140 years since the first successful torpedo attack today.

140 years ago, Imperial Navy was the first in the world to use torpedoes in combat. The attack was carried out within the framework of the Russo-Turkish War and proved the effectiveness of torpedoes for conducting combat operations.

More details about the development of torpedoes and their first application are told by Gazeta.ru.

In 1877 another Russian-Turkish war began. It was ignited, in particular, by the rise of the national liberation movement in the Balkans and the aggravation of international contradictions in this connection. Russia supported the fraternal Slavic peoples in the Balkans. Attempts to resolve the conflict diplomatically did not succeed. The first military action against Turkey began by Serbia, but it failed - the Turkish army was much stronger. Although after that, Russia once again tried to solve the issue peacefully, and Turkey even agreed to sign an agreement on a series of reforms regarding Christian rights but later did not fulfill the terms of the treaty.

There was only one option left. In April 24, 1877, Russia declared war on Turkey. The strength of the army of Russia and the Allied countries greatly exceeded the size of the Turkish army. However, the Black Sea was completely dominated by the Turkish Navy.

In the Russian-Turkish war, Russia was the first in the world to use torpedoes for combat operations.

The idea of a self-propelled naval shell first visited the Italian engineer Giovanni da Fontana in the XV century. However, this idea was developed only in the XIXth, when engineers began to develop projects of torpedoes.

The Whitehead torpedo, used in the Russo-Turkish War, was developed in the 1860s. Austrian engineer Robert Whitehead in 1864 began to improve the apparatus for coastal defense, developed by retired Austrian captain Giovanni Lapis. The device had a cigar-like shape and was filled with explosives. It was descended into the water, and for its movement the clockwork was used.

The work took two years. During this time, the Russian engineer-inventor Ivan Alexandrovsky created his torpedo pattern, where he used a pneumatic engine and hydrostat.

In 1866, Whitehead tested his invention, but they failed because of the torpedo's instability in course and depth.

Two years later, Whitehead presented a new torpedo pattern, equipping it with coaxial propellers. From the jumps of the torpedo, Whitehead got rid of by means of a special pendulum, which helped to straighten the course.

The new model was adopted by the Austro-Hungarian fleet. A few years later, information about the success of Whitehead went around the world. Orders for the manufacture of torpedoes came from Britain, France, Italy, Russia, Germany, Belgium, Greece and many other countries. Russia adopted torpedoes for the armament of its navy in 1874.

Captain Stepan Makarov has managed to put hands on four torpedoes, although the leadership of the Black Sea Fleet at first refused him because of their high cost. Later they were installed on the best cutters - "Chesme" and "Sinope". Aiming was carried out by turning the hull of the cutter. The passenger steamer "Grand Duke Constantine" was converted into a carrier of cutter launches.

The first torpedo attack of Russia on Turkish ships took place at the end of December 1877 near Batumi (now Batumi), but was unsuccessful.

In the night the team took the masts of three battleships for a three-masted vessel and released two torpedoes. They passed between two ships, one jumped ashore, the second hit the anchor chain, its charging compartment broke off and exploded from impact to the ground, without causing Turkish ships any harm. Deprived of the warhead, another torpedo also jumped ashore.

Repeated attack, this time successful, took place on the night of January 26, 1878.

"Captain 2nd rank Makarov, having learned that there is a Turkish squadron in Batum, decided that the night attack would be very useful for the common cause ..." Admiral Nikolai Arkas wrote in the report. - Makarov lowered cutters: "Chesma", under the command of Lieutenant Ismail Zatsarenny and "Sinop", under the command of Lieutenant Shcheshinsky ... The boats were released from the side at 11.20 am and, despite the strong fog, extreme difficulty to find the bay, in half of the second hour, when the moon rose, they approached the Batumi raid, where, having looked around, they saw seven warships parked to the shore ... "

To attack, it was decided to guard the two-masted steamer Intibah, which was closest to the boats. Two torpedoes were fired by the cutter, each carrying 27 kg of explosives.

"The boats approached, not being noticed, thirty or forty sazhens, simultaneously launched their self-propelled mines. Zazarenny's torpedo struck at the mainmast, and Shishinsky's mine - slightly to the right. Both exploded simultaneously. A strong explosion was heard ... The steamer lay down on the right side and quickly went to the bottom with most of its crew ... "- described in the report the incident Makarov.

"From the explosion of mines to the moment when the masts of the deceased ship disappeared, no more than two minutes passed," Arkas noted in the report.

Of the 35 sailors on board, the explosion killed 23. Zazarenny wanted to save the surviving crew members, but because of the wreckage floating around he did not dare to approach. At 3:15 am the boats returned to the ship "Grand Duke Constantine". The steamer went to Sevastopol.

This was the first successful use of torpedoes in a combat situation.

The Russian-Turkish war ended in 1878 with the victory of the Russian Empire. In 1879, the further improvement of the Aleksandrovsky torpedo was discontinued - it was decided to abandon them in favor of purchases, and then licensed production, that proved to be effective in the Whitehead mine.

That was a spar torpedo - basically a long wood pole with an explosive charge on the tip. A lanyard was attached to the explosive which allowed attacking boat to get free before charge was detonated.

That is what has been repeated and that is what we have been led to believe, but in actual fact this is not true.

Sometime Last year we were discussing the Hunley, and a man who had taken part in the actual research on the vessel posted pictures that show the spar torpedo was bolted firmly to both the Hunley and to the Copper clad explosive charge. They were relying on the 20' of spar (which I believe was made of iron) to protect themselves from the explosive, but they didn't realize that the force transfer would be greatly amplified by the water and the iron spar.

The man posted actual images of the relevant parts recovered form the Hunley, and it appears he is absolutely correct. There was no lanyard. They rammed the ship with an explosive on a 20' long iron spar and the charge was rigged to blow on contact.

That's why the Hunley sunk. All the men on board were killed instantly. Their brains were jellied by the concussive blast.

This information is still somewhere here on Free Republic, but I have forgotten the name of Freeper who posted it. I could dig back through my own messages, but it would take me a very long time and I would rather not do it.

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