The Bridgeport evening farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1866-1917, 1917-08-24
Binding the Submarine
tBy H. Gernsbacl. in Electrical E1perimenter,

COe-A~eA& A1APS~ AAAAOASAk |
accuracy is not necessary for these
simple reasons:
Let US assume the U-Boat is two
miles off. At this distance the beams
of the searchlight cover q fan-shaped
expanse of about so yards In other
words, if the attendant makes a mis-
take of rs yards on either side of the
periscope, it does not matter; the u
Boat commander will be blinded Just
as efficiently. Besides, the man be-
hind the search1ight will correct his
aim in less than three seconds, once
his rays have hit the periscope.
Observe the simplicity Of the opera
ton. A hundred per cent. hit should
be recorded every time. 1t is incon-
ceivable how either of the two at
tendants could fail to make a 'shit"
with their rays. Note, too, that the
operation is unlike firing a gun. First.
considerable time is lost in sighting
the latter: second. to hit an object
one foot high and six inches in diam
erter (the enemy periscope) with a
two or three inch projectile is almost
an impossibility. It has never been
done, except by pure chance One
hit in thousand would be consider
ed good. Consider, on the other hand,
a shaft of light so yards wide, which
can be moved instantly over an ex-
panse of several miles, and it becomes
plain why there cannot be possibly
any escape for the periscope.
The beauty of the scheme is the
great speed at which the entire opera
ton is performed. Five to six sec
onds-and with trained crew 1t
nj No. Ice IL ~
the periscope Is located No submar-
inc commander can possibly make his
necessary observations In such a short
time: it requires a minimum of one
minute to take ships bearings
OF course, it is evident that the sue
cess of the scheme lies in the ability
of the lookout, who must spot the
periscope at once. This, however,
! should not be so difficult for train
| ed seafaring man.
I mentioned above that two search
| lights could and can be used stimuli
Itaneodsly. For practical purposes and
for tactical advantages a single
searchlight, however, is preferable
for the following reasons:
The searchlights are mounted on
long steel extension projecting some
rs feet from the bow and stern OF
the ship. This. is done for two rea-
cons. First, 1T gives the operator a
better sweep, second and most impor-
tant. If the submarine commander
should fire a torpedo in the direction
4 of the light rays even IL he has the
general position of the searchlight, he
probably would miss the ship by a
great many feet, due principally to
the extended location of the search,
! lights. This is not apparent at once
but bear in mind that the command
er does not see the ship itself, and
that he does not know IL the beam OF
light originates from the bow or from
! the stern of the vessel to be torpe.
doed. Neither does he know in which
direction the ship moves. Then, too
as soon as the enemy periscope i,
sighted and has been covered by this
i light beam, the ship can turn abouI
at once, the searchHght's rays. how.
ever. being kept on the periscope al
j the while during this maneuyer. Il
/ the periscope is hauled down, the op,
orators have but to watch for it's re,
i appearance, when the game starts
anew. In the meantime the com
Imander of the ship can either zig
i gag his ship or else present the sterI
lof the ship towards the U-boat. Ii
either case torpedoing is extremel.
doubtful. and the attacked shil
should make good its escape.
4 The scheme as outlined is for us,
!, in broad daylight, or rather during
the daytime, doubt IL it is feasibl
, or practical at night. Nor is 1t neces
sary. for only comparatively few
! boats are sunk between sunset an,
! sunrise. OF course, in clear moon
light or in extraordinarily clear night
1 lwhere the visibility Is not too low
t the searchights can be used to ad
j vantage. In a very dark night, how
! lever, 1t Is obvious that the U-Boa
possess a great advantage over tn
ship 1t is then almost impossible I
: sight the small periscope, and tn
i U-Boat would surely see the search
81 light much quicker than the ship
+ observer could see the U-Boat. Sti
$ the fact remains that the submarin
. commander would be baffled, becaus
3 he could not tell If the searchligh
was in the center, in the bow or i
t the stern of the ship. It is therefor
t doubtful il he could make a hit, ex
r lcept perhaps by using two torpedoe
i simultaneously directed fifty yards t
D either side of the searchlight. BIT
v even then a hit is not at all certain
3 because the ship might present Ii
Q bow or its stern to the U-Boat there
by offering very small target. ]
t that case the torpedoes would {
u course pass the ship on either side {
e it. The main requirements of til
v plan as outlined and very powerf,
u electric searchlights Hundreds {
u thousands. of candlepower must /
= used, otherwise the scheme is fore
u doomed to failure. To countera,
5 strong sunlight on silvery dazzlin
i ocean requires a very strong light {
Q every sailor knows. Also If the per
o scope is two or more miles off.
" small searchight would hardly be n,
s. ticed by the U7Boat commander, eve
p, If trained full on him. For that re;
g son only very powerful light wi
It do. Perhaps large parabolic miro
t to reflect the sunlight could be use
k with fair cloudless skies. for there
e no stronger and more binding ug]
st than sunlight. On. clear day tn
u would be perhaps preferable to usir
% electric searchlights. At any rate IL
d plan is not an expensive. one and
3 certainly worth trying. foolish al
idiotfc as it may appear at first
n However, most of our everyda
s. mechanical reasoning Is faculty. f.
% thousands of centuries people fled
le terror from lightning. No "san
= person up to Benjamin Franklin
l. time could have been induced to r
& main in a house where there was
xy good chanca of Jighfy,ipC ~ s+r,,