The patriot. [volume] (Indiana, Pa.) 1914-1955, 1917-12-15

the purpose of recharging the batteries.
/ At 4 80 in the morning we submerged
once more and recommended the ago
nizing watch for the enemy subma-
Tines.
! Up at NightfaII.
At noon we came up for another
/ breathing spell of a quarter of an hour
and, much to the relief of everyone,
we emerged completely at $50 p. m.
after a preliminary look through the
1 perisCOpe. The first part of the night
/ we cruised about our rectangle, keep
ing a sharp lookout for the enemy,
without seeing anything more suspi-
ciOus than a low star, which fooled me
for a time. SO in the early morning
we showed the two oil motors into high
speed and hurried for port at IS or
10 knots an hour, picking up the old
castle around a. m. Our number was
hOisted to the flagstaff and soon we
were reporting at the first sentry boat
in the harbor.
This cruise on the NJ confirms
my belief that the German U-bOats
navigate almost entirely on the sur
face. They must do so in order to en-
dUTe t.-a mCnth-lOng cruises and more
than that the Germans undertake. HUI
man beings could not remain III a sub
merged submarine u hours n day for
more than few days. And it is not
necessary for the Germans to remain
submerged. They have plenty of time
to disappear long before a patrol boat
could approach them. The Germans
task is simple-to watch for a steam
er'S smoke and place themselves ahead
of its course until the merchantmen
comes within torpedo range Given the
right atmospheric conditions, the O.
boat runs no risk. It's action is limited
only by its tOrpedo-carrying capacity
and it's range of vision.
SespIane Can Find Submarine.
A campaign of submarines against
submarines is effective only TO a linn
tied extent, for the very reason of the
invisibility of a submarine From a
periscOpe one can see only within a ra-
dius of 21a miles, and five-miIe circle
on the sea is nothing. Perhaps there
is something to be done with subma-
rines working in conjunction with scout
planes, for to date submarines, while
submerged, cannot watch the sky. In
clear water a seaplane, by flying low,
can see q submarine Is fathOms below
the surface. But a seapI0ne finds it
impossible to bomb a submarine and
it's efforts are confined to scouting.
The secret Of successfully combating
the U-bOats consists in increasing the
means by augmou.ing the number Of
patrol beats, seaplanes, diriSibles,
drifters, traWlers and mine fields and
by bombing the submarine bases from
vast squadrons Of airplanes.
Future operations of the German u
boats are going to cause the allies to
regret that the fighting material was
not increased during the summer
months, when U-boat fighting was
easiest. Enemy submarines are now
cruising in squadrons of six or more
and are audaciously attacking conveys.
This coming winter, learn from a
reliable source, 2,000-ton U-bOats,
armed with 11-inch guns, will be oper-
ating in the mid-Atlantic. Winter
storms will soon decrease anti-subma-
rine fighting, but they will not decrease
U-boat operations. However, it is
still time for the United States to
build the material for next springs
campaign. And this is Americas task,
because the allies lack the necessary
resources.