The Washington times., 1918-03-17
CREW WDROWNS,
HULL CRUSHES.
BY PRESSURE
Of THE WATER

A dead, device "a catch sub
marines Ass recently seen patented
and subnittAG - Secretary OF the
Navy Daniel. D. New York inven-
Tor. The iuy.ution in q net 10 ,sink
the submarine TO depth wnere the
pressure OF the ster is so great
that the hull OF the submarine will
be crushed.
Short supporting lines suspend the
net to any desired depth and by the
use OF weights attached thereto, the
Mechanism of the submarine is disar-
ranged in such q manner as to result
In disaster.
Heavy weights are attached to the
supporting lines and these in turn are
Kept from sinking by pontoon floats
oT RATS. 4 sea anchor OF conven-
tionaI-form IS attached 10 the float
or raft to Withstand the drag of the
captured boat.
HOw U-BOat Is Captured.
When a submarine strikes one Of
the nets it carries the obstruction
forward. AS the impetus OF the SUBJ
marine draws the net taut, causing
It to start to drag the pontoon RATS.
the resistance Of the sea anchors pull
out the lstches, and the weights are
allowed to sink. As the weights
when released are aft of the center
Of the submarine they pull the net
over the undersea craft so as to total
iy envelop It,, while the weight ex-
erted tends to tilt the submarine and
30 disarrange its interior mechanism
and render it unmanageable.
Normally submarines are Of q
iTeight closely approximatsd. 10 that
Of the water they displace- They are
therefore, Ill prepared TO resist an at
tack OF thsi kind, especially as the
crew of the submarine cannot locate
submerged nets nor determine the
position OF the vessel itself while the
periscope is submerged.
SSea Anchors" Released Automatically
: The "sea anchors" have the appear
anee of large pals, their shape be-
ing that of portion OF q cone. They
aRre supported from boats attached 70
She different positions OF the pontoon
70 that in whatever direction the
pontoon may be pulled, the pressure
pf the water within these sea an
ehors", will provide sufficient resist
Rnce for such a pull and will release
The hook or latch that extends
Through q slot IN the frame attached
10 the pontoons, thus allowing the
book to pass through the slot and re-
lease the weight that was supported
by the noat
The lines which support the net
are attached to a pin that extends
Through this weight Several modi-
ncatiOns OF the means releasing the
weights from the pontoon have been
perfected by the inventor, but in each
OF the forms the principle Is employed
pf releasing the weights only when a
pull In exerted on the net greater than
che weight OF the net itself. which
win happen only when q submarine
Sraft encounters the net.
Divers Are Helpless.
The strain exerted on the net, and
by the net on the submarine Is such
sas to prevent q diver from attempt
3ng to clear the submarine OF its en-.
nanglemenI, Iv IA be unable to
get into a position 10 work on the un-
dersea craft when IL has once become
5entangled.
This invention. IL feasible. is certain
10 prove OF great value 20 the United
States and her allies. The submarine
menace, while to some extent curbed.
Is still q powerful factor in proIong-
dng the duration Of the war.
Germany is still banking on her
eubmarines to keep the seas free from
allied craft, and the millions OF tons
of shipping that have already been
llost show that this expectation Is
nearer realization than some OF the
more optimistic will admit
Uncle Sam and some of the allied
governments are already using, to a
fair degree Of success q submarine
met but many improvements are pos
ssible.
May Fell Net-CuttInE Device.
Only recently it was reported that
- German submarine supplied with