The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1917-03-19
HOW SUBMARINE CREW T0RPED0ES
 HOSTILE VESSEL

Early In the great war LLo WOT1u was astounded by the London official news that three British scout cruisers -Aboukir, Hogue and Cressy-had been sunk by torpedoes. Later, wave of wonder spread over the civ ilized world when Berlin announced that all three sinkings were the work of one submarine, the U-9, says the New York World.
 From that period of the war right up to the present time the operations of undersea fighters have hebd the in terest of every follower of the gigantic events.
 Where will they lead? How does Germany keep it up? Why doesn't England get after the Germans? These are questions asked continually Others which show me keen interest in submarines are for information re- garding them. What actually hap pens when a submarine fires a tor pedo? What is the usual distance be- tween the subsea boat and its intend ed victim? Is she on the surface when making the attack?
 A succession of events has made it possible for statements to be obtained of men and women on torpedoed
 
 on a German U boat has been able to tell his story regarding such at tacks.
 Launched Two Miles Away In the first place, no submarine can launch its torpedo with any hope of hitting the target unless the latter is seen by the man at the periscope. Therefore it must be near the sur face, so that observations can be made Torpedoes have a range of about 1000 yards-about four land miles. AS a general rule the German U boats used in attacking merchant vessels launch their torpedoes from a distance of two miles. At that dis tance it is very difficult for any one on the doomed vessel to observe their periscopes.
 Torpedoes rush through the water at a rate of from twenty-eight to for ty knots an hour. The average speed figured in land miles is about thirty six miles an hour. As the torpedo speeds through the water it makes wake like a huge fish. In addition is the tell-tale, wake of bubbles caused by the exhaust from the compressed air chambers that give it momentum.
 Once the submarine is cleas> of her harbor on the high sea, where she is destined to operate, her commander must keep a keen watch for enemy craft. He remains on the surface as much as he can, his coming tower and small deck heinz just above wa ter and his periscope sticking up fif- teen or twenty feet further. This is the normal cruising position. When submerged the gasoline engines must be stopped and the submarine run by it's electric batteries. No submarine can cruise under water for more than about eight hours at a. time without coming up for more air. If 1t be de- sired to rest on the bottom it may re- main under a little longer without en- dangering the men on board.
 Danger When Emerging ! There are no submarines built that can descend to depth greater than 15O feet. Consequently there is very little resting on the bottom once they start on a cruise far out to sea. i A submarine that wishes to dodge vessels af1oat may sink and remain beneath the water until it figures that all danger is past. Her commander will know when he has descended about eighty feet, and he will remain there. He has delicate instruments aboard-sounding bells some call then-that convey to him the throb
 of propeller. He can then cruise 1 by compass to some other portion of
 the sea and there take his chances of being discovered when coming up. l When.the submarine has poked her
 periscope above water and those on
 board have noted the sea is clear she | wis Lo l ing depth while searching for her
 prey or watching for. the appearance
 of fighting ships, from which she will l flee. She is defenseless and must be
 careful lest she be destroyed while
 trying to launch her torpedo. There fore she is used principally as a com merce raider.
 Submarine commanders must cal- culate well the speed of the vessel at
 which they intend firing and figure
 exactly where it vii be when the tor
 pedo shall hit it. They have instru- ments for measuring the speed of the
 vessel. The commander who will be | successful in a surprise attack must
 prove correct in his assumption that
 he has not been observed The vessel
 must continue at it's usual speed. Then it is meeiy mathematical problem worked out with a $4,000 torpedo. Masters''of merchantmen can escape
 torpedoes if they are seen soon enough to change their course. Speed and a
 quick answer to the helm are neces-
 sary for the successful submarine dodger Constant lookout must be
 maintained for the submarines, and the ships crew must always be on the
 alert to do their part once the tell tale wake of the torpedo is discerned Gold coin to the amount of $5O0,- l 900 was withdrawn from the Sub-