The Tabor independent. [volume] (Tabor, S.D.) 1913-19??, 1918-10-31
DEPTH BOMBS CAUSE
FEAR TO U-bOATS
British Officer, Prisoner on Hun
Submarine, Tells His
Experiences.

London (by mail)--Sensations eX-
perienced in a German submarine while
depth bombs were being discharged
overhead were described recently by a
British merchant ship captain who was
O prisoner for Is days aboard a
U-boat.
In an interview the English COM
mander, captured by the Germans after
his vessel had been torpedoed, related
how the depth bombs shook the under
sea craft, and created CONSERVATION
among the sailors. In n instance the
faces of the Germans became white
with fear and all stood trembling after
he first shot, which vas not near
enough to destroy the submerslble. All
were expecting a second discharge.
The English commander reached his
native. land after having been i'm
prisoned for months at B~randenburg,
where, he said, he and other ship OFF,
GERS at times had been harnesscd TO
carts which were used to haul mail and
packages from the postoffice to the
prisoners camp.
Seven vessels were torpedoed by the
Germans while the British captain was
aboard the U-boat. Previously the
English officer had been in command OF
a merchant vessel which had also met
its fate al the hands Of a submarine
crew.
ION the third day after / had been
taken prisoner" said the captain, Just
after the midday meal, I gathered that
the submarine was about TO carry out
an attack on o onvoy which had just
been sighted. The U-boat approached
submerged for some distance and tor
pedoed q large steamer. Our where
aboutS apparently were detected, l was
told, by an allied light cruiser. for we
Owed rapidly to a great depth.
Hardly had the submarine reached
an even keel when we heard and felt
q tremendous explosion which caused
the U-boat to vibrate from stem to
stern. 1t was a depth charge from the
cruiser.
Crew In Great Fear.
"The effect on the crew was evident.
All stood trembling with faces blanched
with fearsnot attempting to speak, eX-
pecting a second charge, the result of
which might mean the destruction Of
the boat and without the slightest
chance for us to escape.
There is no doubt in my mind Of
the mental attitude of the crew, for it
was not the first experience Of the
men with a death charge, and they
had learned from others in the SER
vice what terrible weapons death
bombs were in the hands of skillful
m
"For some moments we waited; en-
gines were stopped and all means were
taken TO prevent giving indication Of
our position. Minutes seemed like
hours in such a situation. I'll admit
that I was turning over in my mind
whether l should see my family again.
No additional explosions took Place,
however, and after remaining some
Is fathoms deep for a long period
we continued our voyage.
"a few days later we had another
experience with depth charges, or
"wasser bomber as the German sail
ors call them A sailing vessel had
just been sunk by shell fire when two
allied destroyers were sighted, and
down we went BY tho m%icrophones the
propellers could be heard, and as the
vessels came nearer and nearer we
in the submarine could hear the thud-
ding quite distinctly. To and fro the
dcstroyers went searching for us. Evil
IDENTIFY they picked up q clue, for there
were two explosions ahead but not so
near us at that from the cruiser,
but quiet close enough to cause the
submarine to tremble and then roll
about as though in a heavy sea"
Prison camp conditions in Germany
were described by the British captain
as being deplorable.
Although we were merchant ship
captains imprisoned at Brandenberg
we were made to suffer various indig-
mites" he said.
1--WE were compelled to harness our
selves TO carts which we had to draw
through the streets to the station or
postofficc in order to fetch our parcels
and my commodities to camp. II vas
at his camp also that I saw 800 Rus
sian soldiers working, all OF whom
were in the last stages Of tuberculosis
The poor fellows could not get enough
to cat, ard they. would eagerly scrape
discarded tin cans in tho hope OF find
ing particles of food. l have even seen
German soldiers do the same thing.
We were glad to search the cindar
paths at any opportunity in anticipa-
ton OF finding bits of coke or coal
with which to COO our food"
The captain said his ship was tor
pedoea without warning, Ind that after
he and oil his men were afioat in life
boats the submarine appeared IN the
surface and he was taken prisoner. the
mates ard seamen being permitted 20
start" 20 direction ~ 'ap1 Dosrrib-