The Seattle star. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1899-1947, 1917-07-04

ful There was never any trouble
about the fight end of the plan
Hut Find the enemy" has proved
the almost insomble problem
Four Ways TO Fight Divers
Reduced TO tactics. there are
four methods OF fighting the sub
marine;
The offensive - Hunting
for submarines with destroy
ers and patrols. covering tho
sea with submarine ehasers.
dragging the sea with nets.
securing the air with aeros.
2-The Defenslve-propping
the Idea OF discriminating the
submarine and concentrating
on the main problem. the de
livery OF freight 10 Britain
ports, the protection OF ship
ping by conveys. mine sweep
ers, airplanes and patrols dis
posed about the merchant
ships, not securing the sea for
submarines.
3-The Sea Trench Method
Imprisonment OF the subma-
rines by bottllng up the Ger
man coast with nets, mines
and bombesrrying cables.
Am Attack on the Bases
Digging the rats out Of their
holes"
To date. the war against the
submarine has followed the simple
IL was fairly successful
so long as the submarine had a
limited cruising radius and had TO
keep close TO the shores OF Britain.
by covering the North sea and tho
channel with patrol boats and
dragging them with nets. the Brit.
ish practically drove the smaller
submarines from the narrow seas.
Built Bigger u.Boats
The Germans countercd with $50
foot submarines that could cruise
cut in the Atlantic.
The admiralty is up against a
mathematical impossibility The
further out II extends the patrol.
the bigger grows the ratio OF pa
trolls TO submarines.
Assuming that one patrol boat
can cover 20 square miles OF sea. Il
would require four times as many
patrol boats to cover the sea 200
miles off shore as IL would take TO
protect the sea for 100 miles out.
while only twice the number OF
would be required TO
blockade the circumference OF tho
Iatrolled area goo miles out as
would be required for the smaller
circle.
Conveys Are Solution
Tho only solution OF this prob
lem. In tho opinion Of many navai
men. Is for the British navy and
Its allies 10 change ita tactics and
devote its energies 10 conveying
ind protecting merchant shipping.
Ships must wait until all the
convoy Is loaded. sail at the
same speed. and make the
same ports. The number Of
trips per ship will be cut down.
The docking facilities OF the
ports Will have 20 be enlarged.
The quantity OF freight which
can be delivered will DO lower.
ed perhaps so per cent.
This tremendous traffic problem
has prevented the adoption OF the
convoy system up 10 this time.
But that way safety lies. accord.
Ing to experts who have the facts.
Sure TO Reduce Losses
The convoy and the patrolied
sea lane will cut down losses to
negligible amount.
Especially is this the case In fair
weather. when airplanes can be
G. rried along on mother ships TO
srour the surrounding waters for
Naval airmen say that
the submarine will never come 10
the surface when an airplane ia
about In fair weather.
In rough weather the submarine
suffers terrible handicaps OF lin.
tied vision and torpedo range.
y hich offset the impossibility OF
Using airplanes.
To the convoy system II must
come. unless the third or fourth
II ethods OF fighting the submarine
can succeed