Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1918-08-05
JOTTINGS FROM
MY NOTEBOOK
UNDERSEA EXPERIENCE.
Submarines Trapped Like-Fishes
I'm Steel Nets,
BY RALPH NJ. MORPHETT


New methods of trapping the
U-boat are constantly coming to
light in spite of the secrecy main
tanned in British naval circles re-
xarding means to defeat the sub
marine. The following vivid ac-
count is taken from the Liverpool
Journal of Commerce:
"A seaplane had spotted sub
marine lying on the sea bed. In
stantly the observers finger com
menced to tap a key, and ten miles
away a long, lean destroyer and
four sQuatty trawlers detached
themselves from pack of hounds
working a covert and FASTENED to
the kill. Meanwhile the seaplane
circled arolnd, but when the sur
face ships arrived her instructions,
delivered by wireless, were curt
and precise. Acting upon them, the
trawlers stationed themselves at
the four corners of wet quad
rangle. while the destroyer kept her
guns ready to talk to the enemy
should he appear.
THE trawlers at the corners Of
long wire hawsers of an incred-
IDLE stoutness, with a heavy kite
in the center to keep their bights
down on the sea bed-and COM
menced to steam toward each other.
AS the pairs of vessels met, their
wires simultaneously engaged
themselves under the U-boat's bow
and stern and commenced to work
their sinuous way between her hull
and the sea bottom.
Then the strange thing hap
pened. Two round, black objects
seemed to detach themselves from
her bull and float surfaceward, to
hover a second and then to com
mence bobbing down the tide
bobbing down a lane much fire.
quented by those ships that brought
food. munitions of war and hun
dreds of other things to England's
shore
4" Mine layer, eh?' called the sea-
planes observer.
That's it, lad came the tele-
phoned answer, but her eggs can
wait for a minute
The trawlers now crossed their
dependent cables and thus hefc~the
U-bOat in a kind of a cats cradle.
She seemed suddenly to wake up
to her danger, for with a bound
she tried to disengage herself from
the meshes which held her But it
was no use, the trawlers had been
to- long at the game to leave any
lOopholes and the submarine was
doomed.
Got him. signalled the sea-
plane.
Thanks replied the destroyer.
Well give him five minutes to
come up and breathe, but no long
err That time passed but still the
submarine made no further move.
AT a tagged signal from the de-
stroyer the port fOremosl trawIer
and the starbOard after one clip
ped a small red tin of high ex-
plosive to the bombing wire and
allowed it to slide down till II
touched the U-boat's hull. 1t was
the seaplane's turn to wave a flag.
and Immediately there followed the
crashing of two fists upon two fir
ing keys; the uprising Of two gray
mounds of water and a rumbling.
muffled explosion.
The seaplane circled twice
above the patch of rising oil, as
certained that the German had
been destroyed, and notified the
destroyer of the fact. Then, with
her observer slipping drum of
cartridges into his machine gun.
she sped on after those objects
bobbing down the tide. A burst of
rapid firing, and the first of the
deVlFs eggs, its buOyancy cham
Der punctured, sank with a gurgle:
lhe second gave a better show. for
1t exploded grandly and harmlessIv
as bullets reached it."