{"product_id":"9781634990134","title":"Goat Island and the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station: Guncotton, Smokeless Powder and Torpedoes","description":"\u003cp\u003eWeak maritime nations have always sought to augment the strength of their coastal defenses and navies by the use of \"diabolical\" contrivances for destroying an invader's ships. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe history of the adoption of the torpedo as a recognized implement of warfare is not unlike that of gunpowder or of exploding shells. Each in its turn was met by the cry, \"Inhuman, barbarous, unchivalrous.\" \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDuring the American Civil War, the Confederate Navy employed submerged mines, called torpedoes, and explosive charges mounted on a long pole referred to as the \"spar torpedo\" which was bumped into the hull of an enemy vessel exploding on contact. These weapons enjoyed great success during the conflict. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn July 1869, the Secretary of the Navy announced the establishment of the Naval Torpedo Station on Goat Island in the harbor of Newport, Rhode Island, for development of a more sophisticated and deadlier self-propelled torpedo. From its founding until the end of the Second World War, the Naval Torpedo Station has been the Navy's principal center for the design of torpedoes. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eNewport continues as the home of the U.S. Navy's most important laboratory for research and development of modern weapons' systems.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"America Through Time","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47038489755888,"sku":"9781634990134","price":28.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781634990134_p0.jpg?v=1763681623","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781634990134","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}