Is it possible to fill a small metal tube with a compressed gas of some sort and make the walls thinner on one end? Then the launcher could use a spring and thin pin or something to puncture it, resulting in a self-propelled torpedo. The torpedo could be twin-chambered, with the rear for propellant gas and the front for something similar to an explosive detonation. Does anyone think this is possible?
Self propelled, maybe. However, anything with any similarities to an explosive detonation - absolutely not.
I've had similar thoughts for a torpedo system. Maybe not with a detonation in the sense of a fiery explosion, but like a pressure chamber that would use the built up pressure to propel a bb on impact. You could potentially fire a torp from much further away and have it still be affective. The difficulty is fitting all the various components into a torpedo that is 1/144 scale. A Japanese type 93 "long lance" would only be 2.4 inches long.
the large scale models of submarines use this. They brass tubes, with cast bow and stern, filled with a low-pressure liquid gas such as Propel. The stern has a hole that is tightly plugged by a pin, which can be pulled by a servo. Pull the pin, and the gas pushes the torpedo forward for a very scale-like launch. The torpedoes so light they float, so they appear to cruise just below the water. When expended, they float up to the surface for retrieval. -HOWEVER- they are not powerful enough, by themselves, to punch through balsa. There are no mechanisms that can be attached to punch a hole. And don't think about a blade or similar, that is a hazard to personnel. If you change out the gas for something more powerful, the torpedo has to be reinforced, so it is too heavy to float and is not recoverable. Lastly, if you change the gas for something more powerful, it becomes a major missile hazard if discharged above water, or even at a slight upward elevation. If you have any new ideas, you are welcome to try. But I do suggest you build a working combat ship first.
Has any one tryed to build a torpedo in the way of compressed gas launch with a battery driven propeller? if so how did it work?
At the end of the day, one needs to make something which can make a small hole in balsa and not totally explode a ship out of the water! It might look cool, but it wont be repairable in less than an hour.
The main problem is an issue of scale. Anything small enough to meet scale requirements is too small to put anything inside. Anything strong enough to hold enough pressure to do anything is too heavy to float....BUT THE BIGGEST THING you need to consider is that WATER is considerably denser than air....yeah everyone knows that, so what does that mean? "The density of dry air at sea level is 1.2929 kg/m3 or about 1/800th the density of water." So anything that has enough power to move fast enough underwater to travel any distance and penetrate a ship's balsa hull would become an EXTREMELY DANGEROUS MISSILE if it ever leaves the water!!!
Big Gun Jeff, Those torps look like they could be deadly and very simple. How has the success been with those and have you sold any of these or updated with a step by step?
I wept and cried and howled actually. Just trying to down play it for everyone. I am really a sensitive soul or sole if you think I am a heel.
