Editing Torpedo boat (section)

==Self-propelled torpedo==
[[File:Whitehead torpedo General Profile, The Whitehead Torpedo U.S.N.1898.jpg|thumb|Whitehead torpedo's general profile: A. war-head B. air-flask. B'. immersion-chamber CC'. after-body C. engine-room DDDD. drain-holes E. shaft-tube F. steering-engine G. bevel-gear box H. depth-index I. tail K. charging and stop-valves L. locking-gear M. engine bed-plate P. primer-case R. rudder S. steering-rod tube T. guide-stud UU. propellers V. valve-group W. war-nose Z. strengthening-band]]
A prototype self-propelled torpedo was created by a commission placed by [[Giovanni Luppis]], an Austrian naval officer from [[Rijeka]], then a port city of the [[Austro-Hungarian Empire]], and [[Robert Whitehead (engineer)|Robert Whitehead]], an English engineer who was the manager of a town factory. In 1864, Luppis presented Whitehead with the plans of the ''[[Salvacoste]]'' ("coastsaver"), a floating weapon driven by ropes from the land that had been dismissed by the naval authorities due to the impractical steering and propulsion mechanisms.

Whitehead was unable to improve the machine substantially, since the clockwork motor, attached ropes, and surface attack mode all contributed to a slow and cumbersome weapon. However, he kept considering the problem after the contract had finished, and eventually developed a tubular device, designed to run underwater on its own, and powered by compressed air. The result was a submarine weapon, the ''Minenschiff'' ("mine ship"), the first modern [[self-propelled torpedo]], officially presented to the Austrian Imperial Naval commission on December 21, 1866.

The first trials were not successful as the weapon was unable to maintain a course on a steady depth. After much work, Whitehead introduced his "secret" in 1868 which overcame this. It was a mechanism consisting of a [[Pendulum-and-hydrostat control|hydrostatic valve and pendulum]] that caused the torpedo's hydroplanes to be adjusted so as to maintain a preset depth.