{"product_id":"goat-island","title":"Goat Island and the U.S. Naval Torpedo Station (new edition)","description":"Weak 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\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.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThese weapons enjoyed great success during the conflict. In 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eFrom 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. \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eNewport continues as the home of the U.S. Navy's most important laboratory for research and development of modern weapons' systems.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e[authors] Author(s): \u003ca href=\"\/collections\/richard-v-simpson\"\u003eRichard V. Simpson\u003c\/a\u003e[\/authors]","brand":"Military History","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42457067323474,"sku":"9781634996365","price":28.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0020\/9171\/2594\/files\/9781634996365.jpg?v=1782206099","url":"https:\/\/www.through-time.com\/products\/goat-island","provider":"America Through Time","version":"1.0","type":"link"}