Torpedo ram facts for kids
A torpedo ram was a special kind of warship. It combined two main weapons: a strong ram at the front and tubes that could fire torpedoes. These ships were designed to be small and not too expensive. Their main job was to protect coasts and fight in shallow waters near land.
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What Was a Torpedo Ram?
Like another type of ship called a monitor, torpedo rams sat very low in the water. Sometimes, only a few inches of their hull (the main body of the ship) were visible above the water. This made them hard for enemies to hit. Only their funnels (smokestacks) and turrets (where guns were placed) stuck out much.
Besides their guns, these ships also carried torpedoes. At first, some designs used a "spar torpedo." This was a torpedo attached to a long pole that stuck out from the front. The ship would ram its target to make the torpedo explode. Later, ships used self-propelled torpedoes. These torpedoes could swim through the water on their own. Even with these new torpedoes, the idea of ramming was still important. For example, HMS Polyphemus had five torpedo tubes. Two were on each side, and one was right in the middle of its strong ramming bow.
Why Were They Built?
The idea for torpedo rams came about when the self-propelled torpedo was still very new. A man named Robert Whitehead invented these torpedoes. Everyone could see that torpedoes were powerful weapons. However, the first ones could not travel very far. They were also quite slow, only about 10 knots (about 11.5 miles per hour). This meant they were only useful against ships that were not moving.
Because torpedoes were so new, naval experts were not sure how best to use them. In the 1870s, many different ideas for torpedo-carrying warships appeared. The torpedo ram was one of these ideas.
Their Special Mission
Like many early torpedo ships, the torpedo ram was meant to attack enemy warships while they were still in a harbor. The plan was for the torpedo ram's low shape and fast speed to make it hard to spot. They often planned these attacks for nighttime.
Once a torpedo ram reached the harbor, it would smash through any defenses. Then, it would head straight for the enemy ships. It would fire its torpedoes before the enemy ships could even start moving. After the attack, the torpedo ram would quickly leave the harbor. It would then speed away to meet friendly forces.
Why They Didn't Last
It soon became clear that attacking enemy ships in their harbors was very difficult. Because of this, torpedo rams were never very popular. By the end of the 1800s, this design was mostly given up. Other, more practical types of torpedo ships were developed instead.
Only a few torpedo rams were ever built. The most well-known examples were the Polyphemus and the United States Navy's USS Intrepid. Neither ship saw much real fighting. They were mostly used for testing torpedoes. However, the Polyphemus did show how much damage it could do. It was used to ram and destroy a harbor defense barrier during a test.
A Hero in Fiction
Even though torpedo rams were not very successful in real life, they became famous in stories. For example, the heroic HMS Thunder Child appears in H. G. Wells' science fiction book The War of the Worlds. In the story, the Thunder Child is a torpedo ram. It bravely destroys two giant Martian Tripods before it is finally sunk.
See Also
In Spanish: Ariete (torpedero) para niños
- Torpedo tube
- Torpedo destroyer
