The Washington herald., 1916-07-11
BIG GORDON OFF CAPES
Submersible Will Try Ninety
Mile Dive Into Atlantic
to Escape.
GERMAN OFFICERS HOPEFUL
Plan to Submerge to Depth of 100
Feet in Effort to Elude Naval
Pursuers of Entente.

With all the might Of gigantic naval
strength. the British Lion is planning to
wipe the German submarine, the Deutsch-
land, from the seas
Already, the British admiralty is form
ing Gordon of warships outside the
three=mile limit. of the Virginia capes.
and according to word which reached
Washington last night. a fleet OF fast.
armed motor-boats will be rushed across
the Atlantic. probably under convoy. to
aid in the smashing OF the intrepid SUBJ
marine.
When Capt. Paul Koenis. commander Of
the Deutschland. turns the nose of his
great undersea boat down the bay and
heads for the open sea, he will be head
ing for a possible fight with every avail
able naval weapon the entente can bring
to bear.
Have Worked in Channel
Five hundred of these motor boats
have done excellent work in the British
channel. it is said They came originally
from the United States. unarmed, and
have been mounted with three-inch guns
and their crews put through special
training to detect and run down under
sea craft. There is likelihood that they
may be seen in operation against sub
marines near the three-mile limit line If
The undersea trade route between Bremen
and American ports continues Opinion
here is that these small craft will be
likely 10 prove more effective submarine
catchers" than powerful. but bulky
cruisers.
Secrecy is maintained as to Just what
measures Great Britain is taking to
establish a Gordon of vessels off the coast.
The German officers are aware of these
plans but will rely on the invisibility
of the Deutschland to evade them. Naval
officers here do not, however, share the
opinion advanced by these officers that il
will be very simple matter to escape.
They are skeptical about the ability of
the Deutschland to remain four days
under water.
Must Avoid Ripple.
The necessity OF running deeply sub
merged is to eliminate the ripple of the
periscope. With weather and sea condx
tions favorable. the submarine can prob
ably proceed at reduced speed forty or
fifty feet under water without leaving a
trace on the surface. But with a calm
sea and enemy craft on the lookout the
danger would be accentuated In the
United States navy the latest submarines
the pressure. Lates reports from Ger
many indicate that the German subma-
rines do not submerge more than 100 feet
The announced intention Of the officers
of the Deutschland to make good Their
escape from Baltimore is to submerse
while within the three-mile limit and re-
appear after a ninety-mile submerged
run at some point where there will be
no British warcrsft.
Periscope Would show.
Before coming to the surface the peri
scope will presumably show whether the
sea is clear of hostile ships, it is said
and the Deutschland will therefore not
be exposed to risk.
If the Deutschland is obliged to lose
too much distance in escaping, she may
face the dangers of a shortage of fuel.
And this, it is explained, would make
capture certain.
The question of whether British war
ships can. under international law, fire
at the Deutschland without warning is
still discussed by officials here. As a
merchant ship, the Deutschland is en-
titled presumably to the same privileges
as any other merchant vessel.