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[joppyuk1]

Can anyone point me towards a place to find details of the bow-fitted torpedo tube fitting and mechanism please ? The photos I have seen are not very clear and the drawing I have doesn't show it.
Thank you

[colin-d]

would it be this Version of HMS Lightning..??

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:HMS_Lightning_1876_model.jpg

[joppyuk1]

That's the one. My problem is that the mount looks far too simple as it stands. Surely it must be more than a couple of triangular supports on a turntable, and firing must be more than just pushing the pole sticking out the back? Perhaps I'm overcomplicating something that was fairly new technology at the time.

[tghsmith]

http://books.google.com/books?id=YDzWQbUP3sUC&pg=PA165&dq=whitehead+torpedo&hl=en&sa=X&ei=d5QdVNfuMMeRyATuq4HYCw&ved=0CD0Q6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=whitehead%20torpedo&f=false     as in early one offs, good documents are hard to find, I suspect that the twin mount was derived from the early mount you need, the long tail on the tube shows up in "brotherhood" designs on some later tubes. have seen an early french book on torpedos that also contained some good drawings..

[Neil]

That's the one. My problem is that the mount looks far too simple as it stands. Surely it must be more than a couple of triangular supports on a turntable, and firing must be more than just pushing the pole sticking out the back? Perhaps I'm overcomplicating something that was fairly new technology at the time.

I don't think the "pole" sticking out the back end was for firing the torpedo, rather for actually directing the track of the torpedo, as the whole tube was able to move around on the carriage below the supportive brackets.

[TailUK]

Any one modelling Torpedo boat of this era should check out Chylde's Hall Model Shipyard,  http://www.chyldshallmodelshipyard.com/
They have a deck mounted torpedo tube in their catalogue which looks a lot like to one on this model.
The pole shown on that tube is probably a black powder "impulse" tube.  This was basically a cannon fixed to the end of the tube which was loaded with black powder and "fired" the torpedo out of the tube. 

[Neil]

if you enlarge the photo you will read that the torpedo was fired via 180 psi of compressed air, not black powder nor just pushing the pole???..


always pays to read the info.

[TailUK]

If you read up on Whitehead torpedos it say "either compressed air or black powder" so it was a even chance and powder or air the principle is the same.   

[Neil]

If you read up on Whitehead torpedos it say "either compressed air or black powder" so it was a even chance and powder or air the principle is the same.

yes, might be so, Tailuk, but on this particular model  which joppyuk wishes to make.......it was compressed air???.........so the info may as well be right, and as such there would probably be pipe work and levers to fire the torp showing on deck, and I think it is this info that he requires.

[TailUK]

The piping would come up through the pivot point of the tube so as to allow the tube to rotate for reloading. 

[Netleyned]

If you read a bit more Neil, it states the firing gear was located in the conning tower.

Ned

[Neil]

 .....never got that far, Ned,

[joppyuk1]

I'll be chasing up the book through the library, thank you. Already have a tentative enquiry to the NMM. Such a simple query and already there's a lively discussion. If I can get the information I need, then there will be a model, but don't hold your breath. I find the research takes as long as the build, and I've only just started.

[tghsmith]

building without the proper research most often results in rebuilding..

[tobyker]

reloading the tube must have been fun anywhere but up the Beaulieu river!

[joppyuk1]

For a number of reasons this project will not be going ahead. Therefore I have a couple of NMM drawings for sale (see relevant section of forum).