Invention The Harvey Torpedo (c. 1869 - )

From
c. 1869
Alternative Names
  • The Otter Torpedo (Alternative name)

Summary

The Harvey Torpedo was invented in the late 1860s by Frederick Harvey and his uncle Captain John Harvey.

The torpedo was an improvement on the existing prevalent torpedo design, the spar type which was suspended at a distance over the bow of the boat. The Harvey torpedo involved an explosive charge attached to a line that was projected away from the boat that carried it, making it far less dangerous to detonate.

After spending more than twenty years trying to gain official recognition for the torpedo it was agreed that they should be supplied to the Royal Navy. But whatever modest hopes the inventor or the manufacturer had were dashed by the Government, that decreed that Harvey Torpedoes were to be manufactured by the Royal Arsenal at Woolwich. As a result Captain Harvey who had never been paid for his invention sought compensation for his time, labour, and the loss of income that he could have made had his torpedo been manufactured elsewhere.

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Related entries

Published resources

Books

  • Gray, Edwyn, Nineteenth Century Torpedoes and Their Inventors, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 2004. Details
  • Harvey, F., Instructions for the Management of Harvey's Sea Torpedo, 1871. Details
  • Sleeman, Charles William, Torpedoes and Torpedo Warfare: The Containing a Complete and Concise Account of the Rise and Progress of Submarine Warfare, Griffin & Co., Portsmouth, 1880. Details

Journal Articles

  • 'Harvey's Sea Torpedoes', Engineering, vol. 8, 1 October 1869, p. 227. Details
  • 'The Harvey Torpedo', Engineering, vol. 9, 18 March 1870, p. 180. Details
  • 'The Harvey Submarine Torpedo', Engineering, vol. 9, 8 April 1870, p. 241. Details
  • 'The Harvey Torpedo', Engineering, vol. 9, 18 March 1870, p. 180. Details
  • 'The "Otter" Torpedo', Engineering, vol. 9, 25 February 1870, p. 134. Details
  • 'The Harvey Torpedo', Engineering, vol. 11, 13 January 1871, pp. 35-36. Details
  • 'The Harvey Torpedo', Engineering, vol. 11, 17 February 1871, p. 124. Details
  • 'A sea torpedo cruise', Engineering, vol. 12, 1 December 1871, p. 360. Details
  • 'The Harvey Torpedo', Engineering, vol. 12, 28 July 1871, p. 63. Details
  • 'The Harvey Torpedo', Engineering, vol. 13, 24 May 1872, p. 352. Details
  • 'The Harvey Torpedo', Engineering, vol. 14, 11 October 1872, p. 262. Details
  • 'The Harvey Torpedo', Engineering, vol. 13, 21 June 1872, p. 412. Details
  • 'Offensive torpedo warfare', The Engineer, vol. 42, 7 July 1876, p. 11. Details
  • 'Torpedoes and the Centennial', Engineering, vol. 23, 19 January 1877, pp. 54-55. Details
  • Harvey, J., 'Harvey's "Otter" Torpedo', Engineering, Letter to the Editor, vol. 11, 2 June 1871, p. 384. Details

Newspaper Articles

  • 'Naval and Military Intelligence', The Times, 25 March 1872, p. 5. Details
  • 'Naval and Military Intelligence', The Times, 27 September 1873, p. 5. Details
  • 'Naval and Military Intelligence', The Times, 22 December 1874, p. 5. Details
  • 'Offensive torpedoes', The Times, 6 October 1874, p. 9. Details

Sources used to compile this entry: Gray, Edwyn, Nineteenth Century Torpedoes and Their Inventors, Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, Maryland, 2004.

Prepared by: Rebecca Rigby