The Princeton union. [volume] (Princeton, Minn.) 1876-1976, 1917-07-12
.A|RCRAF|' SCOUTS.
Their Value In Naval Warfare In
Locating Submarines. :
NOT GOOD AT SINKING THEM.


While They Are Clever at "Spotting"
the Submerged Boats, 1t Is Only by
Great Skill and Good Luck That
Bomb Can Be Dropped to Its Mark.
In some ways an aeroplane is more
effective in locating submarine than
! destroyer or a patrol boat, and it
| may even be able in exceptional cir
| cumstances to destroy the undersea
vessel, says G. G. Grey. editor of the
London Aeroplane.
There Is q popular illusion, which is
| not exactly a delusion, that the OBJ
server in an aeroplane can see as far
down into the water as a submarine
is likely to dive. Up to point this is
true, for If the water is clear it is pos
| sible to see some twenty or thirty feet
| into 1t from point vertically above,
and if such water is only forty or fifty
feet deep submarine is not likely to
dive beyond the visibility point.
1t is quite another matter however,
where the water is a kind of leaden
| gray in color and where ten feet of
water over the periscope is enough to
| hide submarine as effectually as if
she We're twenty fathoms down.
| Therefore it is fairly obvious that the
| scouting air craft have to depend on
surface vision quite as much as the
patrol boats. Where the difference
| does come in is in the angle of vision
from which that surface view is OBJ
| tained
For instance, patrol boat might
| well miss seeing a periscope half
mile away, especially if the periscope
were between the boat and the sun,
so that the reflection Of the sun off
the water was dazzling the lookout
men. The aircraft observer, on the
other hand, perched up aloft, would
| have far better chance. The peri
| scope. cutting through the water.
makes a very distinct wake which
| spreads out on each side so that it
makes light but quite distinct "broad
| arrow of foam.
When the periscope is above water
the top of the coming tower is not
far below, so that this also is visible
unless there is heavy breaking sea.
And probably the bubbles from the ex-
| hausting air can also be seen.
Thus an escort Of seaplanes should
| have a far better chance of spotting
the presence of submarines than could
any escort Of surface ships. At the
same time it is we'll to remember that
an escort of destroyers or some similar
| type of armed ship is necessary, be-
cause the aeroplane Or airship of today
| is not capable of carrying guns big
enough to sink submarines with GER
| tainty. and the art of bomb dropping
from aircraft has not become suffi-
GENTLY science to make the certainty
| Of the bombs reaching their mark as
| great as is the certainty of a shell
| from a four inch gun doing so.
Therefore the aircraft by them
selves can only hope to keep subma-
| rines submerged by dropping bombs at
them. though they may sink one here
and there by a combination of personal
skill and good luck, whereas by acting
as ''spotters" for the highly trained
gunners of destroyer flotillas they can
cooperate very materially in the &C.
tual destruction Of enemy submarines
Where the naval air craft really do
come in is in the immense surface OF
sea which they can cover in a very
short time and their ability to take
enemy submarines by surprise while
lying on the surface airing them
selves and charging up their batteries.
A small fast scouting aeroplane does
anything between eighty and a hun
dred miles an hour, and at height of
1000 or 5000 feet it is fairly hard to
see. On land one is generally warned
OF an aeroplane's arrival by the sound
Of it's engines, but at sea the tapping
OF the water and the whistling of the
wind through rigging or around super
structure browns the sound Of the aero
engine till it is fairly close. Conse-
quently a seaplane has more than a
sporting chance of getting within a
mile or so of submarine before it is
seen, and if it gets within that dis
lance it should be able to make things
very unpleasant for the submarine,
even if it has not the luck to sink it
outright.
Even at night in moderately fair
weather. which is naturally the best
for submarine operations, big seaplanes
with searchlights could do much to
keep submarines under water and so
add to their troubles by preventing
them from stopping on the surface
long enough to air their interiors and
to charge their storage batteries.-New
York World