New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1917-10-05
DANGEROUS TRAVEL
BECAUSE OF nets
Put Out to Catch Submarines and
Great Caution Is Needed

Correspondence of the Asso. Press)
Corfu, Sept. 24.-Travel in the east
ern Mediterranean during these war
days Is no easy matter, for the usual
routes of travel are now barred by
long lines of steel nets, set to catch
submarines but at the same time es-
tablishing a vast labyrinth of danger
and obstruction for any sort of travel.
The nets stretch clear across the main
channels, from island to island, and
from the short islands to the mainland
sometimes ten and fifteen miles away.
Through these nets the privileged
steamer-for all the regular lines are
abandoned-must pick it's way, dur
ing the brief interval that an opening
is made daily to permit the passage
Of friendly shipping
Seen from the deck of the steamer,
these torpedo nets stretch away for
miles. The visible part above water
consists of steel cylinders, about 121
feet long and three feet in diameter,
like a good-sized log. These are
chained together about 80 feet apart
and at intervals of every 800 feet a
large anchored buoy holds the chain in
an unbroken straight line. Thus the
chain runs for miles-cylinders and
buOys-with the meshes of the steel
net hanging under water from the
chain, to gather in submarines just as
fish crmen made their hauls of herring.
One gets occasional glimpses of this
underwater net. as it comes to the
surface on the station ships. These
are small traWlers, or steam fish
launches, every mile or two apart and
two of them are at either side of the
narrow massage admitting friendly
ic~ h11Ci n 20
the ret at stated intervals. and to
look over the papers of the ships that
pass.
AS we moved through the passage
the steel net was plainly visible
drawn uD on the station ship. 1t looked
to be about II to Is feet across. The
strands Of steel wire were very heavy
about - one-eighth inch-and the
mesh rather open, as a submarine is
such large game that a fine net is not
needed to take it. 1t was seen, too,
that each of the station ships had it's
own armor Of steel nets. Long iron
rods extended from the upper decks,
from which hung the nets, making a
curtain of steel entirely circling each
boat, thus protecting it from attack
while it remained in charge of the
nets. Each ship, too, it was noted,
! had rapid-fire gun mounted fore
end aft.
! One line of these nets stretched from
| the upper end of the island of Corfu
| over to the mainland Of Albania 1t
seemed endless and it's further reach
| cs were lost in the distance. Another
| line swung around the harbor of Cor
! fu, where the allied Warships are
o|>|1oarcd a~d the government of Ser
| bia is located since it was driven from
I've. Further south Il third line Of
these. nets extends frqam rr. the southern
most point Of, the island. over to the
mainland. Back of the nets could be
seen the hugs rMarships. aud the fTown-
! ing fortressGs constructed on the
heights by the Venetians 1t seemed
strange that strands of steel wire
could protect such fortresses and mon
ster ships, and it indicated to what an
! extent wire entanglement-on land
and Waterfalls take it's place for the
first time in this war