A Coraki Invention. Interesting Demonstration Given
Courtesy of Trove Richmond River Herald 12 June 1917
For some considerable time past Mr. E.O. Yeager, of Oakland, Coraki, has been devoting a great deal of thought to the question of the preservation of shipping from torpedo attack. Always of an inventive turn of mind, he directed his attention to the practicability of a trailing or travelling mine field, and for months past has been quietly working away on a scheme which has now taken definite shape. In fact the necessary plant to act as a working model has been so far perfected that on Saturday last Mr. Yeager gave a most interesting private demonstration of how the invention may be worked. The s.s. Magnet was chartered for the occasion, and amongst those who witnessed the trials were Dr. Opie, Ald. L.F. Benaud, Messrs. J.G. Davis, C.J. McRae, D.S.H. Moreton, C.J. Fenton, R.C.K. Kemp, R.P. Napier, W. Yabsley, J. Sheridan, J. Allison, M.C. Yabsley, G.W.T. Yabsley, S.J. Dening, and J. Fairhall, and a representative of the ‘R.R.’ Herald.’ It is, of course, rather a difficult matter to convey in mere words an adequate and easily understandable idea of what the invention is really like, but, to put it briefly, what Mr. Yeager has overcome is the seemingly impossible problem of practically surrounding a ship with a protective mine belt.
What the spectators saw on Saturday was a thin, flexible wire rope attached to the bows of the steamer, and standing out from the side of the travelling ship at an angle of 31 degrees! This rope was 150 ft. long, and fastened at the angle to a glider, behind which trailed, in a straight line, 300ft. of similar rope. At intervals along these ropes were strung dummy mines in echelon formation, and so fixed that it would be next to impossible for a torpedo to pass them without it self being blown up. In actual use these mines would be filled with high explosive, and on a torpedo approaching the belt one or more, as required, would be electrically exploded, and that particular torpedo would be no more. The mines can be carried on the surface, or submerged at will through the instrumentality of an ingenious sinker near the bows of the vessel. After demonstration had been given of the apparatus, described above, the glider and the 300ft. of trailing mines were detached, and a makeshift for a torpedo attached in place of the glider. The ship went ahead, and the 150ft. of mine belt between the torpedo and the ship was totally submerged, and still maintained its angle of 30 degrees or so from the ship’s side. To nautical men the idea of being able to tow a line of mines at an angle of 30 degrees would seem to present an insuperable problem, but Mr. Yeager’s ingenuity has overcome it completely. The apparatus used in Saturday’s trial made very little difference to the speed of the Magnet, and it is considered that, with the complete device, the difference would be so small as to be almost negligible. The 450ft. of line with dummy mines only exerted a pull of 200lbs. when travelling on the surface, and would certainly not exceed 500lbs. pull when running under water.
Mr. Yeager, who has gone to considerable expense in connection with the perfection of the scheme, and has taken out a cover for the patent rights, is very hopeful of the naval authorities taking the matter up. After afternoon tea had been served at Oakland, Mr. C.J. McRae, speaking on behalf of the company, thanked Mrs. Yeager for her hospitality, and Mr. Yeager for the demonstration he had given. As laymen they could not pronounce judgment, but it did seem to all of them that Mr. Yeager had gripped a great principle, and discovered an effective method of screening a ship’s hull with a curtain of mines so as to very largely minimise the losses of vessels by torpedo attack. Personally, he believed the idea was right, and it had appealed to all who saw it that afternoon. It now only remained for Mr. Yeager to impress the authorities, and for them to arrange for a scientific application of the principle so that actual tests may be carried out. The naval authorities should certainly take up the question at once. Mr. W. Yabsley said it seemed to him that Mr. Yeager was on the right track to protect our boats, and he appreciated his courtesy in inviting the company to witness the interesting demonstration. What they had seen that day may be the starting point of something very great, something that would have a big effect on the submarine campaign. Mr. Yeager was the first man in the district to try and do something to circumvent the submarine menace, and he was glad to think it was a native of the Richmond who had done it. Ald. L.F. Benaud said it was highly creditable to Mr. Yeager that he should have brought his invention up to the pitch they saw that day. It was now up to everyone who saw the trial, and who appreciated Mr. Yeager’s efforts, to help him in every way possible to have the device tested by naval experts. He suggested that steps be taken at once to that end. Mr. J. Sheridan said he was convinced there was a lot in the idea, and naval experts, should now be called in to test it. Really what they had seen was an underwater fence to keep out torpedoes, and, if it proved all they hoped it would, then Mr. Yeager would become a benefactor to his country to an extent hard to calculate. Mr. Yeager, in response, thanked the company for their kind remarks and good wishes. He believed the invention had possibilities. It was a crude concern at present, but the perfecting of the device was an easy matter for experts. He thanked the speakers for the offer to aid him in getting the matter brought under official notice, and said that anything they could do in that direction would be appreciated. As a result of a conversational discussion, it was decided to write Mr. Massy Greene, and put the facts before him, Mr. L.F. Benaud undertaking to attend to the necessary correspondence.