The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1915-08-01
British Cruisers First to Feel
Effect Of %Germany's
Deadly Weapon.
NEUTRALS NOT IMMUNE

NEUTRALS NOT IMMUNE
Eight years before the European war
started Germany did not possess a sub
marine. The head Of the German naval
party, Admiral von Tirpitx. had made
n point OF publicly decrying the naval
opinion which In other countries was
receiving the exploits of the then little
perfected submersible with considerable
optimism II not with actual confidence.
But early in 1906 there was suddenly
a decided change In the German naval
policy respecting this type OF boat, and
on August 8. 1905. the u. the frst Of
the present hotilla. was launched.
At the beginning OF the war naval
annals credited Germany with less than
thirty submarines. AS the naval appro-
3l.S5o.ooo for this type Of torpedo craft
II 10 likely. however, that ten or a dozen
more submarines were nearing compile
tion. Since the war began the mos,
c%reditable information available indi-
Gates that Germany has been laying
down two. II not three. submarines a
month. 1t seems probable, therefore.
that the German submarine fotilla, in
Guiding losses. numbers something in
the ~neighborhood OF sixty submersibles.
while France Is known to have about
ninety and Great Britain about a hun
dred.
Greatest surprise Il War.
The greatest surprise of the war has
neen the submarine. The Zeppelin has
failed. The great d~readnoughts with
their powerful batteries OF guns have
hy no means shown that they could
sweep all before them. The aeroplane.
20 be sure. has proved an invaluable
sdjunct to the armies Of ali the fighting
nations, but the element OF surprise in
the aeroplane has been pretty thorough
~ deadened because OF the high state
Of perfection TO which it had been
broughs before the war began.
It IL the submarine. this compare
lively small craft, able to dive beneath
the waves at will. and even to rest
motionless on the bottom Of the sea.
that has driven the powerful monsters
of the greatest feet ever built. that Of
Great Britain. to seek refuge in some
unknown and carefully guarded haven
Of safety, probably on the west coast
Of England. And 1t Is this type Of war
vessel that. according TO the best naval
opinion. has cut the fighting value Of
d~readnoughts in two. IL II has not en-
tirely destroyed that value.
There have been no battles between
d~readnoughts. SO the usefulness OF the
submarine during such an engagement
IL purely a matter OF surmise. But this
10 certain the exploits performed at the
beginning of the war by submersibles so
awakened the minds OF the British Ad-
mlralty to the menace OF this craft that
the British fleet. representing millions
of dollars, has been kept we'll out Of
their way.
But there has been one naval en-
er between cruisers in which the
subWlrine proved its worth. This was
In re Baltic, of the coast OF Goth
land. when a German and Russian
fquadr'n clashed. The cruisers appar-
emily ere impotent against each other.
but 3 submarine. a British submarine,
opera with the Russian ships, stole
up to me OF the German cruisers and
sank L within a few minutes. This
cruise was the Pommern OF the
Deu + bland class.
Great Cruising Radius.
Perhaps the greatest surprise Of the
rany afforded by subma rines. however,
has been their unexpected cruising
r4i1s. Some British naval critics. I'M
able 20 believe that Germany has per-
fect,1 4 type OF submersible capable Of
travelling so far from a known base,
has insisted that the Germans must
have succeeded In establishing and main
tai ING secret bases. 1t has been said.
for instance, that one OF these must be
on Cape Finisterre, on the northwest
shoulder OF Spain, and that another may
be In Bear Javen. at the southwest
end OF Ireland.
In any event the fact remains that
submarines have encircled the British
Isles. and that one. under the command
Of Capt. Otto Herring, made a trip Of
5000 miles from Wilhelmsha ven to the
Dardanelles. there to stick It's p~eriscope
above the waves on the morning of May
20 and sink within Il few minutes the
two great battleships Majestic and
Triumph.
No type OF warsh!p is safe against a
submarine. Even a submarine Itself APP
parently is not immune from an enemy
submersible. This was shown some
weeks ago in the AdrIatic when an Aus
trian subma rine rose and spied an Ital-
tan submarine floating on the surface.
a torpedo was launched and the Italian
craft was sunk within a few minutes,
In January n German submarine at
tackled the battleship Formidable off
Plymouth and the great ship sank be-
fore the character of the enemy was
fully realized. In March the British de-
stroyer Ariel was torpedoed and sunk
by a German submarine. and only two
months ago the British torpedo boats
Nos. 10 and l2 were destroyed with a
loss OF twenty-nine men.
submsr ine's First Big Exploit.
on Angus, II. 1914, when the public
mind was filled with accounts OF the
enormous destructive powers Of the new
German siege guns then batteriug down
the Belgian Notifications. there was
cruising early In the morning in the
North Sea "A squadron Of three British
cruisers. They were the Aboukir, the
Greasy and the Hogue. Suddenly and
without warning an explosion OF inn
mense force literally split the Aboukir