Chapter 265: The Brennan Torpedo
Hearing Tijani's explanation, Charles finally understood that the "Brennan Torpedo" of this era was quite different from the wire-guided torpedoes of modern times.
The biggest difference was that the Brennan Torpedo's control wires also served to conduct electricity.
"It's powered by an electric motor," Tijani explained. "Our batteries can't store enough power to get it to the target, and a generator would be too large to fit inside the torpedo itself. So, we generate the electricity onshore and send it to the torpedo through the control wires."
The setup used to generate power was something that made Charles want to laugh—it required a dedicated boiler room to drive a steam engine that would, in turn, generate electricity for the torpedo. The entire system was essentially a mini power plant just to keep the torpedo moving.
(Diagram showing the Brennan Torpedo's working mechanism: typically deployed from shore, with an observation post to monitor and adjust its direction. Observers communicated with a control room via telephone to correct the torpedo's trajectory.)
This massive apparatus made it impossible to use the torpedo from a torpedo boat, and even on a destroyer or battleship, it was deemed impractical. Space aboard such vessels was precious, and dedicating a specialized system for a single torpedo, not to mention an observer to coordinate, was seen as wasteful. It was simpler to launch traditional torpedoes and hope for the best.
Charles quickly thought of a potential solution.
"Why don't we combine the best aspects of both systems?" Charles suggested. "I mean, let's take the strengths of each."
"The strengths of each…" Tijani's eyes lit up as he understood. "Are you saying we could add control wires to a traditional torpedo, with the wires used only for directional adjustments?"
Charles nodded.
With the Brennan Torpedo already developed, electric steering control had already reached a reliable level, so adapting this to traditional torpedoes wouldn't be difficult.
Tijani stared at Charles in a daze, then suddenly rose to his feet, a look of intense focus on his face. "Thank you, Colonel. I don't know if this idea will work, but I'm going to bring it to them. And of course, there's also this…"
He raised the file in his hand. "I'll be back soon…"
"Wait!" Charles called after the eager Tijani, stopping him in his tracks. "We might also need to discuss the issue of the torpedo's range."
Tijani turned back, shocked. "You… you have a way to increase a torpedo's range?"
In the 15th Arrondissement of Paris, along the banks of the Seine, Wells, wearing his pince-nez glasses, was hunched over a table piled high with blueprints, clearly at his wit's end.
For the past few weeks, Wells had been following Charles's direction on two fronts: upgrading destroyers and improving torpedoes.
The destroyer upgrades posed little technical difficulty for the Brest Shipyard. The task involved optimizing the ship's speed, armor, and firepower—a clear objective: the destroyer needed to be faster than any cruiser or battleship and stronger in firepower and defense than British destroyers.
This asymmetrical approach made the destroyer unbeatable in a sense; no enemy vessel would be able to catch or outgun it on open seas.
However, the torpedo improvements were far more challenging.
The main issue was that the torpedo's propulsion relied on compressed air to drive an internal turbine that powered the propeller. With only 21% of that air composed of oxygen, the torpedo's effective range was limited to roughly two kilometers.
(Note: Early Whitehead torpedoes had a range of only 640 meters; later versions could reach up to 10 kilometers.)
Extending the torpedo's range would require increasing its volume to store more compressed air—no other solution seemed feasible. An approach similar to the Brennan Torpedo's electrical wire guidance might, in theory, propel the torpedo further, but only "in theory." In practice, the weight and fragility of the wires limited range to around two kilometers.
This distance of two kilometers seemed like a curse, trapping Wells and his team of engineers, who could not overcome it despite all their efforts.
The more Wells thought about it, the more frustrated he became. He finally tossed the designs aside and angrily lit a cigar. "It's all rubbish. Some even thought of replacing air with pure oxygen! Don't they know they'd blow themselves to bits?"
Just then, hurried footsteps echoed down the hallway.
Wells recognized them—it was Tijani. A flicker of curiosity crossed his mind. Wasn't Tijani supposed to be at the defense headquarters?
A moment later, Tijani burst into the room, striding up to Wells's desk, breathing heavily. "Father, we may have a way to improve the torpedoes!"
Wells chuckled, sinking back into his chair. Really? Coming from an Army major?
Without further explanation, Tijani shuffled through the files and diagrams on the desk, pulling out two sheets and laying them in front of Wells. "Father, take a look at this. What do you see?"
"What?" Wells asked impatiently.
One diagram showed a traditional Whitehead torpedo, the other a Brennan Torpedo. What was there to see?
Tijani didn't answer directly. Instead, he tore off the blank part of the Whitehead torpedo diagram and placed it over the rear of the Brennan Torpedo diagram.
Wells stared at the result, then his eyes widened in realization. "Wire-guided? A wire-guided Whitehead torpedo?"
"Yes!" Tijani nodded emphatically. "We'd only need to control the direction without providing electric power. So, with a thin, lightweight control wire and a small battery for occasional course corrections, we could guide a Whitehead torpedo."
Wells nodded thoughtfully. Without needing to conduct power, the control wire could be thinner, making it lighter and allowing for a greater firing range.
However, the excitement soon faded from Wells's eyes. Extending the wire length wouldn't solve the core issue—the lack of oxygen in the compressed air. This was still the biggest barrier.
Seeing his father's reaction, Tijani added, "Father, Charles's suggestion for range wasn't just about the air supply. If we can't find a substitute for compressed air, perhaps we can reduce the space needed for explosives and fuel."
"Explosives and fuel?" Wells repeated, puzzled.
"Yes!" Tijani explained enthusiastically. "For instance, if we use a more powerful explosive with a smaller volume to achieve the same effect, we'd need less space for it. The same goes for fuel. If we can save space on both, we could fit in more compressed air."
Wells's eyes sparkled with excitement.
It was a novel concept, one that made perfect sense. Everyone had been fixated on the compressed air issue, overlooking the easier-to-modify components of explosives and fuel.
Wells couldn't help but smile.
Supporting Charles had been the right decision. His vision might just revolutionize the Navy.
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