The Hawaiian gazette. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1865-1918, 1911-05-02
SUBMARINES AS A FACTOR
IN NEXT GREAT NAVAL WAR
Danger Of Their Mysterious Attack May Cause
BattIcship Captains TO Grow Crops
Of Gray Hair.

Tucked away near the bottom Of the
navy appropriation bill passed by the
last congress Is an item calling for the
construction Of four submarine torpedo
boats at cost not to exceed o., 0OOO 900.
Beginning about 1900, Congress has
been providing for these boats from
time to time until there are now built
or building thirty-seven submarines for
the United States. In the meantime
other Powers have not been idle.
Cloves Naval Pocket Book for 1910
gives the number of submarines belong
ing to other Powers as: Great Britain,
forty four; France, eighty.fve; Ger
many, seven; Italy, twenty-four; Rus
STA, thirtyfive, and Japan, seventeen.
Although the first submarine was
built three hundred years B. c., and
various persons, generally classed as
cranks, have been experimenting with
them ever since, it was not until about
twelve years ago that the important
nations began to consider them serious
ly, most of them being forced to follow
the example set by the ambitious build
ing program of France in the sub
marine line.
There is vast amount of ignorance
concerning submarines. A majority of
the laymen have read "Twenty Thou.
sand Leagues Under the Sea" and as
result submarines are regarded as more
or less mythical. Thy have car
rived" however, in practical shape
and undoubtedly are a success. Taking
the best type as an example, these
boats can cruise for about three thou
sand miles on the surface at fifteen
knots speed, propelled by internal COM
bustion oil engines. Gasoline was used
at first, but there is danger in gasoline,
due mainly to the possibility of the
crew being overcome by the fumes, and
in minor degree to possibility of ex-
plosion of the fuel in the tanks. This
danger is entirely obviated by the use
of oil as fuel.
Under water the radius of action IS
about seventy miles at ten knots per
hour. Two sets of propelling engines
are necessary for submarine. On the
surface any kind of an internal COM
bustion engine can be used, but when
submerged these will not answer, as the
requisite amount of air for combustion
cannot be carried. For cruising under
water electric motors are used, as they
require no feed of air. These motors
are run by storage batteries, which un-
der war conditions would be kept fully
charged at all times, so that in case of
sighting an enemy the boat could go
under the water with a very slight loss
| of time-fve minutes at the outside.
Under water the crew gets it's air
supply from compressed air kept in
tanks, and the foul air is driven out by
air pumps.
l. How 1t Is Done.
The boat is submerged by filing
| tanks with water and by use of
horizontal or inclined rndders, and
brought to the surface by blowing the
water out of the tanks with compressed
air and using horizontal rudderR
1t is impossible to see for. any great
distance under water, but this difficulty
is overcome by the use of the periscope
IA system of mirrors by which the COM
mander of the submarine can see even
when below the surface. Sticking up
from the hull of the boat is five-inch
| tube with a mirror at the top directing
the rays of light to the operator twenty
feet under the surface. So the captain,
down under the water, can tell what is
is going on above the surface all
around the horizon, if he is not more
than twenty feet down.