Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1915-06-09
OPERATION Of GERMAN SUBMARINE
DESCRIBED BY A NAVAL OFFICER
Report Of Cruise by Tells Of Grim Work in
the North Sea How the Deadly Craft Slipped Out Of the Ke
Canal and Topedoed Destroyer and Crept Back to Friendly
Waters-Tense Moments When the Enemy Is Sighted,

- az Vb " 49,
BY IL. r. 1EYER, $%4
Enolnser-LIeutenan Of the German
III n Naval Reserve. rs, 90. .
Vi Correspondents Of the Chicago News.)
& Kiel, Germany.-At the beginning
!, Of last September, I had returned
from a patrol trip In the Baltic sea.
After having a days rest I walked
through the streets Of Kiel at six
{ o'clock in the morning, crossed the
h harbor on one Of the ferries and then
Q short walk OF Ave minutes brought
me to the main gate Of the imperial
& wharf. The sentries saluted at the
double gate. but nevertheless I had
to show my card OF Identification to
! an officer Of the wharf at the inner
I gate. Twenty thousand skilled work
men were working there in two shifts,
day and night, building and repairing.
I had to walk to one OF the outer ba.
sins where my boat was lying. We
y had orders to leave at o.: 80 a, m.
Al / passed some Of the flrst-class
battle ships, I looked with pride at the
little dark gray bodies ofSthe subma'
q rines lying side by side along the pier.
Il One might compare them to turned
up nutshells. BY the black letter "X'
3 on the bow Of the second one, I recog.
& nized my boat. Seventy-nve feet In
length and twelve feet in width are
the overall dimensions Of the craft.
The body of the boat extended two
j feet above water level and ten feet
below. The hnll Is built of five MILL
i meters approximately three-six-
Il teenths OF an inch) Krupp steel.
mi. Some OF the new style boats, lying
8 not far from ours, are considerably
larger and more powerful. The bridge
on each boat iis almost in the center
Of the upper deck, ten feet in height
and five feet square. Besides the two
masts. supporting the wireless, the
exhaust Of the gas engines and the
periscope, there is only rudder to
/, be seen on the upper deck and two
on each side just above the water lev
el. The rudder on the rear Of the up
4 per deck serves as help in steering
under water, and it Is connected with
4 the main rudder. In other words, It
is an additional device for changing
the course and is OF great help when
\ the vessel is submerged. for then turn
ing is, naturally much more difficult
4 to accomplish. The side rudders
n serve the purpose of allowing minor
up and down movements.
Getting Ready for the Start.
"A few steps down the pier ladder
brings me to the upper deck of the
U-X There the crew is busy getting
her ready for the trip. Twenty-four
men form the crew Of our small bat
tleship. Twelve are regular sailors,
including noncommissioned officers,
and the rest are the engineering force
under my command. All iof my men
. are skilled mechanics in gas engines
and electrical work. German subma-
L rines are driven by gas engines when
they are running above the water line
and BY electric motors when under
I water. $# H., s:5 :, 4. 4 "a +. VI. X
I receive from my assistant. en-
4 gineer the report that everything is
n clear for actidh. !" Y There are hun
ireds Of things to be looked after.
1 inspect carefully every mechanical
part Of the upper deck, then descend
through the manhole, thirty-six inches
n In diameter, which is the sole en-.
y trance and exit OF the boat. l con-
4 vince myself that everything is right
& here, az each piece Of mechanism Is
Z Of the greatest Importance for good
y results Of our trip. All gasoline tanks
\ are at the lower part Of the boat and
4 al have been filled, the electric bat
d teries have been charged and drinking
water and food supplies have been
taken on. The deadly torpedoes are
b In place and the gas engines and mo.
\ tors are in excellent condition. Every
piece Of apparatus has been tested
4 and found satisfactory.
It il nine o'clock, and our captain
d in charge. bearing the rank Of captain
n lieutenant, arrives on board report
u the engineering division "clear for &C!
ton" We are talking about impor.
tant orders for our trip. At $3.50
!. sharp we are on the bridge, the signal
goes through, every man is at his
/ place. The mechanical telegraph
Z rings and gives speed orders to the
engine room. sss "Clear for maneuyer," :
I half speed forward, we are moving;
salutes are exchanged with our com
rades while passing their boats. VIII
they see us return? ,5t5 Z. M SS:t
Through klei Canal to the Sea. t 5.5
We are able to make fourteen knots
4 above water and nine when sub
i merged. The newest type Of German
submarine has been brought to q
+ speed of twenty knots above water
H and eleven knots below. We are head
ing for the Kaiser Wilhelm. canal (the
Kiel canal) connecting the Baltic and
the North sea. Within three miles Of
our starting place and yet within the
I. safest part Of the harbor Of KEEL we
enter the canal and 60 through its
i locks. We are going full speed for
y ward. Our $50 ton boat is vibrating
n with the motion of the engines. After
four hours we leave the canal, which
] has a length of approximately forty
4 five miles, and we enter the lower end
OF the Elbe river at Brunsbuettel Be-
1 ing in the vicinity Of Cuxhaven, we
/ are now meeting cruisers and torpedo
boat destroyers. VI A short salute and
4 signal and we are heading for the
North sea.