The Washington herald., 1916-09-06
U-BOAT CHASER Tells
HOW HE TRAPS SUBS
Wireless System Keeps British Patrol
Informed of All Friendly Submer-
sibles in Nearby Waters.
By JOHN L. BALDERsToN.
Copyright. 1851

(Copy1zht. 1851
Base Port, Grand Fleet, Aug. 8 (de-
lsyed).-The lieutenant in command of
the destroyer conceived that his business
was TO talk shout the great battleships
and battle cruisers we were passing and
not about himself. I stood on the bridge
beside him. studying through his excel
lent telescope the great war engines al;
about Us for more than half an hour be-
fore learning, quite by accident, that my
modest guides Job in this war was to
catch submarines.
The conversation drifted, as converse
tons will in the navy. to the U-boat, and
hs hazarded quite impersonally. a few
remarks, modest and tentative, in tone
Of far less assurance than that assumed
on this subject by my armchair naval
expert friends Of London. One thing he
said surprised me, and I asked, What
makes you think that"
oh" the lieutenant replied, things
I've seen- You see, we-this little boat
and I-have been chasing the undersea
Fritzes ever since they started their
sweet little campaign in February, 1915 "
Indeed I said. Catch any?'' "A
few" he replied. How many. he would
not even guess. because he said he did
not know-a highly significant fact which
goes far to explain why the British ad-
miralty does not announce the total num-
Der Of submarines destroyed. For If the
men at sea who sink the U-boats cannot
be sure in all cases whether they have
bagzed their quarry, 1t is certain that
the admiralty must be unable correctly
to calculate the total cost.
To this view Of the case the lieutenant
sssented, adding: They could tell how
many they know we have sunk and cap
tUred, but that would be far below the
total number. They could tell how
many have been reported as probably
sunk, and that would be too high. They
could guess, but the admiralty does not
issue guesses to the public 1t says
nothing, and We in the service are glad
it keeps quiet"
British Navy Doesn't Advertise.
The whole spirit which has made the
British navy what II Is was embodied
in that last remark, I thought The
young man who made 1.-THE could not
be more than twenty-seven-is quite IN
known to the public, and probably will
remain so. There Is no man the British
public will acclaim more heartily or re-
member longer than the men who de-
stroys a dreaded German pest Of the
0Cea1-lf It only learns his name.
The few names that have leaked out,
Of sailors who destroyed submarines
leaked out. as a rule. by accident-are
known to thousands who could not tell
you the names Of the army commanders
on the British front Yet this man who
has destroyed not one submarine but "a
few" said, We are glad II keeps quiet, .
In a tone Of thankfulness, and any one
who konws naval men would know. as
did. that he was thinking when he
said it, not for an instant OF glory or OF
fa hr,N 81 ~
lover tradition Of the service, The navy
does not advertise"
Sends Up OIL to Deceive.
Why is It" I asked. that you cannot
be certain when you sink a subma rfne
Il Is generally said that oil always comes
from the surface after the skin Of the
boat IS ruptured and she sinks"
He smiled at the mention Of oil. True
enough, oil comes up when Fritz sinks, -
he said. But Fritz has learned a few
tricks during this war. He knows how
hard 1t is for US to tell when we've real
~ got him, and when he has had a very
close shave, when our keel has scraped
his back or when a shell has come so
close he thinks we think we've got him,
he sends up some OIL to fool US.
Then he lies low. and If We scuttle OF
and wireless in a report that we've bagg-
ed him, he goes on his way rejoicing.
He finds It very hard for various rea-
cate him, and the oil trick is one Of his
best"
During a trip which lasted several
hours. returned again and again to the
subject OF submarines, and little by little
cleaned from the reluctant lieutenant in
tensely interesting stories Of the tricks
and lodges employed in the ceaseless and
relentless game between the German
hares and the British hounds The cir
under which this is written
prevent me from describing the methods
Of detecting the throb Of distant motors
beneath the sea by means Of apparatus
fixed into the bulls Of patrol ships the in
genious uses OF nets, the new explosive
bombs. The British cannot be quite Ger
tain Just how much the Germans know
Of the methods used against them, and
are not taking any chances Of giving in
formation TO the enemy.
But I have received permission to an
swer. in the words Of my self-efracing
lieutenant, two puzzles about the anti
submarine warfare that have perplexed
every one who has not understood the
Inner workings Of the silent navy.
How do you avoid sinking British sub
marines by mistake? % I asked him.
Our system Is such that I have not
heard Of a case Of this kind during the
war" he replied. Occasionally the gun
crews of merchantmen, seeing a British
Dertscope, have fired on It by mistake,
but I do not think we have lost a ship
through these errors. The wireless pro-
-ects our submarines, although there are
very many more British submarines than
German in the waters where most OF our
searching Is done.
Every commander Of a patrol boat or
a destroyer or cruiser Is notified by wire