Evening star., 1915-03-14
Lieut.. Hinkamp, U. S. n, De-
cIares They Are Certain
to Prove Efficient.
DELIVERS AN ADDRESS
AT UNIVERSITY CLUB
Not Much Said in Press About Amer.
ican Craft, He Says, (Which Is
Just as Well"

While it is true that the United States
has not been engaged in any war
whore its submarines have been given
a chance to show what they can do,
declared Lieut.. Clarence N. Hinkamp,
U. 8. N, an expert on submarines. in
an address ct the University Club last
night, there is a certainty that when
they are called upon for actual service
they will prove efficient.
When foreign submarines make great
runs, he said, there is a great report
given them in the press. but American
submarines have made just as good
and even better records than any for
eign submarine. Not much Is said IN
the press. he remarked, about the feats
of the American submarine, and 1t Is
just as well that 1t is not, FOR we
want to have something up our sleeves
in the case of hostilities."
Safer Than Surface Craft.
He dispelled all ideas Of dangers Il
the crew in the operation of the sub
marine, declaring them to be far safel
to cruise in than any kind of surface
craft. He traced the history of sub
marines as far back as the birth o.
the United States, when Robert FultoI
constructed a submarine. which sub
merged and never came up again Ht
declared the first successful submarine
prior to the Spanish-American war.
Calling attention to the fact thai
steam was used as the propelline
power of the first submarines, Lieut.
repeat itself, for the larger types OF
submarines now being demanded
would fall back upon steam as the
propelling power.
Eternal vigilance is the only means
Of safety in the submarine, continued
thoroughly trained. 1t has been shown
that all of the serious accidents which
have befallen submarines could have
been prevented. The dangers of sub
becoming fewer. There are times when
1t Is necessary to take chances, and
such chances are in favor of the sub
marine.
Questioned concerning the methods
of attack, he declared there was no
hard and fast rule. and. besides, it was
not SO much a matter of method Of at
tack as it was of getting results. The
method is small matter. he remarked
Best Time for Attack.
''The best time to attack a ship with
a submarine" he said, "is at dawn OF
at twilight, or when the sea is rough
enough to prevent detection of the
periscope. In a seaway 1 have gotter
within 500 yards Of a vessel without
detection and in fog have gotten
right under her bows
AS to the depths at which subma
rines could operate. he said, it was
not necessary and was absolutely fool
hardy for submarine to go beyond
sixty feet below the surface of the
water. There they could not be de-
tected and would be below all shipping.
He called attention to the fact that
while the last Congress provided eight
cen submarines for the navy, ii
feet The tenders, he said, are a nee
essary part of a submarine fotilla. be-
cause there is where the supplies are
obtained. and where the crews of the
submarines live.
A submarine could be constructed il
from twenty to twenty-four months
while 1t took a year to construct on,
torpedo. which costs in the neighbor
hood of $1,000. Efforts were made b,
persons in the audience to have from
Lieut.. Hinkamp a statement Of tn.
Workmanship Of the United States
fidential information. but he added tina
the percentages OF hits was fairly high
Torpedo nets. he said, were not al
effective protection against torpedoes
as the United States torpedoes ar,
equipped with net-cutting apparatus
He declared that the American publ,
would have to be educated to the neet
of submarines. and a demand for then
would have to be created. Given {
f1otilla Of submarines at each Amerf
can port, supplemented by coast artil
lery, he said, he would guarantee tha
they would give an enemy a few mo-
ments of hard thinking.
Lieut.. Hinkamp illustrated his tall
with diagrams and stereopticon slides