The Forward Torpedo Room
By Patrick McSherry
OLYMPIA's crewmen work on a torpedo
We are now taking the visitor to areas of the OLYMPIA
that
are off limits, pending repairs and restoration. The first place we shall
visit is one level below the berth deck, on what was called the "torpedo
deck." This is the forward torpedo room. It is located all of the way forward,
past the chain lockers, the bread room and the brig.
All that remains of the OLYMPIA's six original
torpedo tubes can seen in the forward torpedo room. Originally she had
a torpedo tube forward, one aft, and two to port and two to starboard.
However, the torpedo system used during the Spanish
American War was highly ineffective, with a range of less than 1000 yards,
and limited aiming ability. As a result, the torpedo tubes and their mechanisms
were removed in the refit of the vessel completed in 1902.
The forward torpedo room, with the hatch that
connected to the torpedo launching apparatus directly ahead. Another hatch
exists directly forward of the hatch in the photo, in the ship's outer
hull at the bow.
In the forward torpedo room, the remains of the forward tube can
be seen. This tube can also be seen from the exterior, as a round protrusion
on OLYMPIA's bow.
It was in one of these torpedo rooms where the OLYMPIA's
ship newspaper, the Bounding Billow,
was produced for the reading pleasure of the ship's crew. The image below
is a drawing of the printer's case laid out over the torpedo apparatus.
Proceed to the Protective
Deck Page
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