The Forward Torpedo Room on the
Cruiser OLYMPIA
By Patrick McSherry
OLYMPIA's crewmen work on a torpedo
Please Visit our Home
Page to learn more about the Spanish American War
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
To visit the website
bibliography, click here. To visit the
website video bibliography, click here
Support
this
Site by Visiting the Website Store! (help
us defray costs!)
We are providing
the following service for our readers. If you are interested in
books, videos, CD's etc. related to the Spanish American War, simply
type in "Spanish American War" (or whatever you are interested in)
as the keyword and click on "go" to get a list of titles available
through Amazon.com.
Visit Main Page
for copyright data