El Paso herald. (El Paso, Tex.) 1901-1931, 1918-02-01
HIDE AND SEEK
ABOVE THE SEA
The Game German U-Boats
and Allied Aircraft
Play Daily.

I London, Eng FEB. The methods
and appliances pressed into the war
against the Z boats cover a wide
range. The principle upon which
they were all adopted was that Of
eliminating gradually the various
phases Of submarine aetlvity-of
tackling the problem piecemeal, as It
were-as the only sure means OF ul-
timately curbing the powers Of the
underwater craft
If one was asked to name, how
ever, the class OF weapon which had
contributed as much as any towards
the discontinue of the submarine.
the answer could easily be given.
How much more successful would the
enemy's effort have been but for the
excellent use made OF aircraft By
the allies. Airships and aerop1anes.
lseaplanes and kite-baIloons. have be
tween them formed one Of the prin-
cipal palliatives Of the problem.
SpottinE the "sub.7
The real trouble is to spot the
submarine In regard to this. the
common spectacle OF gulls lowering
over a shoal of fish, of the kingfisher
spying out his prey beneath the sur
face and descending swiftly upon it
in shallow waters, are examples OF
what nature has to teach in the war
fare Of the bird against the fish.
Exercising the Senses.
The submarine can only be caught
and destroyed by the exercise Of three
out of the five senses-viz., sight.
touch. and hearing. Submarine sound
Eiusna ling had taught rrc r1rrcb haFo-a
this war in regard to the last named,
but the microphOne and similar in
struments have obviously not been a
complete success Nor have ap-
planes with the object of the feel
ing for submarines had any more de
cisive effect. Among such may be
classed the instruments designed to
record the emanatiOns from a vessel
using electric motors, such as those
on which Z boats have to rely when
running under water
There remains the best sense o.
all-sight, and experience has shown
that what it is impossible to discern
from the deck, or even the masthead,
Of any cruiser or other surface YES
sci, can be seen easily from a ma
chine flying at good distance above
the water. Thus the necessity Of
making the utmost use Of aircraft as
the only promising means of locating
submerged submarines soon became
manifest.
bombing Submarine.
Here is an example Of how the .
boats are hunted:
When about so miles from land,
and at an altitude Of 1000 feet. the
observation officer Of an airplane re-
ported certain object in the sea.
Course was at once altered, the air
ship being turned against the wind.
SO that her speed was reduced until
she became almost motionless, in or
der 10 make out what the object was.
cessful; but under the muddy water
was seen the wake or track Of an
object which seemed to be moving
very slowly.
Boat Is sunk.
A bomb was dropped. and missed;
but il enabled the commanding off
GER TO correct his aim, and after 4
sharp turn, hardly discernible, the
airship found herself exactly over
the suspected object. Two bombs.
described as engines OF a new kind.
as effective as torpedoes." were then
dropped, with apparently the desired
effect The airship proceeds on her
way, but within a few minutes three
small war vessels were observed in
the distance making for the spot
where the bombs had been dropped.
4 demonstration was thus afforded
OF the efficient character Of the in
accommodation between the air and
sea services.
Before returning to her base. after
a flight of nine hours duration, this
Zodiac airship was the object of a
threatened attack by German air
craft while We we're in the mid
die Of the channel" said a writer who
accompanied the airchaft. I'VE picked
up the signalling announcement that
German airplanes were near US. We
were about 1900 feet up, and for
did not emerge from it for an hour
and a half. and the German aircraft
were not visible"
This description OF oversee scout
ing by an airship was obviously typi-
cal of the work done in more than
one Of the allied navies. In the Adri-
attic, particularly. the Italian air
ships had many encounters with hos
tile submarines. For coast patrol
work airships of the smaller types
have been widely used The CORE
spondent already referred to was per
mitted TO make 2 cruise in one such.
known as the dirigible Vedette. She
carried three men only.
Search for Mines.
The chief mission OF this particu-
lar craft was to search for mines; but
while engaged in this work she was
at the same time, Of course, ready
to spot any submarines in the vicin-
ity- Her patrol lasted for three
hours.
For straits and channels, or for the
important estuaries, as well as for
bases, airships Of this type have been
found Indispensable in the scheme Of
defence against submarine attack
They have been able to serve as the
eyes Of the local defence flotillas by
pointing out to them the position of
their quarry, and have saved many
an important vessel from what might