Russo-Japanese war A submerged torpedo-tube on board a Japanese battleship (rate of fire : 1 every 2 minutes) . The type of tube here shown was made at Elswick . It was first fitted to the Japanese battleship " Fuji " , and since then has been considerably improved . It is now able to deliver torpedoes while the ship is going nearly at full speed . The firing is done by compressed air from a chamber shown just above the tube . The tail of a Whitehead torpedo appears in the foreground on the right . 20 February 1904