The patriot. [volume] (Indiana, Pa.) 1914-1955, 1917-12-15
that most of my Photographic films
were spoiled.


explore the M. As l progressed
my confidence increased and l soon
felt as safe as if on dry land. The
M is a real ship and as stable as a
destroyer. As I walked down the long
corridor from the officers quarters
felt as though I were inside the works
Of a watch, so complicated did the ma
chinery seem. There were two inner
decks, the lower one for the heavy ac-
cumulatOrs and the upper for the two
sets of engines. On the upper deck aft
was a narrow lane banked by the two
Diesel engines and the two electric mo-
tors. The torpedo tubes were set in
the sides. Forward were the oil tanks
and stOrerOOms. A rapid firing gun
was attached to a trap, ready to be
swung rapidly into position on the
outer deck. The crews quarters were
forward and aft. Here the half-naked,
sweating men off duty lay on the
ceiling, or in hammocks, trying to get
some sleep. The cook was busy in his
electric kitchen preparing light food
/ that gave out no OdOr and did not re-
/ quire an oven. The wireless room was
not occupied, as we were submerged
Watching for the Enemy.
But the heart Of the ship centered
about two periscOpes, thick, electrical
! ly operated shafts whose lower ex-
tremittes terminated in the navigation
room. Here the commander or his
oHicorS op5 ,,pJorCa; oore I-,D+ b,Ir
hour watches which were painful in
their intensity. Our existence depend
ed upon our seeing the enemy the frac-
tiOn of a minute before he saw US.
However, this was not the spirit of the
ship. Our aim was to find enemy sub
marines, and never in all my expert
ence have / seen men so intent upon
finding the Germans. Perhaps it was
because the loneliness of our position
welded us into one family. The little
navigation chamber housed q number
of men. Two sailors sat on little
benches on the starboard side before
two vertical dials, which, by flashing
lights, told our angle of forward pitch
or side roll. We were travelling about
seven knots an hour with our peri
scopes five feet above the waves. The
two men controlled the side planes
which governed our depth. AS the
angle lights flashed TO zero, or 10 de-
grees, they would whirl the wheels and
bring up to the desired depth.
The M was very sensitive be-
cause Commander RS first care
when we submerged had been to bal
ance the ship-that is to fill the COM
partments with just the right amount
of water to make the M shade
heavier than water. This is the
French and also the German method.
Many navies maintain the submarine
slightly lighter than water. Our side
rudders and speed kept us at the re-
quired depth, like a dirigible balloon.
On the port side one sailor controlled
our course by means of Sperry gyro-
scope compass and a wheel operating
the vertical stern rudder. Other sail
ors stood by at pumps and valves
ready to aid us in diving or to empty
the water compartments if we needed
to mount to the surface very quickly.
An officer directed the motors and dis
tant valves through speaking tubes and
buzzers.
Silence Is Necessary.
All these men were in a circle of
about fifteen feet. Silence reigned and
the discipline was severe, for in sub
marine one must act quickly; seconds
may be precious. When one conversed
it was in whispers and briefly. On a
platform Commander R stood gaz-
ing intently through the periScOpe, a
hand on either support turning the
shaft so as to sweep a little more than
half the horizon. His head was in a
sort of cavity and it was hotter there
than elsewhere. He was perspiring as
in q steam bath. A few feet away an
underofficer was searching the other
half of the horizon.
I took the underOfficer's post and
glued my eye to the lens. 1t surprised
me that one could see so well. 1t was
like looking at a moving picture, the
leaping waves that made no sound, the
salt spray which had no odOr Of salt
and the distant low shore which sent
us no breeze. Soon my eyes tired from
the strain of the lens and was glad
to stop.
Then Commander R decided to
emerge for a quarter Of an hour. This
was possible since we were far from
: the enemy's base and his airplanes
could not see us. We all received this
news with JOY and the valvemer
jumped with alacrity to expel the wa
ter. AS we mounted, Commander
R first carefully scanned the hOri
zon through the periscope, then he
himself opened the coming tower
t hatch and searched the Adriatic with
: his glass. There was nothing in sight
+ so we came to the surface and re
? mained quietly rolling in the trough Of
t the sea. One by one the sailors came
: out for breath of air and I am sure
! it was needed. A strange fact is tha
t the pure salt air actually smelled pu
q L