Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1900-11-17
A DARING VOYAGE
New Submarine Boat Will Try to
Cross the Atlantic
UNDER HER OWN MOTIVE POWER
Inventor Thinks the Trip VIII Be
Made in Comfort.
TO & y X RY Ell q 1T NJ f y
copyright. 1860. Icy Z. Latzke.l

Copyright. 1900. Icy I. Latzkel
Written for The Evening Star by Paul Iatzke
Prtparat tons are making for the III 1st in
tcTeStinS event in ocean travel since the
FIST steamship crossed the Atlantic. A
submarine boat is to be sent from America
u Europe under her own power. She is
thu invention of John Z. Holland. whose
submarine torpedo boat Holland. now the
property Of the United States government
figured extensively in the recent naval man
euvers 1T Newport. and is known for the
present AZ NO. - She is now fitting out
at Nix ms shipyard in Elzabethpnrt. y. j.
70" the transatlantic journey. For some
years now submarine boats have puttered
ahDu, the harhors both in this country and
in Europe But they have never ventured
far from tn" coast. a boat of this type
bu5lt by Nordenfelt made a journey of 15o
miles along shore On one occasion. and this
has been the long distance record y tour
Of great oceans in a submarine. It has been
rally supposed. would always remain
a dream If Jules Verne.
The inventor of the Holland torpedo boat
has now determined to make this dream
reality His new boat will go to Bermuda.
thence t. Fayal Islands, then to Lisbon in
Portugal This is Il trip of ;i9j miles; New
York to bermuda, 6Ii miles Bermuda to
Fayal. ~ miles and Fayal to Lisbon $40
not Yet definitely determined upon but it
viii probably be some time in February
Til" boat will wait for propitious weather.
t. speak IF waiting for propitious weather
In February sounds like absurdty: and
in the case Of ordinary craft ii would be.
but what Mr.. Hollands diver is looking for
l. storm. high wind. and a heavy sea. A
smooth sea and the absence of storm signs
vii! be the signal for the postponement of
thu voyage. For this journey is TO test
once for all the capacity of the submarine
to care for herself a long trip under the
most unfavOrabie conditions.
How the Boat VIII Travel.
To the lay mind such a journey will seem
to smack decidedly of foolhardiness. The
voyage TO Lisbon is to take sixteen days.
NO. = Will travel all the way under her
own power. Her speed VIII be approxi-
mately nine and a half knots for the entire
voyage. She will not travel at the bottom
of the sea as lid Verne's fantastic craft.
Most of the way she will go ON the surface.
Occasionally. however. she Will go under.
ard remain for thirty or forty miles, at a
depth varying from thirty TO sixty feet
Her inventor claims for her that she can
safely go lUo feet beneath the surface and
maintain herself there, resisting success
fully The terrific pressure of the water. No
Si:gh depths viii BE- attempted on this trip,
however. and except for purposes of seen
tine vest!satiou or explorations for
suuken vessels no object would he gained
by GIVING very uttI. Al lu4liN IttI De
meath the surface the craft is secure
against discovery as if she were hundred
times as far down. and can pass safely be
meath the keel of the greatest Of ocean
liners. Now ana then in shallow places she
Will touch bottom just to show that she
can. and 10 see what she will find.
The plans for the voyage have been very
carefully and thoroughly laid out and no
fear OF failure is entertained. The trip is
taken FOR a two-fold purpose. 1t Is To
demonstrate in the first place the fallacy
Of the opinion still entertained in naval
quarters that submarine boats cannot sus-
tam themselves far away from base OF
operations. that they are useless as onen-
s.Ye weapons against country on the
other side of the sea, and that their mis-
sion, If they have any at all, Is for coast
defense merely The second object of the
trip is to present the boat in foreign har-
burs 10 foreign governments.
Mr. Holland in Command.
Mr.. Holland mas the utmost confidence II
the ability of No. Z to make the trip t,
Europe in safety. He himself will be II
command Including the inventor there
Will be eight men aboard the little craft
Their quarters will be pretty close, but they
feel certain that they will not be too clos.
for comfort. Whenever the possibility has
been discussed OF navigating a submarine
for a long distance it has a ways been as
serted that il would be impossible for 3
crew to stand the confinement The voy'
matter. As the projected trip is first ex
pertinent, extra crew will be carried il
tender that is to convoy NO. = to guar
antee the men against actual hardship
This tender will be small tramp ship
She Will keep her little conSort constantly
in sight if possible, so long as the latter re
mains surface. But, as the StormieS
period Of the year is to be selected for tn,
Journey. it Is more than possible that tn,
two vessels will part company long before
the end of the game. 1t is "a pretty Difficult
thing 10 keep in sight sueh a small specl
as mo - will present. when the /:
high and the wind is battering the convo!
about.
But whether the consorts lose each othe
or not. one thing has been definitely deter
mined by the Holland officials. This Is tina
the submarine shall travel the entire dis
tance under her own power. that she shall
carry all her own fuel for the trip, ant
that she must subsist on her own provi
sions No tow line is to be thrown out a
any time. If 1t Is. the trip is to be consid
cred a failure and the experiment will b.
tried over again. Comparatively htue sub