Tensas gazette. [volume] (St. Joseph, La.) 1886-current, 1917-07-06

at TINT time DC'OY RETE5COPEOVZG Top
that no unanchor- VI ~NN-|H'
cd mines should
be used which would be dangerous more than an
hour after they had been dropped into the sea
The mines in question selfc0ntaned contact
mines that are not controlled from any shore
observing station and weil-nigh instantly men
acing when east overheard
Just before the war the Germans with their
usual technical cummings developed a naval Of
Tense and defense mine which could be used either
in fixed POSITION he planted hastily i'm water
traverSed by enemy shipping. This mine is the
type which has done such destructive work and is
designed to be fired by electric battery placed
inside of tie mine this battery being inactive IN
til the mine has been submerged and then struck
by passing craft.
A development of the contact mine which the
Germans have ut times employed successfully is
one suTmOunted by dummy decoy periscope.
The object of this ruSe is to invite ramming
the part of patrolling vessel even n mer-
chairman when the deceived navigator believes
that the chance is good for sending U-boat to
the bottom. OF course a vessel attempting to
that dummy perisccpe is to strike the
tact mine and cause it to explode, the result being
disastrous to the ramming craft
This lure has not worked well latterly be-
cause the observer is able in n few moments to
establish the fact that the perlscOpe Is stationary,
and the work of getting the underlying mine out
sweepng-trawlers linked together by loop of
wire rope doing the work
In order to deal with both the submarine tor
pedo boat and the submarine mine planter the
British admiralty has had recourse to- defense
nets of a novel character These have been very
well described by Rear Admiral William s. Sims.
According TO this authority:
"We did not find out for long time what those
nets like and think 1t is necessary that II
should be understood in order TO realize the great
danger submarines run in the presence of light
surface craft.
"The net is very light one, made of little wire
rope, probably as big as lead pencil, prob
ably not more than quarter of an inch in diane
ter. The meshes of the net are IL to Is feet
square On top of this net are floats and on the
bottom are little weights.
THE moment this observation-disclosures to the
submarine commander of cOurse-is in the water
in front of him. the floats keep the net the
surface and the weights keep the bottom down,
and if he runs into it his bow goes into one Of
the mesheS and the net falls back around him,
and it may foul his propeller may not
The net is 300 or 400 yards long and as the
submarine proceeds the floats will trail the
surface that even if he dives deeper he leaves
these the surface and his trail is plain and there
* no difficulty then in capturing him. He knows
when he runs into net that his capture is prac-
tically certain If he goes down 200 feet the
ioatS of the net are still on the surface"
These nets are used in two ways either passive
y at chosen points In guarded waters or they are
dropped overheard by patrolling vessels that dis
cover Il submerged submarine i'm motion Ii Is n
fact that though a submarine be running
totally submerged 20 30 feet down, it still
causes disturbance at the surface, not n wake
in the usual sense Of the term, but n type Of
wave which is easily distinguished from the regu-
lar surface waves, and this phenomenon is readily
discernible from the bridge of n ship or from a
hydrOpane
To return to the submarine mine We have so
far considered only that sO-called offensive type
which can be anchored i'm fairly smooth waters
such as prevail extensively in the North sea- but
now let us take up that kind which can be dropped
overheard in much deeper water. This sort IL
capable Of being planted from n speedy ship
seemingly bent upon escaping from her pursuers
and her strategy consists in inviting chase while
dropping these stumblingbocks right in the path
of her oncOming enemies.
Generally the ship hitting weapons Of this sort
does 80 bow on. and that part Of vessel is the
least vital section. craft may have her bow
blown off ard yet be able to make a haven and
besides the damage may be susceptible of speedy
repair. our mines, on the other hand, have q de-
layed action. and after being hit by the stem
or a craft roll sternward in contact with her bot.
tom for some distance before they explode In
this way the blow when the mine does burst
strikes some vital area and the damage is we'll
nigh certain To be fatal.-New York Sun