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A spar torpedo is a
weapon A weapon, arm or armament is any implement or device that can be used to deter, threaten, inflict physical damage, harm, or kill. Weapons are used to increase the efficacy and efficiency of activities such as hunting, crime, law enforcement, s ...
consisting of a
bomb A bomb is an explosive weapon that uses the Exothermic process, exothermic reaction of an explosive material to provide an extremely sudden and violent release of energy. Detonations inflict damage principally through ground- and atmosphere-t ...
placed at the end of a long pole, or spar, and attached to a
boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size, shape, cargo or passenger capacity, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically found on inl ...
. The weapon is used by running the end of the spar into the enemy ship. Spar torpedoes were often equipped with a barbed spear at the end, so it would stick to
wood Wood is a porous and fibrous structural tissue found in the stems and roots of trees and other woody plants. It is an organic materiala natural composite of cellulose fibers that are strong in tension and embedded in a matrix of lignin ...
en hulls. A
fuse Fuse or FUSE may refer to: Devices * Fuse (electrical), a device used in electrical systems to protect against excessive current ** Fuse (automotive), a class of fuses for vehicles * Fuse (hydraulic), a device used in hydraulic systems to protect ...
could then be used to detonate it.


Invention

Robert Fulton Robert Fulton (November 14, 1765 – February 24, 1815) was an American engineer and inventor who is widely credited with developing the world's first commercially successful steamboat, the (also known as ''Clermont''). In 1807, that steamboa ...
had written about submarine (i.e., subsurface) marine torpedoes in 1810, and experiments were conducted using spar torpedoes that year. Boats carrying spar torpedoes were used during the
War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...
.
E. C. Singer E. C. Singer was an American engineer (and the nephew of Isaac Singer, inventor of the sewing machine) who worked on secret projects for the benefit of the Confederate States of America and invented a spar torpedo used during the U.S. Civil War.
, a private engineer who worked on secret projects for the benefit of the
Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), commonly referred to as the Confederate States or the Confederacy was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States that existed from February 8, 1861, to May 9, 1865. The Confeder ...
, constructed a spar torpedo during the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
. His torpedo was detonated by means of a trigger mechanism adapted from a rifle lock (see
flintlock mechanism The flintlock mechanism is a type of lock used on muskets, rifles, and pistols from the early 17th to the mid-19th century. It is commonly referred to as a " flintlock" (without the word ''mechanism''), though that term is also commonly used f ...
for a similar device). The spring-loaded trigger was detonated by means of a long cord attached to the attacking vessel. The attacking vessel rammed its target, embedding the barbed torpedo in its hull, then backed off. When the attacker reached the limit of the trigger cord, the torpedo was detonated.


Use

Perhaps the most famous use of spar torpedoes during the U.S. Civil War was by the
Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
submarine ''
H. L. Hunley ''H. L. Hunley'', often referred to as ''Hunley'', '' CSS H. L. Hunley'', or as ''CSS Hunley'', was a submarine of the Confederate States of America that played a small part in the American Civil War. ''Hunley'' demonstrated the advantages and ...
'', which managed to sink the Union screw sloop USS ''Housatonic'' on February 17, 1864, although the ''Hunley'' was lost. Spar torpedoes were also used by the ''David''-class of semi-submersible attack boats. In April 1864, Confederate torpedo boat CSS ''Squib'' employed a spar torpedo against USS ''Minnesota''. At night on October 27–28, 1864, Lieutenant Cushing employed a spar torpedo to sink the Confederate ironclad ram CSS ''Albemarle''. The sinking of the ''Albemarle'' was the Union navy's only successful sinking of a Confederate vessel by torpedo. Lieutenant Cushing employed a spar torpedo designed by John Lay. The semi-submersible 1864 Union craft USS ''Spuyten Duyvil'' employed a spar torpedo, but not with a barbed attachment to the target. Owing to an innovative directable and extensible spar, this craft could release a slightly buoyant mine underneath the target, which would be exploded by the means described above. (This craft was not employed against Confederate targets, but was used to clear wreckage from rivers.) Spar torpedoes were also used on small wooden launches in the late 19th century, although they were not very useful weapons. The locomotive torpedo (the contemporary term for the modern self-propelled
torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, and with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, s ...
) replaced the spar torpedo as a weapon for submarines and small boats in the 1870s. Spar torpedoes were also used by Romanian forces during the country's war of independence. On May 26, 1877, the craft '' Rândunica'' sank the Ottoman
river monitor River monitors are military craft designed to patrol rivers. They are normally the largest of all riverine warships in river flotillas, and mount the heaviest weapons. The name originated from the US Navy's , which made her first appearance in ...
''Seyfi'' on the
Danube The Danube ( ; ) is a river that was once a long-standing frontier of the Roman Empire and today connects 10 European countries, running through their territories or being a border. Originating in Germany, the Danube flows southeast for , p ...
. French admiral Courbet made good use of two spar torpedo boats at the
Battle of Foochow The Battle of Fuzhou, or Battle of Foochow, also known as the Battle of the Pagoda Anchorage (French: Combat naval de Fou-Tchéou, Chinese: , 馬江之役 or 馬尾海戰, literally Battle of Mawei), was the opening engagement of the 16-month ...
on August 23, 1884, which sank the flagship of the Chinese
Fujian Fleet The Fujian Fleet ( or ) founded in 1678 as the Fujian Marine Fleet was one of China's four regional fleets during the closing decades of the nineteenth century. The fleet was almost annihilated on 23 August 1884 by Admiral Amédée Courbet's ...
- corvette ''Yangwu'' and a gunboat ''Fuxing''. It showed that spar torpedoes can be effective against ships at anchor, not protected by torpedo nets and without a proper look-out. On February 14, 1885, Courbet also sank Chinese frigate ''Yuyuan'' in Battle of Shipu with two spar torpedo boats. Spar torpedoes were superseded by the automotive torpedo.


Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spar Torpedo American Civil War weapons Naval weapons of the United States