Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1917-10-19
j. s. DESTROYERS IN
EUROPEAN WAR ZONE
MAKE GREAT RECORD
Tactics Employed by American
Fleet Have Played important
Part in Cutting Down Ship
ping Losses

BASE OF AMERICAN FLOTILLA IN
BRITISH WATERS, Sept. 30-(Corre-
spondence of the Associated Press I'm
the five months of active service that
they have seen in the war the American
destroyers have steamed collectively
total distance of $4,000 miles. This is
more by several times than the distance
cruised in two whole years of peace.
And what make the figures all the more
impressive is that they have been
reached without the loss through an ac-
cident of war of single life or very
serious mishap to any of the units.
The Americans can claim no small
part of the credit for the gradual de-
crease in Shipping losses. First OF all
the addition of their units to the allied
forces, patrolling as they do an area as
large as that bounded roughly by the
great V-formed by New York, Detroit
and Knoxville, was certain to make life
less comfortable for the U-boats. Next
the Americans applied all the tactics OF
the long experienced British and in some
instances improved on them. All de-
stroyers added to their equipment, depth
charges and other services. Then the
crews learned some more about the bust
ness of smoke screening a merchant
feet while they beat off the attacking
submarine with gunfire and depth
charges. Their gunnery, too, has great
ly improved. One crew saw spar Of
a sunken ship the other day which they
at first thought was a periscope and
shattered it at 1000 yards.
New ideas also have been and are con-
stantly being worked out with view to
rendering the work of the submarine
increa singly difficult For instance two
officers working on designs for new de-
stroyers, have introduced many new
ideas gained from observations made In
this anti-submarine game Still others
have suggested changes in gun firing.
U-BOAT CREWS WEAKENING. .
In the period of active service over
here each destroyer has taken many
turns at patrol duty. This means five
or six days away from port in varying
kinds of weather, when the routine is
"eat, sleep, stand watch and get sea-
sick" Occasionally this routine is
broken by the call to general quarters
usually caused by the presence of
U-boat or crew of a torpedoed ship.
Every destroyer has to it's credit at
least one encounter with a submarine,
while some of the more fortunate have
stalked two or three underwater craft.
At no time however. have the subma-
rines shown fight. They always avoid
a meeting.
The depth charges are feared most by
the U-boat commanders. These weap-
ons, as announced recently by the
American navy department, are high
explosives timed to explode by water
pressure at the desired depth. Naval
officers make no secret of the effective
ness of this new-found 'antidote for the
submarines.
The wide cruising radius of the
American boats also has helped to pro-
duce unmistakable signs of a weaken
ing in the morale of the U-boat crews.
They have made the U-boats spend
more time under water. and there is not
so much destruction of ships by gunfire
and bombs as formerly. The aug
mented destroyer patrol has made the
submarines use up more torpedoes,
with the result that they have to return
to their base more frequently for re-
loading.
WELCOME CONVOY DUTY
When not patroling the shipping lanes
the destroyers have been conveying food
and supply ships and transports. An
assignment to convoy American troop
ships is welcomed by the men.
1t is a special job and takes them
a way from the routine of ordinary patrol
and convoy work. Also it stimulates
interest among the rank and file of the
ships company, many OF Whom Ieel
that relatives and friends are on the
transports.
The destroyers also have taken lau-
rels in the humanitarian task Of rescu-
ing survivors of torpedoed ships. The
Americans began snatching torpedo
crews from watery graves the day of
their arrival and for long time not
a week passed without several Destroy
ers accounting for survivors.
The rescue work is more often than
not done in mine-infested areas and
places where U-boats are known to be
lurking and is always attended by grave
danger to the rescuer. Frequently while
one destroyer is picking up survivors
another will run protecting circles
around the scene. More often, however,
the hazardous work is done single-hand-
ed, the destroyer guns booming into
space as a warning to submarines not
to attempt to interfere while the sur
aNl Hxy ha