The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1917-02-22


Its Commander Has Almost
Superhuman Task.
MENTAL STRAIN is GREAT.
Technical Skill Of a High Order and
TireIess Endurance Are Required.
Men Must Be TemperamentalIy Quail
flied and Almost Perfect Specimen. Of
Physical Fitness.
The submarine, with the memories 1t
raises of a destructive career, dwarfs
and shadows the land warfare Of to-
day. The successful submarine com
mander is the most skillful corsair of
the time-perhaps not equaled in any
time. He has all the military quail
ties. There is a marvellous mechanical
grip in his set work and something
more. Nerve and endurance mark his
management even Of an ordinary ma
neuver, nerve which is as rare as in
spiration, which, indeed, is often
kind of inspiration. But this officers
qualities reach higher than mere me-
chanical skill His powers of observa-
ton, his command over himself and
his command over the cut and thrust
Of the torpedo fight are wonderful He
cannot be surprised. He is ever ready
to accept a challenge, and once in ac-
ton he must not wilt out of the most
appalling situation, says the New York
Sun. ....
Qualities of Commander. ri
There is much mystery about the
submarine commander. The Germans.
who should know, have written moth
ing about him. Our official and au-
thentic knowledge is due to Italian
naval authorities, He is, they assert
with truth, a machine, but more than
a military machine, and technical
knowledge and mechanical skill are
not all. He Is ever fighter, but he is
not wholly a fighter. He has prudence
and singular patience. He is not mas
tered by the dust and detail of the
moment, but looks calmly and serious
~ at great actions, thinking, planning
and, above all, seeing into the future.
This is the secret Of his success, of his
magnetism and his firm hold on the
Imagination and will Of his crew.
He appears to be little known. This
truth is the theme Of an authoritative
essay OH the physique and training of
which appears in the current number
of the AnnaH di Medicina Navale.
The commandments part is perhaps
the most difficult work in the whole
range Of naval warfare. The manage.
ment OF such delicately balanced
mechanism makes tremendous de-
mand upon the mental and physical
powers Of it's operator. The following
is description Of the kind Of being
upon whom the safety of the craft, the
safety of the crew and of numberless
people in passenger ships depends.
Great Mental Strain.
Admiralty orders assign to a sub
marine (the context shows that YES
sci of about LOO tons is meant) two
chief officers, commandant and an
officer to take his place. During sub
mergence the commandant has control
Of several complicated mechanical con-
nections. He has to regulate the speed,
keep the ship level, attending to the
depth and course. For every attack he
has these things to look after: Poise
and launch the torpedo, read and re-
read the objects in the refectors of the
periscope. It is evident that the brain
is thus subject to an extraordinary ia
tigue which cannot be continued for
any length of time. How many mystic
rious losses are due to brain flag, to the
smallest thing going wrong with the
officers vision or nerve? The eyes are
apt to grow tired, the sight to become
dim, owing to the strain Of looking into
the glass Of the periscope by the feeble
light Of the tossing, endless waters. If
one eye be used the light is perhaps
better employed, and in this way stron-
ger but monocular vision tires more
quickly than the vision Of two eyes.
Soon the limit Of endurance is reached
through the great bodily and eye
strain" ,.> ...s .~s
In the crew Of the submarine there
must be technical experts to attend to
the torpedoes, the electric motors, the
steering gear, the horizontal planes.
the machinery for letting in air or ex-
polling water; there are electricians,
firemen, oilers, polishers and others
more like the sailors of ordinary times.
German sailors of this type whom the
writer has seen were remarkably deft.
with facile neatness that seemed in
compatible with such merciless employ
ments. They were quick and light,
qualities that are Indispensable to men
who must overcome two physical
forces-the pressure of the air, which
tends to rise in a submarine under wa
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