New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1918-03-13
CAPTURE U.BOAT
ON OCEANS BED
Seap!aDe and Four TraWIerS Get
Fritz in Wire Web

London, Feb. Correspondence OF
the Associated Press)-One of the
methods by which, as the First Sea
Lord, Sir Eric Geddes said recently,
the submarine menace is being held
is wildly described by a writer In the
Liverpool Journal of Commerce.
A seaplane had spotted" a sub
marine lying on the sea-bed. IN
stantly, the observers finger COM
menced to tap a key and ten miles
away, Il long, lean destroyer and four
squat trawlers detached themselves
from a pack of hounds working
covert, ana FASTENED to the kill
Meanwhile the seaplane circled
around, but when the surface ships
arrived her instructions, delivered by
wireless were curt and precise. Act
ing upon them the trawlers stationed
themselves at the four corners of a
wet quadrangle, while the destroyer
kept her guns ready to talk to Fritz
should he appear above the surface.
The trawlers at the corners of tho
wet quadrangle got out their sweeps
long wire hawsers of an incredible
stoutness, with a heavy kite" in the
center to keep their bightS down OF
the seabed-and commenced to steam
towards each other. AS the pairs OF
vessels met, their wires Simultaneous
~ engaged themselves under the u
boats bow and stern, and commenced
to work their sinuous way between
her hull and the sea bottom.
! Then the strange thing happened.
Two round, black objects seemed toN
detach themselves from her hull and
float surfacewards, to hover n second
and then to commence bobbing down
the tide-bobbing down a lane much
frequentcd by those ships that
brought food, munitions of war, and
! hundreds of other things to England's
shore.
! planes observer.
That's 1t, lad, came the telephou9
! answer, but her eggs can wait for n
+ minute.
/ The trawlers now crossed their de-
pendent cable and thus held the
/ U-boHt in n kind OF a wire cats era
! die. She seemed to suddenly waIc
! from her danger, for with IL bound,
she tried to disentanglo herself from
the meshes which held her. But ft
was no use; the trawlers had been to1
long at the gamo to leave any loop
holes and the submarine WIS doomed.
! Got him" signallcd the seaplane.
/ Thanks" replied the destroyer.
! "NVc'll give him five minutes to como
| up and breathe, but no longer" That
time passed but still Fritz made no
/ further move.
At q Jagged signal from the de
stroyer the port foremost tr1wler onGi
/ the Starboard after one clipped al
small red tin of high explosive to IheI
bar-taut wire and allowed 1t to slidcl
down till it touched the U-boat's mall.
It was the scaplane's turn to wave nj
flag, and immediately there followed
the crashing of two fists upon twol
firing keys; the uprising of two grcy1
! mounds of water and a rum bling
muffled explosion
"The seaplane circled twice abovdE
the patch of rising oil, ascort2ine
that Fritz had been destroyed, san
notified the destroyer of the fac
Then, with her observer slipping
drum of cartridges into his machin]
gun. she sped on after those ohjectA
bobbing down tide. A. burst Of rapit|
/ rring--and the first Of tho devil
eggs, its buoyancy chamber pancV
tured, sank with y gurgle; the soc
ond gave a better show for IL explod;t
! cd grundiy-and harlnlessly--as~ thSS
| bullets reached it.