water constitutes a constant danger to shipping, provision is made to cause it to sink after a predetermined period. A timing mechanism opens a valve in the rear end of the mine, allowing the water to enter. The weight of the water causes the unexploded mine to sink to the bottom, preventing accidental discharge.

To propel the mine, each propeller may have its own motor, and the motors work alternately, or there may be but a single motor, the power of which is applied alternately to the propellers by an oscillat- ing gear or otherwise. The invention permits of many non-essential variations.

��5witcKfor operating motor alterr\ateli^

��871

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