Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-11-14
THE SUBMARINE BOAT
REAL AND IMAGINARY DAN
GERS OF THE DIVING CRAFT.
Causes Of the Accidents to the Eng
glish, Russian and French
Submarines

Lawrence 7. Spear, in Harpers Weekly.
Man. being a land animal, cannot. without
much mental readjustment. bring himself
to consider dispassionately the dangers
which may surround human life and activ-
ity under the sea. To the average man the
dramatic quality of submarine navigation
is its most striking feature. and it follows
inevitably that he should exaggerate its
dangers and have a more than usually keen
feeling Of horror when fatal accidents do
occur.
Some dispassfonate and non-technical dis
cussion Of this phase of the subject would
therefore appear to be worth while. which,
owing to limitations Of space, must here be
confined entirely to the dangers peculiar to
underwater work. neglecting those, such as
explosions, which submarine shares equal
ly with ordinary types Of ships.
All modern submarines when under way
submerged are lighter than the water they
displace that is, their tendency always is
to return to the surface, so that In case or
failure of the diving apparatus, the mere
stopping of the propellers will bring them
up. Under normal conditions, then, with
the hull intact, they cannot sink, except by
expenditure of power through the propeller.
This buoyancy, however, is very small, be-
ing only about 500 pounds in a vessel Of
200 tons Displacement. Therefore, II the
weight Is in any way Increased, sinking can
only be prevented by rapidly adding addi-
tional buoyancy. The principal method OF
securing this additional buoyancy is the
rapid election of the water from the ballast
tanks, for which purpose three systems are
fitted. air, power-pumps and hand-pumps.
OF these. the air system Is not only the
quickest but the most reliable and the least
likely of disarrangement by the inf1ow1ng
water. Therefore, the pumps are regarded
as accessories. and the main reliance Is
placed on the air system, which, in the best
practice, is so arranged as to be efficient at
a depth of over 200 feet. Another method
sometimes used consists of fitting drop
weight, generally in the form of loose
keel which may be released at will. Its ad-
vantages are that the buoyancy SO obtained
can be secured very quickly, and that 1t is
entirely independent of depth. Its disadvan-
tages are as follows: First, 1t is Impractical
BILE to test it every day since II 1t be dropped
1t is lost, unless buoyed, and In any case
the vessel must go on dock to have 1t re-
fitted. In the absence of frequent tests, fall
ure OF operation in emergencies Ia possible.
Second, If sufficient weight is allowed to be
of any material Importance, the vessel
ceases to be a submarine as soon as 1t Is
dropped, as it cannot again submerge after
remedying the difficulty. Third, the weight
cannot be very great without detracting
from other vital features. These disadvan-
tages have prevented its universal use.
These means have under some crcum-
stances proven adequate and under others
inadequate. In any case, 1t may be safely
said that the admission of water into the
interior constitutes the only real and
rious danger to submarine, with one pos
Sible exception. 1t Is conceivable that the
whole crew through some abnormal cause
might simultaneously be rendered uncon-
scious or otherwise incapable of action. If
this should occur at a time when the diving
apparatus was set to dive, the vessel would
of course proceed on a downward course
until arrested by the bottom. Fortunately,
this contingency can and has been met at
least in the latest United States types by an
entirely reliable automatic device, simple in
it's character, which may be tested without
submerging the boat. So that this danger
even IL remote in the first instance is ade-
quately provided for.
Problems Solved.
All of the real dangers under considera-
ton are included in the above summary,
and space here forbids any long discussion
of imaginary dangers. 1t is sufficient to
state here that years of practical experience
and thousands upon thousands of SUBJ
merged runs made all over the world, under
ali conditions Of weather and sea- have
conclusively demonstrated that all the prob
lens in connection with the normal contros
of the boat have been generally solved
The danger, therefore, of uncontrolled dives
reaching enormous or fatal depths is in fact
imaginary. This becomes further apparent
when it is remembered that depth Of 80 or
sixty feet is the greatest Tor which there
Is any ordinary tactical use, while the boats
themselves are able to Withstand a depth
of 300 feet. There is thus a large margin
of safety. Fears have sometimes been ex-
pressed that operation in shallow water is
dangerous on account of the likelihood of
grounding and knocking hole in the bot
tom of submarine, since she weighs less
than nothing when submerged. and no great
crushing effect can be produced by strik-
Ing the bottom. This has been demon
strated in practice a great many times and
Is not open to dispute. However, the case
does not rest there, for, assuming that the
bottom could be ruptured, 1t Is unlikely
that any serious results would occur since
tanks already filled with water extend the
greater part of the length, and rupture
Of the outer skin would merely serve to
transfer pressure to the inner skim No
water would be admitted to the interior of
the boat. nor would the weight of the boat
change at all.
Causes Of Disasters.
Having thus outlined the general condi-
tons. let us now examine briefly the un-