The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-03-28

world what 1T ran do said Simon
Lake the nventor and constructor of
urI.rsra craft. Life aboard UNDER
water raft has been pictured as full
,f thrills and abundant hazards, and
uri.ultcdly there are enough of these
clements to-day to tax the nerves of
ihe hardest sailorman; but let me tell
,ng 'nit the submarine is coming into
It's rV. and hereafter will try To the
utm.-t its surface pursucrs.
This may sound ovcroptimistic,
n,.Ii-o already several of the German
t..tuitS have been rammed and sunk
and ..,ir under water speed is indeed
modest compared with that of the or
dnItv occangoing fighting ship.
They cannot hope to escape pursuit
mis- ia tie surface and their only safe
guard lies in getting below the waves
where gunfire Cannot reach them.
Necessity has compelled the German
urd,r-,i boats to operate at consider
ah.e distances from their bases of sup
p'y. and the fact that they have been
able ', travel far enough to strike ia
ia, Irish sea should he significant.
~ Grand Admiral Won Tirpitz
has ..lt IA hat the biggest If these
.|ub.uurous craft can circumnavigate
Ere.i.d and when their crews are
v.ir,d the boats can sink to the bot
,,m and lc there immobile while their
tired officers and men can sleep and
relax. Does this fact suggest any
thiHg else to you?
As matters stand now, the U-boats
Ir. forced to return to their home
ports .n refill their fuel tanks. to TAXI
on fresh provisions for the men. and
.o r,plcnish their exhausted ammuni-
ZION and torpedoes. Thus. even though
heir personnel get relief by the boats
hating upon the sea bed, a cog is
slipped in the matter of continued
military efficiency. Without a fresh
supply " fuel oil and more food and
munitions of val the submarine is in
effective. and when her objective Is a
distant ne she must draw heavily
lp1n her stores to get her there and
2, carry her safely back to her revict-
uallng base. Indeed. she may over
reach herself through her command
cr's desire to strike his remote enemy
md then find herself forced back to
he surface and without the means
- AXE her home again. floating inn
p teuily upon the sea and an easy tar
-et FOR attack. certain to be sunk or
captured
These present handicaps need To-
le permanent ones. n there is no
more reason why a submarine
should not take on fresh stores in
the oren sea than a surface vessel.
Indeed, a submarine should be able
To replenish her fuel tanks and to
hip provisions under some circum-
stances even more securely than its
rivals that run upon the water.
IN short. a submarine should be
capable of sinking to the sea bed and
there. beyond the reach of its foes.
If drawing new strength, so to
speak. from a suitably designed sub
n,ereih.e submarine supply boat.
This scheme is not at all visionary.
In part it has already been done in
ihe past by vessels planned by me
:or commercial work. and there is
Hn in5erent difficulty in modifying
10Th the military submarine and its
r,viCtualling consort so that they can
'hUs function in unison for the pur-
'Nse Of giving the fighting undersea
boat a wider field of action.
While the torpedo boat destroyer,
the suhmarine's logical pursuer to-
day, is battling with vino and wave,
tarr ~ we'll nigh her insides out, and
hunting over the tumbling seas for
elusive pcriSCopes. the submarine can
lU in ambush upon the ocean bed. II
'Eo water be not too deep, thus con-
irving her energies so that when
she does rise for a peep through her
deserving instrument she can strike
more certainly with all of the sin
.~'or force of her chosen weapon Of
attack. She can Turk in wait for her
quarry not only for one day but for
weeks at a time. especially when
sand banks a hundred feet below the
surface offer the needful haven. This
is probably a phase of submarine
warfare hat you have not thought
90. and yet it is the logical employ,
m'nt Of this particular order of fight
.U@ craft.
My first practical venture in sub
marine navigation was for CONNER
cal ends. ! aimed TO do salvage
work under entirely new conditions.
Instead Of operating upon a sunken
wreck by getting down to it from a
surface craft. | planned a submarine
..' lI'llu tTaNtl on the Wdttthth
aul reach the cargo to be recovered
r working right alongside Of the
"r,.t and below the surface.
I built the boat | called the Argo-
i.H' f.r this purpose, and in Odesa-
I..F, Bay alone ! travelled many
N." .~aiS of miles upon the sandy
..'' w. In order to make this vcs-
. - service when submerged 4
..nryl her with a diving COmpart-
n..' which was, in effect, suhstan-
u diving bell made an integral
..r - the boat. To reach the
'.'.. a door was opened in the
'N.r = th" diving compartment, and
'.- provided a p~assageway for a
.t.. -I.tably clothed in the conven-
f dress for such service. Per-
.. g.u would like to know how
.hambcr in the Argonaut was
.n... ',I?
tI know enough about the prih-
. - the diving bell to reali""
' ar inside Of It must balanc"
. 'ro-surc the hydrostatic force OF
'"' NI'vr At any depth Of subm"r-
.'., Then me sea cannot enter ana
.... u..tr can BASS ont from his shelter