Imperial Valley press., 1918-05-20
.ENCL LAND'S NAVY
is GREAT IN
ACHIEVEMENTS
How the Great Warships of Britain
Patrol the North Sea to Keep Tigh,
the Neck of the ROttle--Submarine
Have Heavy Time of 1t in Cold
Story Weather.
(By Associated Pr, ssl

| the simple Jale Oh tHe Sduhl Sia
| ffhting hulks that swing ceaselessl
in circles from the Arctic down to 0!
tend, barring effectively the egres
from German ports of naval me-
chant shipping. Only the U-boats {
an occasional raider has been success:
ful in slipping through the steel COZ
don.
Although much has been told abor
the high seas fleets, but little has bee
written-and less officially disclose
about England's efficient submarin
navy. However, there has been re
ceived by the Committee on Public II
formation an official British state
ment, made public with the approba
ton of the Admiralty, telling in dc
tailed form of the exploits of Briton
in combating Germany with her fa
vorite weapon.
/ Leaving the home harbors on Eng
lands east coast, or perhaps droppin'
down from some Scottish port, tt
submarines slip into the gray watei
of the North sea and pick their wa,
thdough German mine fields so tha
they may battle with the enemy eve
within the confines of his own hal
bors.
One of the most popular tales {
the exploits of British submarine
which, however, is not contained
The prepared statement, deals with
young commander who audacious.
fcrept throng mine infested waters il
to the very harbor of Heligoland, tt
German Gibraltar, AS he allowe1
his periscope to show above the sur
face for moment, he caught .
glimpse of an enemy U-boat ridine
awash while the crew, lined up on the
;ieck, smiled greeting to the crowds
An shore and aboard harbor shipping
who We're rioisily welcoming the che
roes" returning from raid on the At
lantic. A torpedo from the British
craft summarily cut short the celebra-
~ion and eliminated the U-boat as a
future menace to allied vessels. The
brilliant phase of the achievement is
the fact that the English vessel sue
ceeded in escaping and returning to
port unharmed.
Besides detailing various engage
ments in which British submarines
have accounted for one or more enemy
was vessels-it is stated that more
than forty German warships have
been attacked successfully - the re-
view tells of the hardships incident to
patrols in bad weather.
In winter, a cold, clammy chill per-
vades the submarine and at times the
thermometer drops so low that the
crew finds it difficult to sleep. SPRAY
freezes several inches thick on the
wireless antennae, rendering radio
communication impossible, while the
periscope becames useless at times
because of frosty mantle.
The submarine rides very heavily
fin a seaway, and an even keel is diff.
flcult to maintain even many faith
ems below the surface. When run
ming on top for the purpose of re-
plenishing the supply of electric mo
tive power, the ventilators must b,
kept open with he result that waite,
is shipped in heavy quantities.
How much respect for the British
underseas navy is entertained in Ger
many is best told in the official mar
rative, which runs as follows:
"Venturesome as the enemy i
with his U-boats, he rarely allows hi
above water craft beyond the con
fines of his own harbors. He wei
knows that our submarines are eve
on the prowl for him, and how vipi
liant and thorough is the watch ken
may be gathered from the fact tina
though so few opportunities are af
forded them our submarines hav
successfully attacked no less than d
enemy warships.
Might and day the search is cor
tinued, according as circumstance
may dictate. The watch is kept O
the esrvice, or submerged save fc
the periscope, or maybe the vesse
are on the diving patrol, only comm
to the surface every now and aga
to scan the horizon for any hosti
craft (which may come within reac
"A ship being sighted, the subm;
rine dives to the attack. AS the sh
Is probably steaming fast on a Iii
gag course long time may clap.
before the submarine is in a favor
BILE position to fire her torpedoe
While this is going on, she must a