Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1904-05-10
DOWN IN A SUBMARINE.
Exciting Moments In the Great De-
stroyers of the Future.

The wrecking Of the British subma-
rine Al, with the loss Of all her crew,
does not seem to have damped the spir-
its Of young adventures volunteering
for service in the submarines. Yet
there are so many contingencies to be
met, such liability to accident and so
little hope of escape If the unexpected
happens, that operating these wonder
full little vessels will never become
pastime, and only men Of abundant re-
source and nerve will undertake 1t
cheerfully. Lieutenant Bouri, one OF
the nine French naval commissioners
who have gone to the United States
to investigate the steel industry Of the
United States, has stated that in his
opinion the accident to the British sub
marine Al was attributable to English
inexperience in the management OF
submarine craft. This might possibly
be the case, for the British admiralty
has only recently taken to underwater
vessels, while France has been expert
menting with them for over q quarter
Of a century.
The writer recently took a voyage
in French submarine-a little engine
Of terrible potency which lies at the
moment just off Cherbourg. This par
ticular boat has a displacement Of 130
tons; her diameter is II feet and her
length rather more than 80 feet. She
has two double rudders-one pair for d.
recting the course horizontally, the 9TH
er pair to assist her to dive or rise.
For work below the surface an electric
motor in connection with storage bat
teries, is used. Her speed on the sur
face is about sixteen knots an hour,
and when completely submerged a
speed Of about eight knots can be ex-
pected.
The vessel is Of the diving type, sub
mergence being effected by the action
of the water upon large horizontal rud-
ders placed at the stern Of the vessel.
It is entered by a water-tight door at
the top, from which a small iron lad
der descends into the interior. Strong
glass scuttles allow the daylight to pen
citrate, but artificial light Is obtained
from electric globes. Just under the
dome Is a seat for the commander.
Half way aft toward the stern, faith
full assistant is seated, facing the mid
die of the boat; somewhere else Is the
remainder of the crew. A seat in a
corner in rather narrow quarters, was
set aside for the writer. The interior
I noticed, was not provided with the
luxurious saloons and staterooms that
the travellers in the wonderful little
Naut lus so much appreciated. The
boat seemed to me to be a mass OF
cranks, handles. pipes and gauges and
everything appeared for warlike pur-
poses.
The moment I entered her L didn't
like the idea Of being plunged deep In
the sea with no man to drag me UP
again, and I wished myself back on
dry land, but for very shame dare not
draw back. 1 will cheerfully admit that
the confidence Of the commander and
his crew was unbounded.
When I had descended the ladder
was withwithdrawn and the dome clos
ed The edge Of its cover rests on a
rubber ring, and by screwing a bolt
home the trap is made to fit, not only
watertight. but alright. Semi-dark-
ness took the place of light. The sun
however, shone through thick green
glass that softened its rays.
The thought that we were going to
sink, and that If the machinery went
wrong we would all be drowned like
rats in a trap, was intense. and I felt
like a man on his way to execution.
"Is 1t safe?" I asked, in trembling
tones.
"As safe as a house, monsieur, and
We'll come up again and dine together
with a magnificent appetite"
| I learned that the principle which OBJ
tains in all submarine boats Is to have
a small reserve Of bouyancy in the
fighting condition; that is, to have the
weights and the surface displacement
almost equal, so that by the admission
Of water or by a decrease in the vol
ume Of displacement the boat may be
made to sink to any depth at the will
Of the commander.
The method of causing the weights
to exceed the displacement in this par
ticular vessel is by use Of a cylinder
or plunger. When the cylinder Is pro.
jected beyond the hull proper the dis
placement is such as to keep the ves-
sci awash; when the cylinder is drawn
in the displacement Is decreased and
the boat sinks in a manner similar to
a fish.
| When the commander drew in the
cylinder the white light shining through
the window changed to a dull green
Anon the boat began to sway gently as
though rocking-we had reached 8
depth Of about thirty feet. when 1t shot
ahead with surprising rapidity. Al
this point something happened to make
my heart jump. The vessel jerked and
tumbled. and toppled half over on Its
side. The commander swished around
the steering wheel. and in a moment
or two we were horizontal again.
Funny thing" said he, "but that
is the first time the little beggar has
played that trick"
| "Phew!" calculated the assistant
wiping his brow.
| l gasped.