Newark evening star and Newark advertiser., 1914-12-12
John P. Holland, Jr., Inventors
Son, Outlines Ideal Sub
surface Craft.

John p. Holland. jr., of 80 Newton
street, son of the late submarine boat
inventor, and himself an expert in
submarine navigation, today charac-
terized the submarines of the United
States navy "iot of old tubs and not
worth their weight in junk" He said
there was no need for the American
public being under the impression
that the submarines will be of any
great assistance to the country in
time of war.
Rear Admiral Fletcher, commander
of the Atlantic fleet under question
ing this week by the House naval
committee at Washington is reported
to have refused to say that the United
States submarine boats are behind the
times. Mr.. Holland dissents with this
view.
"The fact is," said Mr.. Holland,
"that there is none of the submarines
in this country or Europe of any
value whatever for work on the nigh
seas, either independently or when
accompanying a fleet, or for coast de-
fense or for any other service where
they cannot have the protection OF
the guns of forts or ships against the
attacks of destroyers or torpedo ooats
carrying spar torpedoes."
Mr. Holland says submarine uaVl-
cation conditions in the United States
navy are no better now than they
were seven years ago when ms late
father pointed out to naval -ofncers,
at the direction of the secretary of the
navy, the facts regarding submarine
boats. No attention was paid to this
warning, he says, and the result Is
seen In the navy today.
The late inventor was partly re-
gponsible for the design of the f1otilla
of submarines now forming part of
the United States naval equipment.
They were built by the Electric Boat
Company, of New Jersey, against his
repeated protests, after he had dis
covered that their model trials, made
in tho model tank at the navy yard
in Washington, ID. c., had proved
them to be very defective. Mr.. Hol-
lands company not only refused to
make the alterations that he sug-
gested in the designs but made
changes in his plans, as a result of
which action Mr. Holland withdrew
from the company.
His Contention Proven.
His contention was later proved
when the Fulton sank in her dock at
New Suffolk, L. l., owing to a move
ment of the centre of gravity and by
the unexpected dive to the bottom OF
1Sidnu SOuIlu ny lAlC VI pOAGSB
when she was expected to run, sub
merged, at a depth of twenty-five
feet.
Mr. Holland, in taking up the work
here his father left off, reiterates
his parents words that the ideal
submarine is the smallest boat that
can carry a sufficient armament at
the highest speed to the longest
radius, even across the Atlantic, with
ffnN for ifq small
crew."
"It was proved to the naval off,
GERS by my late father" said Mr..
Holland, that the ideal is not only
attainable, but that 1t Is the simplest,
the cheapest and by far the safest
and most effective type Of torpedo
boat and that 1t will be capable OF
services hitherto never imagined to
be practicable with 80 small vessel
Mr. Holland has in his possession
data prepared by his father, Who,
speaking on present day submarine
boats, said:
''Most of the submarine boats
belong without exception, to type
devised to break close blockades, the
first of which I built and successfully
tested in 1881, before the Introduction
Of the high-speed surface torpedo
boat. Since that date no radical i'm
provement has been made in the type,
the present submarines being little
better In principle than their prede-
cessor, the difference being that since
the date of its construction. storage
batteries, gasoline engines and auto
mobile torpedoes have been intro
duced and utilized on her successors.
at is clear that the proper func-
tion Of the torpedo boat is virtually to
greatly increase the range OF that
most formidable of modern weapons,
the automobile torpedo and to pro-
long to the latest moment practicable
its intelligent direction. They were
Immediately adopted by the chief
naval powers. on account or their
usefulness as torpedo machines, but
.4he introduction later of rapid-fire
yans and electric search'iehts on
warships greatly marred their ad-
vantages. and 1t was quickly realized
that because they could not carry
armcr they would be of little use in
an attack on large ships.
1.-THE employment of armored tor
pedo destroyers is but little favored
for torpedo attack on account OF me
sacrifice Of speed involved in the
greater displacement required TO car
ry armor.
Power of Secret Approach.
"On account of the vulnerability of
torpedo boats and destroyers, some
countries favored the use or sub
marines that utilize water cover
while making their attack, because
tney substituted the power of secret
approach and their practical invul-
nerability to proJectils for hign speed
of the surface boats that gave the
latter chance of surprising an
enemy
"Conditions have been SO greatly
changed however, that the type OF
submarine that could have prevented
the close blockade of Alexandria,
Santiago or Havana would be of very
little value against modern fleet that
can maintain a blockade with ships
that move, even when blockading,
faster than the accepted type or
submarines and at distance great
enough from the place blockaded to
render the slow moving, short-ranged
improved submarines easily located
and as easily disposed of by launch
or a torpedo boat carrying a spar
torpedo.
"The disagreeable experiences of
the Fulton and Porpoise did not, for
tunateiy, result In serious disasters
involving loss of many lives, as did
the disaster to the English type OF
improved Holland boats The Elec-
tric Boat Company and its English
associates were formally warned that
the boats they were building,
especially the improved A type, were
dangerously sluggish and unhandy,
on account of the excessive length
of the fore and-aft radii Of gyration
and other serious defects of design,
si1nh aq forming the wa ter ba last