Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current, 1917-10-18
AMERICAN DEsTROYERs
DOING EFFECTIVE WORK
NO small Part OF Credit for Decrease
In Shipping Losses Duo
to Them.
PATROL TREMENDOUS AREA
IN Five Months of Active Service.
nave Steamed Collectively Total
distance Of $4,000 Miles Without
SERIOUS Mishap to ANY of Units.

~ LAhy VI ChltSs
itorrespondcnce of Associated Prc.s1
bASE OF AMERICAN FLOTIIJ,A IN
BRITISH WATERS September ao-1n
INC hVe months Of active service that
'"eS nave seen in the war. the Amer
ran destroyers have steamed collec-
, u,seiy total distance of $4,000 miles.
ms Is moro by several times than the
Instance cruised in two whole years
VI peace. And what makes the figures
al the more impressive Is that they
nave been reached without the loss
through an accident of war of a single
hte or very serious mishap to any
OF the units.
The Americans can claim no small
part or the credit for the gradual de-
crease In shipping losses. First Of all
.he addition OF their units to the allied
FORCES. patrolling as they do an area
as large as that bounded roughly by
tho great formed by New York. De-
'roit and Knoxville, was certain to
make life less comfortable for the
C-boats. Next the Americans applied
all the tactics of the long experienced
British. and in some Instances i'm
proved on them. All dcstroyers added
10 their equipment. depth charges and
other devices. Then the crews learned
some more about the business OF smoke
screening merchant fleet while they
peat on the attacking submarine with
gunfire and depth charges Their gun
merry. too. has greatly improved. One
crew saw spar OF a sunkcn shin tho
other day which they at first thought
was a periscope and shattered IL at
1000 yards.
NEW IDEAS CONSTANTLY
HEING WORRIED OUT
New ideas also have been and are
constantly worked out with view to
rendering the work of the submarine
increasingly difficult. For instance two
officers working on designs for new
destroyers. have introduced many new
ideas gained from observations made
In this antisubmarine game. Still
others have suggested changes in gun
firing.
In the period of active service over
here. each destroyer hns taken many
turns at patrol duty. This means, FIVE
or six days away from port in warning
Kinds OF weather when the routine is
cat, sleep. stand watch and get sea-
stok." Occasionally this routine Is
broken by the call to general quarters
usually caused by the presence of a
u-boat or crew OF torpedoed ship.
Every destroyer has to it's credit at
least one encounter with submarine.
while some OF the more fortunate have
stalked two or three underwater craft
At no time. however, have the sub
marines shown fight. They always
avoid meeting.
The depth charges are feared most by
the C-boat commanders. These wca-
pons. as announced recently by the
American Navy Department, are high
explosives. timed TO explode by water
pressure at the desired depth. Naval
officers make no secret OF the effective
ness OF this new-found antidote for the
submarines.
MORALE OF U-BOAT
CREWS WEAKENING
The wide cruising radius of the
American boats also has helped to pro-
duce unmistakable signs OF weak
cning in the morale Of the U-bont
crews. They have made the U-boats
spend more time under water. and there
IL not so much destruction of ships by
gunfre and bombs as formerly. The
augmented destroyer patrol has made
the submarines use up more torpedoes.
with the result that they have to re-
turn to their base more frequently for
reloading.
When not patrolling the shipping
lanes, the destroyers have been con-
voying food and supply ships and trans
ports. An assignment TO convoy Amer
lean troop ships is welcomed by the
men. it is special job. and takes
them away from the routine of ordi-
nary patrol and convoy work. Also it
stimulates interest among the rank and
file OF the ships company, many of
whom feel that relatives and friends
are on the transports.
The dcstroyers also have taken
laurels in the humanitarian task of
rcscuing survivors of torpedocd ships.
The Americans began snatchinG tor
pedoed crews from watery graves the
day of their arrival. and for Il long
time not n week passed without several
destroyers accounting for survivors.
The rescue work is more often than
not done in mine-infested areas and
places where U-boats are known to be
lurking, and is always attended by
grave danger to the rescuer. Frequent
ly while one destroyer is picking up
survivors another will run protect
ing circles around the scene. More Of
ten, however. the hazardous work is
done single-handed. the destroyer
guns boming into space as warning
TO submarines not to attempt to in
terfere while the survivors are being
tho bluejackets.