Rogue River courier. (Grants Pass, Or.) 19??-1918, 1917-07-10

ana the Nsu Ii0nss Fiash tns orosS
10 Fire the Deadly Torpsdoss.
A submarine In maze Of machinery.
Unlike any other ship. she has two sets
Of driving engines --0ne oil aud the 9TH
Or electric she In built with tho
incest regard for weight.
First let IN say something about the
engines. They nrc the most important
pnrt Of the boat.
At first gasoline engines, like those
used on automobiles AMI motorboats,
were Installed In submarines. The Ger.
mana had them In some Of the submn.
rlnes that they used In the beginning
Of the war, We. too. used them. But
an the gasoline engine was made bigger
10 meet the demand for increased pow.
or aud spccI II literally broke down.
The Diesel engine iind 10 hc used, II
was Invented by Rudolf Diesel. u Ger.
man engineer, while iic was student
In the DicacI engine mir IL sucked into
she cylinder and subjected to s,ich pres.
sure bx the piston that II becomes IN.
tenscly hot Then little oil iB squirt
cl In. Al once the oil vapor lgniies
aud the mixture OF oil vnlor and high.
~ compressed air expands with explo.
siye suddcnncss The Diesel In the most
efficient type ~ engine ever Invented.
utilizing as II does about 10 lcr cent 0f
the energy IN Tho fuel us contrastc,l
with only ~ I,er cent IN tho best steam
engines But II also uscs air. In other
words. II breaihcs r.'.,eu submarine
In under water the crew must kcc.i
alive by breathing whnt air they cnn
obtain from tfnl;s They have enough
Tor not more thnn thirty six hours.
so II becomes necessary TO equip n
submarine With electric motors fed by
storage batteries AZ soon ns n sub.
ninrIuc dives tho breathing Diesel en-.
gine IN cut out and the electric motor
switched ~
Like tho pUIiceinnn's In Gilbert 4
song. the hfc OF submarine sailor.
mai Is not a happy onc The quarters
arc necessarily so cfampcd that II IL
difficult TO provide ordinary ship com
farts. The officers have cots and the
crew hammocks for sleeping. In onr
new boats lceboxes are provided, ~
that fresh meat aud vegetables can be
served. IN addition. there Is dry
food supply sufficient for i've days. -
sea the crew IN put on daily fres!'
wnter allowance. To bathe the men
Gust Jump over the side.
Even when the boat Is running Oh
the surface the ventilation Is poor,
The proprietor OF New York sweat
shop who ,lld not provide his workmen
with any more alr than the men In n
submarine breathe would be arrested.
When the boat IL submerged the nau'
seating oil odor. the battery fumes and
the vitiated air exhaled from score OF
lungs make one wonder why every one
is not sick. As n matter OF fact, sea
sickness produced by these conditions
IL common enough.
What Ia the scene within subma'
rine when an attack Is made?-- A Ger
man officer OF the U.28 gave this &C
count Of an attack on an unnamed
British warship:
THE boat Is cleared for action. The
nagpole IL taken down. Part Of the
bridge Is folded up and lashed. The
periscope IL elevated. The hatch
through the combined bridge and con
ming tower il tightly closed. The mo
tors cease their endless song. From
now on electricity viii drive US unit
We rise to the surface again.
"A young lieutenant Is posted at th'
periscope and looks for the enemy
The sailors take their position near the
torpedoes. The interior Of the boal
"a lighted with two small electric
bulbs. They do not clear the gloom
Everywhere IL the smell OF stale oil
1t Is impossible to speak with the dii
Of the machinery and OF the inrushini
water.
Prom time to time the officer II
command Of the torpedoes looks at hh
watch. which he wears on his wrist
or at the compass, Intently the mel
all watch signal board In front o
them on the side Of the boat Sudden
| ly we start 10 forget the heat, the fou
air. the discomfort, In small luminous
letters the word Attention flashes III
on the board. The commanding office
grusps the lever which will release thu
first torpedo The men prepare 4
launch the second as soon as the frs
IL discharged, Half u second later an'
the red letters on the board say Fire
The lever IL jcrked, and the torped,
leaps out. There Is 0 short metalli
click and the noise Of the water rush
Ing into tho empty tube. The sccon'
torpedo is at once inserted. A few
seeonds later and the interior OF th
submarine looks as before the attacl
began,
But what Of the tirst torpedoy w
hear only the noise Of the motors. w
wait, Nothing happens, Then sud
denly we are All thrown In u heap b,
the shaking Of the boat. Then til
boat rolls as before. The regular pun
ring OF tho motors IL heard, We ar
on our way home. The attack sue