Honolulu star-bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu, Hawaii]) 1912-2010, 1915-01-30
SUBMARINESFOR
HAWAII MAY BE
OF SPECIAL TYPE
Plans Submitted to Navy De-
partment For Tropical
Under Water Vessels

Some interesting views have been
exchanged by the naval authorities on
the question OF special type OF sub
marine designed for tropical service
in the possibility thst il win be nee.
essary to have submarines stationed
permanently at the Panama canal. Ha-
waifan islands and elsewhere, says the
Army and Navy Register. The bureau
OF steam engineering made the PRO
posal that submarine for this class
OF work should be of distinctive
type, pointing out:
The time of charging a storage bat.
terry Is regulated almost. entirely BY
the heat developed by the charge. Sub
marines in the tropics usually have to
charge the battery In installments.
stopping at intervals for long periods
for the battery to cool, and can never
force the charge, as can be done IN
cooler waters. Due to the compact
msnner in which the cells are slowed,
Il takes an extremely long time for
them to lose their heat, and for this
reason submarine boats for tropical
service should be supplied with means
for cooling the cells. As this adds u
the apparatus needed in the boat, ey-
erything else which is not needed In
the tropics, as heating Appliances,
should be omitted. producing design
for service in warm climates only. An.
ether thing that has TO be considered
is the fact that submarines In the
tropics viii almost invariably operate
from shore base. or, II from mobile
tender. only for short periods OF time.
In considering this feature, and tho
fact that the design Of boat will strive
for greater submerged radius, the en-.
gines are not necessarily Of the same
military value as the battery; they
can, therefore, be made smaller, SIM
pier. and designed With larger factors
Of safety and added reliability. SO that
the operators need think OF little else
than submerged work and submerged
battle tactics. The shore station or base
from which submarines would nee.
essarily operate would have to be 1T
ted with adequate charging plants,
both air and electricity. storehouses
and quarters, and the necessity OF
! working over repairs should be re.
duced to minimum.
The design was not approved by the
bureau of construction and repair, al
though there were undoubtedly TEA
lures in boats intended for this service
which are deserving Of more particu'
lar consideration than In boats intend.
ed for ordinary service on our coasts.
! II was stated: Submarines In the
tropics could probably always operate
from some shore base. This Is the
case at present in the Philippines and
practically so in the Canal zone, where
the tender is incapable Of self-propul'
sion. although there is no shore base
It is supposed that the same condi
lions viii obtain at Pearl Harbor. The
bureau believes that either on the ten
der or at the shore base of such sub
marines theer could well be installed
ice machines or other cold-air ma
chimes, to which portable connection
could be made from the battery ven
tilation ducts of the submarines. Dur
ing a charge the battery ventilation
of a submarine could then be con
nected to this coId-air machine and
cold air used for ventflating the bat
terry at the time of charge and for
sufficient time afterwards to prevent
undue rise of temperature" The prop
osition did not meet with the APPROX
al OF Commander Yates Stirling, Jr.
commander of the submarine torpedo
f1otiIla, who expressed the view thu
it was unwise to build special typ'
vessel for some particular imaginar.
service, for the reasons that yesseli
designed for such service are usual,
for work different from that for which
they are designed, and that It seem
ed a better practise in the designing
OF submarines to take into considera
/ ton the maximum usefulness Of th'
| type and build them to be able Z
4 fulfil that service, then all the mino1
services win be readily performed.