Ripley County democrat. (Doniphan, Mo.) 1905-1920, 1915-07-23
OPERATION Of GERMAN SUBMARINE
I DESCRIBED BY A NAVAL OFFICER
Report Of Cruise by EngneerL Tells Of Grim Work IN
the North SeaHow the Deadly Graft Slipped Out Of the Ne
Canal and Topedoed Destroyer and crept Back to Friendly
Waters-Tense Moments When the Enemy Is Sighted,

our starting place and yet within tneI
safest part OF the harbor Of Kiel wei
enter the canal and go through itsI
locks. We are going full speed for
ward. Our $50 ton boat Is vibrating|
with the motion Of the engines After
four hours we leave the canal. which
has q length Of approximately forty-|
Ave miles, and we enter the lower end
Of the Elbe river at Brunsbuettel. Be.
Ing In the vicinity of Cuxhaven, We
are now meeting cruisers and torpedo
boat destroyers. A short salute and
signal and we are heading for the
North sea
We begin to feel the famous motion
Of that body Of water. Waves rush
overheard, and 30 we descend through
the manhole and take our places In.
side. The steady vibration and the
noise of the exhaust and Of the en-
gines. and the not at all appetizing
smell Of oil and gasoline and also theI
rocking OF the boat make the interior
by no means pleasant place for any-l
one who ia not accustomed to It. The
only exit, our manhole, is being
screwed down and made air and water
tight Since men have TO do their ut |
. most under such conditions, you can
well imagine that It takes win power
and energy. And the men have 1t.
Our air pump for the rear ballast
tank begins to show little troubled
and Immediately one OF the mechanics
is underneath II to make repairs. He
is working hard In a space whereI
there 10 no room to turn around, lyingl
between moving engine parts. soaked
with oil and gasoline. but 1t is done
willingly at o moments notice. The
captain has taken his place In the
chart room, the most important part
Of the submarine. He is intently study
ing the planes Of the periscope. tho
only eye Of the submarine.
Mechanism Of the Torpedoes.
There are different styles Of perl
scope In use. Ours extends approxi-
mately sixteen feet above the upper
deck and gives very clear picture
Of the surroundings. Speaking tubes.
levers and push buttons are on all
sides Of the room. From here the cap
tain directs the movements Of the
boat and also the firing OF the deadly
torpedoes. We have three torpedo
tubes on board; one In the front, one
in the rear and one In the starboard
side. Smaller boats have two and the
newer type has four. The various
sizes Of the torpedo itself range from
approximately ten inches to twenty
four inches In diameter. We are
equipped with sixteen inch torpedo
arrangement. The length Of the tor
pedoes also varies on an average OF
ten feet.
The torpedo. the most splendidly
worked out weapon. but also the most
dreadful. may be called small boat
In itself OF a cigarlike shape, the
outer shell, built of steel and bronze.
conceals the finest and most accurate
mechanical works, machinery and air
chambers, besides the deadly explo-
awe, one of the most important Sc
crets. There are at the rear Of the
torpedo two propellers driven by COM
pressed air and O dial 10 be used for
setting the range the torpedo has to
travel. For instance. II we fire the
torpedo at q target 1000 yards away.
we set dial at 1900 yards Then II
the torpedo has travelled 1900 yards
and has not hit the target by that
time, food valve opens. thus allow
ing the water TO enter the torpedo
and sink 1t, removing all danger for
shipping and preventing the enemy
from making studies of the most SCI
cret weapon Of every navy. The COM
plicated mechanism of torpedoes may
be realized by their cost The prices
range from $4,000 to $1,000 apiece.
When the torpedo is fred II Is
forced out Of the tube under water by
compressed air Of $50 to 800 atmos-
pheres, approximately 1000 pounds to
the square inch. win mention that
on torpedo boats we carry q small
sized torpedo which is fired from .
tube above the water level and which
drops under water after leaving the
tube. Up to the present time we have
not been able to make use- Of this
type on submarines, for the reason
that we must keep the gravity point
Of the boat az low an possible. This
disadvantage 10 noticed when reload
ing the torpedo tube on submarines.
II requires the work Of an excellently
trained crew to bring an 5000 pound
torpedo into the tube correctly on q
moving boat and within as small space
as Is available for the torpedo room.
Getting Ready to Attack the Foe.
After travelling for hours we are ap-
preaching the line of torpedo boats Of
the enemy on guard AGAINST us all