Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1917-06-14

Niit wv '''~''"
ed mines should
be used which would be dangerous more tilan an
hour after they had been dropped into the sea.
The mines in question are self-contained contact
mines that are not controlled from any shore OF
observing station and are well-nigh instantly men,
acing when cast overheard.
Just before the war the Germans, with their
usual technical cummings, developed a naval Of
Tense and defense mine which could be used either
In a fixed position or be planted hastily in water
trnversed by enemy shipping. This mine is the
type which has done such destructive work and Is
designed to be fired by an electric battery placed
inside of the mine. this battery being inactive I'M
til the mine has been submerged anu then STRUCK
hy u passing craft.
A development of the contact mine which the
Germans have ut times employed successfully ls
one surmounted by Il dummy or decoy periscope.
The object Of this ruse Is to invite rammlng on
the part of Il patrolling vessel or even Il mer-
chairman when the deceived navigator believes
that the chance is good for sending a U-boat to
the bottom. OF course a vessel attempting to ram
that dummy periscope is sure to strike the con-
tact mine and cause 1t to explode, the result being
disastrous to the ramfning craft.
This lure has not worked so we'll latterly be-
cause the observer Is able in n few moments to
establish the fact that the periscope is stationary,
and the work Of getting the underlying mine out
of the way is left to the fairly safe process or
SWeeping-trnWlerS nnkeu VOselner ny Il ioop VI
wire rope doing the work.
In order to deal with both the submarine Tor
pedo boat and the submarine mine planter the
British admiralty has had recourse to defense
nets of Il novel character. These have been very
well described by Rear Admiral William s. Sims.
According to this authority:
1--WE did not find out for q long time what those
nets are like and l think 1t Is necessary that 1t
should be understood In order to realize the great
!S!Y.ss f ss"Is! ''' !" y '"s presence '' 'S"'
1.-THE net is q very light one, made of little wire
rope, probably not us big as u lead pencil prop
ably not more than n quarter Of an inch In diane
ter. The meshes Of the net are l. to 10 1ee'
square. On top Of this net are floats ana on the
bottom are little weights.
.The moment this observation-disclosures 10 INT
submarine commander, Of course--ls In the water
In front Of him, the floats keep the net on th'
surface and the weights keep the bottom do"h
and If he runs into it his bow goes into one o
the meslles and the net falls back arouhu hlh
and 1t may foul his propeller or may NOT.
"The net Is 800 or 400 yards long, and as tn
submarine proceeds the floats will trail on tn
surface, SO that even If he dives deeper he leave
these on the surface and his trail Is plain ana ther
Is no difficulty then In capturing him. lie KNOW
when he runs into u net that his capture Is pra<
ticully certain. If he goes down 200 feet til
flonts of the net are still on the surface"
These nets are used In two ways, either passive
~ at chosen points In guarded waters or they ar
dropped overheard by patrolling vessels that oil
cover n submerged submarine In motion. IL IL
fact that even though a submarine be runnln
totally submerged ~ or 80 feet down, It ST.
causes a disturbance at the surface, not a wal
I'm the usual sense of the term. but n type
wave which is easily distinguished from the reg
lar surface waves, and this phenomenon Is readl
discernible from the bridge Of a ship or from
hydrOplane.
10 return to the submarine mine. We nave
far considered only that so-called offensive tyl
, which can be anchored In fairly smooth water
such as prevail extensively In the North sen, b
. now let us tnke up that kind which can be dr0pp'
overheard In much deeper water. This sort
Q capable of being planted from a speedy sh
|. seemingly bent upon escaping from her purshei
' nnd her strategy consists In inviting chase whl
!. dropping these stumblingblocks right In the pa
Of her onconing enemies.
= Generally the ship hitting weapons Of this &c
' does so bow on. and TINT part OF a vessel 10 I
q least vital section. A crdft may have her b
I blown of and yet he able to make q haven. a.
r besides the damage may he susceptible Of spec
4 repair. Our mines. on the other hnnd. have a {
lnyed action. and inter being hit ny the stt
r Of n cnft roll steriwnrd In contact with her b
tom for some distance before they explode.
this wny the blow, when the mine does bur
% strikes some vital nren and the damage Ia w
a nigh certain to BE- fatal York Sun.