The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1917-03-01

England has found a way TO COM
bat the German U-boat menace and
she owes it to America, to Uncle
Sans inventive and constructive gem
ius.
For some time insistent rumors of a
strange new addition to Britain's navy
have been heard, rumors of a type OF
boat so small yet so deadly to subma :
rine raiders that the kaiser's latest
campaign of frightfulness was doomed
to failure at the start These rumors
have at last been confirmed, England
is known to have at least $50 of these
newest of naval weapons.
Picture IA long low craft, 80 feet
from stem to stern, with beam OF
l2b feet and a speed of IL knots per
hour with a drauglt of only Az feet
and a displacement of but 80 tons, yet
with sea keeping qualities that have
never before been equalled by so
small craft. Picture mosquito
fleet of these ''sea wasps' hundreds OF
them. keeping up their vigil day and
night, in search of Teuton subma-
rine's betraying coming tower ana
periscope. Picture the crew ten men
to a boat seeking hour after hour ana
day after day for the sight of an I'M
dersea raider so that Englands vast
merchant fleet may do commerce win
America unhampered, that the cltl-
zens of the British isles may know no
pang of the hunger the German chan-
ceIlor Won Bethmann- Holweg would
bring down upon them.
Stand Rough Sea.
Each of these little vessels mounts
a 3-inch rapid fire gun forward,
gun that hurls 12-pound shells at the
rate of 20 minute. And it only takes
a single straight aimed missile to send
one of Kaiser Wilhelm's sea daehs-
hunds whining to the bottom. Since
the beginning of the war Egnland mas
accounted for between ESQ and 3oo
hostile submarines, and these supma-
rine chasers, the latest addition to ms
majesty's grand fleet, have checked
off more than their share.
The sea keeping qualities OF lhese
little giants can not be overestlmated'
During one great channel storm two
of these tiny boats patrolled the rag
ing waters ceaselessly for AZ hours,
encountering mountainous seas ana
winds that blew hurricanes, yet both
mt safely back to port, unsuccessful
in their quest, in good shape. Not
plank was started. Not stay was
loose. Not drop of water was IN
their bilge holds And during that
same storm larger and supposedly
more seaworthy craft found their way
to the slimy ooze and sticky chalk of
the channel bottom.
immune From Torpedo.
feature of these boats that makes
them specially adapted to seeking out
and destroying submarines is their ex-
tremely light draught. A torpedo mr.
ca from submarine, or, for that
matter, from battleship or torpedo
boat destroyer generally travels from
~ tn 10 feet below the surface This
of course is to enable the explosive
charge to reach the vulnerable part Oh
the warship. its prey, as battieshlps
lava heavy armor extending 10 feet
hollow the surface. Therefore TINS
submarine chaser, drawing only AZ
feet of water is immune fr4D the
danger of being torpedoed
True, a torpedo may be regulated 10
swim at any distance below the sur
face. but when the distance Is less
than 10 feet it is apt to jump OUT Oh
the water and become unmanageapie
since it travels at high speed Tor
pedoes fired to keep feet or so pe-
low the surface have been known 10
turn completely around and boomer
ang back to the vessel that dischafg-
ed them. This, in the case or Ger
man war torpedo loaded with 'oo
mounds of extremely irritable gun cot
ton, would be nerve racking expert
ence for the most coldblooded German
Y boat crew. Therefore the sea wasp
need have no fear of torpedoes, but
may approach to within 100 feet OF a
hostile submarine and deliver the
contents of their deadly guns into It's
very entrails.
Periscope the Target.
The only fear these little motor
launches have is of direct hit py
enemy gunfire, and such a thing Is
extremely improbable; because SUD
marine has to be completely out OF
tho water before she can mount her
puns for action; and in SO cases Out
of 100 she would be submerged. All
yon would see would be tall, taper
ing tube cher periscope) and mlhia-
ture rippling wake. This maniiesta-
lion of the genus U-boat is all any
rood English sea wasp captain wants
II is easy to plug submarine wheh
Won can see her battle eye. All you
have 10 do is to aim the gun ana open
fire. At the rate of 20 shots per min
ME from 3-inch gun the rest Is
matter that need not require much
Imagination.