The Newark journal., 1917-05-31
HOW SUBMARINE
DOES ITS WORK
or DESTRUCTION
Torpedoing of Ship Described
From View Point of Attacker
and Attacked.
FREIGHTERS ARE EASY PREY
Ingenious Instruments Make the Point
ing of the Torpedo Very Simple
Missiles Usually Launched From
Distance of TWO Miles.

New York.-Early in the great war
the world was ast0unded by the Lon
don, Official that three British scout
cruisers-Aboukfr Hogue and Greasy
had been sunk by torpedoes. Later
wave of wonder spread over the civ
itized world when Berlin announced
that all three sinkings were the work
of one submarine, the 10.
From that period Of the war right
up to the present time the operations
Of undersea fighters have held the in
terest Of every follower of the gigantic
events.
Where will they lead? How does
Germany keep it up? Why doesn't
/ England get after the Germans?
These are questions asked continually.
Others, which show the keen interest
in submarines are for Information re-
garding them. What actually happens
when a submarine fires torpedo?
What is the usual distance between the
subsea boat and its intended victim?
Is she on the surface when making the
attack?
A succession of events has made it
possible fer statements to be obtained
of men and women on torpedoed steam
ships, and at least one officer on Ger
man U-boat has been able to tell his
story regarding such attacks.
Every navy guards with great care
its submarine secrets. Long before the
present war the United States navy
department issued orders forbidding
anyone to board its little fighters I'M
less they be in the navy or armed with
navy permits. The same situation OBJ
| tanned in foreign navies. Few books
can be procured with the data that are
Of most interest A reporter for the
New York World, however, has OBJ
tanned from the highest authority the
| facts that follow.
Launched Two Miles Away
In the first place no submarine can
launch its torpedo with any hope of
hitting the target unless the latter is
seen by the man at the periscope.
| Therefore, it must be near the surface,
50 that observations can be made. Tor
pedoes have Il range of 1000 yards
about four land miles. As general
rule the German U-boats used in at
tacking merchant vessels launch their
torpedoes from a distance of two miles.
At that distance it is very difficult for
anyone on the doomed vessel to OBJ
serve their periscope.
TorpedOes rush through the water
at a rate of from % to 40 knots an
hour. The average speed figured in
land miles is about SO miles an hour.
As the torpedo speeds through the
water it makes q wake like a huge
fish. In addition is the telltale wake
of bubbes-eaused by the exhaust
from the compressed air chambers
that give it momentum.
Once the submarine is clear of her
harbor and on the high sea, where
/ she is destined to operate, her COM
mander must keep Il keen watch for
enemy craft. He remains on the sur
face as much as he can, his coming
tower and small deck being just
above water and his periscope stick
ing up ID or 20 feet further. This IS
the normal cruising position. When
submerged the gasoline engines must
be stopped and the submarine run by
! it's electric batteries. No submarine
can cruise under water for more than
about eight hours at a time without
coming up for more air. If it be de-
sired to rest on the bottom it may
remain under little longer without
endangering the men on board.
Danger When Emerging.
There are no submarines built that
can descend to a depth greater than
$50 feet Consequently there is very
little resting on the bottom once they
start on a cruise far out TO sea.
submarine that wishes to dodge
vessels afloat may sink and remain
beneath the water until it figures that
all danger is past. Her commander
will know when he has descended
about eighty feet and he will remain
there He has delicate instruments
misunderstanding bells some call them
that convey TO him the throb of a
! propeller. He can then cruise by COM
pass to some other portion of the sea
and there take his chances of being
discovered when coming up.
When rising to the surface for air
and observation those on submarines
in war time take chances. They have
no way of learning the presence of
some drifting traWler armed with a
light gun that can destroy Them Nor
can they know a torpedo-boat destroyer
is waiting, ready with her sharp PROV
to ram them.
Aviation has proved Of great assist
ance in the hunt for submerged sub
marines. Observers in hydroplanes
can spot" the submarine even when
submerged and warn torpedo boats of
its presence.
When the submarine has polled her
periscope above Water and those on
board have noted the sen is clear She
can rise. She remains a the cruising