The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-07-11
WILL THE SUBMARINE DRIVE BATTLESHIPS FROM THE SEA
England's Success in Defending Coast
and Bottling German Fleet Held
an Argument for Big Fighters

slowly (Aboukir. Greasy and Hogue)
or at anchor (Niger). Large. deep
draught ships at low speed have been
Its chief victims.
These results. however, cast no re-
Election upon German ability and dar-
ing on the sea. In safeguarding its
markedly weaker battle feet IN home
ports the German naval General STAFF
has been governed by time honored
strategical principles. It's submarines
have been most potent agents in de-
fending those ports and the adjacent
coast. That. militarily. they have done
relatively little else is due to the fact
that IN its present development the
submarine Is primarily but a coast de-
fender. Simon Lake. the Nestor OF
submarine design. says in the Scien-
tifc American.
TO intercept a ~battleship at sea
even n high speed submarine must lie
In wait. perhaps for days or even
weeks at a time. much like a gunner
in a blind"
Hence a very large force OF sub
marines OF long radius OF action would
have been required to cover the great
war area formed by the 100 miles of
British coast line. and to prevent the
raids on the Blight of Helgoland, the
mine sweeping in the North Sea, the
destruction Of the Butcher and the
transport Of n million British troops
to France. The other leading events
OF the war-the sinking OF Won Specs
squadron. the Emden and the Dres-
den. n the transport Of large forces
| 80 1aooa F.-.r A. -tl- -.--t
England and the Dardanelles-were
all distant, high seas work which the
submarine. on those high seas and In
Its present development. could nR
possibly prevent.
And yet even In action in restricted
areas the undersea fighter has not
shown itself all powerful. As wit
ness the comparative immunity Of the
great allied feet-about ninety units
In all-assembled at the Dardanelles,
although bombarding warships. steam
ing slowly, are easy prey for sub
marines. In less degree this is true
also OF England's great fleet. Sub
marines will never have a more favor
able field than the mist enshrouded
North Sea and no larger quarry tina
the vast British armada of more than
$50 vessels Of all classes gathered in
or near those stormy waters.
The submarine. when It scores. is
the most deadly weapon in naval war
fare. But. as Admiral Winterhal,er
OF our navy says. They are dangerous
when they hit. The number of times
they have not hit is legion" As to
the Russo-Japanese war, Admiral Sir
! pnDitaTl ~
200 or 800 t%orpedocs were fired. and Of
these about 5h per cent. resulted in
hits. Even so many Of these con-
cerned ships at rest or moving slowly.
and only about . per cent. Of the tor
pedoes fired at ships in melton reached
their mark" After six months OF this
war an English authority estimated
that for every hit on a warship Ger
man submarines had made ninety
misses.
This ~inaccuracy Is not the fault Of
the torpedo. which is almost unerring,
but Of the difficulty in aiming it. The
little cigar shaped submarine boat
twenty-one inches in diameter and
t~wenty-one feet long in maximum
sizes-is launched by compressed air
from a torpedo tube on a battleship, or
a destroyer. or in a submarine. A
pressure diaphragm within IT. operat-
Ing a horizontal rudder. holds il at
a predetermined depth. Gyroscopic
mechanism, actuating a vertical rud-
der. Keeps 1t absolutely true to it's
course. CIT has turbine engines and
two propellers, driven by heated air at
1900 pounds pressure.
Its speed, range and weight OF ex-
plosive depend on the uses for which
It is designed-long range work from
battleships or close quarters fighting
by submarines. The modern White
head torpedo. carrying $50 pounds of
explosive. has a range Of 1000 yards
at an average speed OF 80 knots. The
English IS inch travels at 46 knots
for 1000 yards. Dur Bliss-L.eavitt is