The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1900-02-10
SUBMARINE WAR VESSELS.
what Has Been Done I'm That Line Here
and I'm France.
(From the Baltimore sun

(From the Baltimore SUM-
The decision Of the Naval Board OF
Bureau Chiefs In opposing the purchase
Of the subrn arine boat Holland, and In
recommending that no craft OF this oiass
be built until the pluDger bias been test
ed viii no doubt he regarded abroad as
severe blow 10 the development Of this
type of boat here. where, perhaps, more
attention has been given to the system
than by Great Britain or any foreign
power but France. The submarine boat
first resolved the attention OF the naval
officials ten years ago, but since . contract
was awarder for the building OF type
boat at Baltimore there seems to have
been no further Interest manifested by
the experts In the subject; and, mean
while, France has gone ahead rapidly In
the experimental work with much sue
cess
The latest reports from that country
yhow that the fiotilla Of these boats Will
no doubt present as great variety OF
sypes as the battIeships, and recent tests
with the Gustave Zede have proved the
practicabiliy Of the submarine boat, and,
In the hope OF still further improving on
her, the naval authorities are now Civ.
Ing attention to the somewhat despieed
Eoupst boat This vessel has shown u
tendency In late tests to dive to the bottom
and remain there. and the authorities are
now beginning to predict that still an-
other type, known as the Morse boat, IL
asuperior type OF craft. Recent trials with
her showed that, rs regards range Of ac-
lion, she had soaroley any advantage over
the Zsde, and 1t had to be admitted by
,hs trial board that she Guild not be used
Tor any other purpose than harbor de-
fence. After all these experiments, how.
ever, 1t did not seem as II mucn Roadway
had been made, but the French Navy
Department., with praissworthy optimism
conyeyed Its favors to the Narval, simply,
1t is claimed, because nothing 10 known
OF her type, ana plenty OF SCOPE was al
lowed Tor the exercise Of vivid imagina
ton.
This vessel Is constructed of stsel and
has q displace ment Of 160 tons. The
motive power Is supplied by an oil en-
CINE, which not only drives the propeller
when the boat 10 either navigating at the
surface or with only her lookut aud
dynamo for charging batteries and rc-
cumulators, these bsing used to propel
the boat when she is entirely submerged
and the chimney unshipped. Sailing on
the surface at IL knots, the Narvh prom =
ises range Of action Of 252 miles. and
ut knots the range Is 625 miles. When
submerged, the aocumulators are expect
ed TO propel the boat 20 miles at knots
and 20 miles at knots. She 10 equipped
with four torpedo tubes and carries two
officers and nine men. This eoat Is be-
lieved to be the best type yet developed In
France.
Thers may be said to be but one dis
tirot type OF the submarine boat In this
country represented by the Holland now
at Warrington, and the PluDger, build
ing for the Navy at Baltimore. While
the Holland seems to have fully proven
her capacity to fulfill all the requirements
of submarine navigation for naval pur-
posse, the Plunger Is said to possess, or
will have when finished, still further Inn
provements that will render her a most
capable craft. 1t does not follow that no
cause the experts have opposed the build
ing OF further So bmarlne boats at present
that this type of craft will not in all
probability be adopted by the naval ser
vice. The bureau chiefs are By no means
unfayorabls TO the boat, but simply be-
lieve the Plunger should be tried before
the Government enters upon the pur-
chass of other vessels OF her class.
The Plunger represents the result OF an
inquiry into the subject covering the
last ten years, during which time the
problem has advanced from the thsoret-
ical to the practical stage. There were
many things to be thought of In connec-
ton with the su brnarine boat, the most
important of which was the maintenance
of life and IN engagement OF the craft be-
meath the surface OF the sea. While in
tended for offensive purposes solely, Its
protsction is an interesting feature Of the
structure. This Ia afforded by the body
of water surrounding the boat, which Ii
supposed to dive below the surface TO q
depth of 20 feet in 20 seconds after the
order Is given to disappear, the boat at
the time Il IatinS Iii ht and running full
speed ahead. During the period Of COM
plete submergenoy, with three feet oil
water over tie turrets the pilot who
guides the craft obtains q view OF the sur
roundings by means of a camera Iuoida
in a tube which projects above the surace
and which can be hauled IN at o me-
ments notice.
The pilot is located In IN armord tur-
ret, which rises four feet above the hull
and Is eight inches In thickness. The
upper surface of the hull, covering the
part emerged while running on the sur
face of the water. will be Of steel plate
one inch thick. The arrangements for
lighting and ventilating the Interior are
ingenious and complete. When the boat
is on the surface Of the water, two large
companionways, the blower and the air
shaft provide abundant ventilation.
INWhsn esnbmefged,> cir ASH cossstansiyrnl
lowed to escape from the air reservoirs
slightly above atmospheric pressure.
Vitiated air from near the bottom Is
forced outward by small pump driven
by an electric motor. Lighting on the
surface Is provided through the oompan.
ionways and by eight 4-nch headlights
II not deeply submerged, and in clear
water, light will still be admitted through
the eight headlights, and, whenever re-
quired, incandesoent lights, supplied by
the storage batteries, can be employed.
The method Of operating the vessel Il
also interesting. When the vessel Ii on
the surface of the water, with tins SIN oke.
stack and the air shaft erected, and run
ming ahead full speed, and 1t Is desired te
aive, the valves placed ON the bottom in
the water spaces are opened and the ali
sontain cd In These spaces allowed to es.
pape through valves provided at their
npper ends. The blower IL stoppe d. the
furnace and ashpit doors are closed air.
Hoht tho atuok q 70 ks ara shfprad fha