The herald., 1897-03-14
England Believes That It Will
Be Used in the Next War
FIRING UNDER WATER TESTS
Effective Submarine Batteries Anchored
Below the Surface
Plrs . ProlectlIe Into Submerged Target
with Astonishing Resnits-Jules
verne's Dreams Resllxsd

the next great war Will pe suuihdfihc
conflicts. Experiments have just been
made with firing solid shot and projec-
tiles under water with marked success
Not only will wave-hidden mines and
marine torpedoes act as destructive ele-
ments, but 1t has Just been discovered
that gums can be successfully fired uu-
DER water. and an effective submarine
battery will be q part Of the armament
of every coast fortihcation.
1t is bad enough to take chances of be-
ing blown into the air in fragments,
ship and all, by the explosion of a dy-
Mantle mine hidden under the water, or
to have jagged hole made in the vitals
of the ship beneath the water line, but
there is something distinctively terrible
in the thought that along the shore, no
one can tell where, there is hidden sub
marine battery which can send solid
shot and explosive shells through the
water and all obstructions until they
reach the hull of the doomed ship.
Tell the ordinary sailor or marine that
there is danger ahead and he will cheer
fully face 1t. That Is his business. and
what he is there for. He expects It,.
But, like the child who is afraid Of the
nameless and unknown terrors of the
dark, both Jack and the jolly have
holy and reasonably parSonable horror
of the unknown.
In state of war everybody is prepar-
ed for such things as sudden journey
into the air and a descent in fragments
or dull explosion. followed by a ripping
of the hull and the graduated sinking of
the huge battleship. There is nothing
like this. however. In connection with
the discharge of a submerged battery.
There Is no report, no smoke, and no
intimation, save slight ripple of the
water, that anything unusual has oc-
Cured, until suddenly the vast hull
shivers, trembles as II ledge had been
struck, and then, with a roll and a
plunge, goes downward to the bottom.
Unlike the torpedo. watch can, in a
measure. be guarded against. and the
mine which can be located and ex-
ploded In variety Of ways. there is no
known means Of guarding against an ar
tillery attack when made below the sur
face. For the experiments which DEM
onstrated the entire feasibility Of the
firing of guns beneath the surface of the
water. 110-pound gun was used. The
experiments were made In Portsmouth
harbor, and were unique in detail.
At low water the gun and its carriage
were lowered beneath the surface and
a diver sent down to place it in position
tom. The platform was weighted with
large blocks of granite to keep 1t steady,
and the gun and carriage were then
placed in position.
For the test a target composed of oak
beams and planks, Il inches thick, was
lowered and set In position beneath the
water, at a distance OF 75 feet from the
muzzle of the gun. Behind this target
the hull of an old vessel was towed into
position directly in line of the fire from
the gun. In order to make the test the
more severe, sheets OF boiler plate, three
inches in thickness, were riveted to the
hull of tn craft at the point where the
shell from the gun would strike, IL 1t
was not DETECTED by the water and sue
ceeded in passing through the target.
something which the majority of army
and navy experts present did not antic-
ipate.
Having made all these preparations the
diver came to the surface. and taking the
shell with which the experiment was
made. again went below the surface,
and carefully loaded the gun, which
was then aimed at the target and the
hull of the vessel beyond
A. wire connecting with the firing
mechanism of the gun led to the shore,
some distance away, where 1t connected
with an electric battery In charge of the
firing party. The test was made at high
tide. When all the conditions were
right, the word was given and the cur
rent sent from the battery through the
wire to the submerged gun. There was
slight disturbance of the water over
the place where the gun wa sunk, and
the vessel anchored beyond the target
was seen to rock and sway and then
gradually settlei in the water and sink.
Splinters of wood covered the surface,
and there was every indication that the
<axxx ari ,ox,k hn1 hnnn fhss
next low tide an examination was made
Of the sunken vessel, when 1t was found
that the hull had been pierced COM
pletely through by the solid shot. The
target was In splinters. The three-inch
boiler plate was in fragments and por-
tions Of 1t driven into the woodwork of
the hull. while on both sides of the
hull below the water line were two
huge jagged holes, big enough to sink
Z ship of the line In FIVE minutes.
No one was more surprised at the un-
expected results than the experts who
had witnessed the tests. They had ex-
pected one Of two things-either that
the gun would burst and raise a small
sized waterspout. or that the water
would defect the shell to such an ex-
tent that 1t would go wide of the mark
On the contrary, the shot went as direct
and accurately as If fired in the usual
manner through the air. The water ap-
peared to have no effect upon it, and in
no apparent manner destroyed its ef-
fectiveness.
This test has had the effect Of opening
up possibilities of submarine warfare
hitherto undreamed-of. Fitted with a
porthole beneath the water line, with
the muzzle protruding and made water
tight in the same manner as the shaft
holes are kept from flooding the ship,
there II no reason why a ship cannot
steam head on to an enemy and sink
her without firing shot above the wa
ter line.
A single shot fired from the submarine
gun can easily pierce the unarmed por-
tion of the hull beneath the water and
sink the ship before those aboard are
aware that they have sustained any in
Jury. Torpedo boats. thus fitted, can be
made much more effective as q gubma-
rine shot, as has been demonstrated by
the target and the boiler plate, can pierce
any ordinary torpedo guard and at the
same time have sufficient force to cause
fatal damage to an enemy's ship.
AS a means of coast defense. also,
these submarine batteries will be far
and away In advance Of the present sys-
tenn Of mines and torpedces. A battery
sunk beneath the surface can be aimed
at different elevations and there IL al
most no limit to the damage 4 submarine
battery could do among the unprotect-
Cd hulls Of an invading fleet.
Quick wltted Plekpockst
Nhere was n brief hit engroeeinR In