Bismarck daily tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, Dakota [N.D.]) 1881-1916, 1914-11-18
new Fighting !.
CRAFT READY
Submarine Destroyers Are the
Latest Type Of War
.a.s @ Craft. q ra, .. sy4

washington, NOV. E--Out or the
dearly bought lessons Of naval war.
fare in the North sea, a new engine
of destruction is coming-the subma.
rine destroyer. Larger more pow
erful. and with greater radius Of
operations than any Of its predeces.
sors, this new wasp Of the sea will
not only be equipped to sting its giant
adversaries, but to destroy its own
kind on the surface of the sea. q
British and French navy yards, and
private ship yards as well, are work
ing night and day to have the new
submarine destroyers in service with
in the next few months: This infor-
nation coming to the United States
naval officers. commands a greater
interest because the United States
navy, too is to have some Of these
newest ships of war. It's experts
have been at work upon plans for
them for months. 't
The theory on which the new sea-
fighters are being built is that they
shall be armed for battle either on
/ the surface or below They will be
Of much greater tonnage than exist
ling submarines. Tentative plans have
been made for boats of 1000. tons,
submerged, which would permit fuel
capacity to cross oceans with battle
fleets and allow adequate provision
fer crew quarters. The close attend
ance of parent ship upon subma-
rine fleets would then be unnecessary.
Mounted Guns. s
The underwater armament Will con-
sist of torpedo tubes as in present
submarines, but more tubes and a
greater supply of the projectiles EN-
ployed with such terrible effect in the
European war. For surface fighting
against hostile submarines they will
carry small guns. mounted in water
tight compartments and placed on
elevators to lift them to the upper
deck of the ship as she rides a foot
or two out of the water. "A quick fire
six-pounder probably will be the larg,
est weapon that can ne employed for
that perpose because greater
weight, set high above the vessels
center of gravity, would tend to rem
der her too heavy.
Beneath the surface, the new de-
stroyers would operate as ordinary
2O0.tOn vessels Of their type, except
that they would have greater cruising
range. On the surface they would
scout for hostile subnlarinea spot
ting an enemy's periscope, the1,
swinging up the six.pounder to open
fire, relying on greater speed to keep
lin range and upon the fact that six,
FOUNDER projectiles would easily
pierce the thin skin of the hostile
craft. One such wound would Grip.
|ple an enemy even If no vital part Of
his mechanism were struck. The
puncture would sink him If heat
tempted to sllIbmerge and so he would
be compelled to lie on the surface
at the mercy of the destroyer's guns.
tee~ The Equipment. a1
The equipment of the new British
fighters is understood to be similar
to that contemplated for American
craft. Diesel crude oil engines driv-
ing the propellers for surface cruising
and operating dynamos which keep
storage batteries constantly at stand
ard strength for, under water work
when the ship is dsiyen by electricity.
The German engiiie, now to be EN-.
ployed against it's inventors, offers
the highest fuel economy in power
generation yet achieved and on it's
small fuel consumption depends the
greatly increased cruising radius Of
the new ships.
American naval engineers are con-
sidering the application of Diesel en-,
gines to warships in another connec-
ton also. She result may he the
complete revolution Of the power
equipment of the coming superdre
noughts. Experiments have been