The sun., 1917-09-09

the engine room. All the men on duty
below or those In their quarters off
watch were instantly killed. The
Motano filled so rapidly that It was i'm
possible to launch lifeboat and in
less than a minute from the time she
was struck she plunged bottomward.
Three quarters Of an hour later the
destroyer returned to pick up the sur
vivors!
Destroyer Has short Vision.
To the minds Of many the submarine
destroyer must be a type OF craft quite
distinct from the so-called torpedo
boat destroyer. and to these students
Of the subject the torpedo boat de-
stroyer is merely a temporary make
shift. The U-boat, because Of Its low
surface visibility, enjoys distinct ad-
vantage when lodging the surface ves-
sci. and the destroyer. because Of its
model---designed largely to make It a
small or difIicult target-can command
but limited field OF vision when on
the lookout for the U-boat.
The destroyer's legitimate prey are
big ships which loom large and are
easily discerned. In other words. the
destroyer. operating at night. offers to
her natural quarry the same difficult
ties OF detection that the submarine
presents even in daytime to the de-
stroyer.
What, then, should be the getup Of
a true destroyer Of submarines? John
l.. Bogert, a consulting engineer OF
New York city. has furnished an an
swer to this question OF vital impor-
tance, an answer that shows ex-
haustive study and a complete grasp
Of the essentials involved.
As Mr.. Bogert very apuy puts 1t:
First and foremost, 1t In necessary to
discover the submarine before she can
get in her deadly work. AS discov-
erer of submarines below the water
tho torpedo boat destroyer 10 utterly
useless. No boat that does not carry
aeroplanes is capable OF spotting sub
| marine. and no boat that Is incapable
Of bombing submerged submarines is
of any great value even after the
U-boat has been detected beneath the
waves"
These truisms leave little room for
argument. but they demand OF the
submarine hunter powers Of offence
that heretofore have been considered
well nigh unattainablc. OF course
those Of our battle craft that have
seaplane catapults meet these require
ments up to certain point. but MI
Bogert's aim has been to provide pri-
marily a modified freighter. not q
lighting ship. which might serve as a
mother ship as we'll as a conveying
craft for several straight cargo car
riers. How far he has succeeded In
principle can be gathered from de-
scription of his unique type.
| His problem has been many sided
one. and he has dealt with each aspect
deliberately In a painstaking effort tc
satisfy them all. First, his ship had
to provide means Of aerial scouting, BY
which a very wide zone Of observation
could be covered.
| Second. he had to furnish . mobile
base from which his seaplanes could
take flight and to which they coult
return directly without alighting nrst
upon the water.
Third. his craft had to possess the
features essential in a mother ship fol
flying machines as we'll as revenue
making cargo carrier.
Fourth. the freighter must bs sub,
stantially immune to torpedo attack
should q submarine by chance ge'
close enough to strike with thai
weapon.
Fifth. the submarine destroyer ha1
to have battery Of rapid fire guns o
such power and reach that they ooult