Evening times-Republican. [volume] (Marshalltown, Iowa) 1890-1923, 1918-10-09
Would Help Fool
U-Boats az Mem
Der Q-Boat CyesC

volunteering for hazardous naval
service after being informed that his
chances were 100 - against being
allowed to live. George f. Griffith. 800
jackson street, former NJ. & st. L.
brakeman, related In Boston d story
which is featured by the Boston Globe
in a recent issue.
Griffith was one OF 100 volunteers
from whom ninety-flv men were pick
ed to man a U. s. s. Q-boat. The
Q-boat was evolved to fool the Hun
U-boat, originally by the British adj
miralty, The United States adopted
the plan, and later abandoned 1t as not
feasible. Therefore, not now being in
use, Griffith's story is not a violation.
of any confidence or any information
10 the enemy.
Being told that he had one chance
out of hundred to escape with his
life did not deter Griffith or the ninety
nine others from stepping forward
when volunteers were asked for The
Q-boat was nothing more than a decoy
suicide merchant steamer seemingly
tramp Her part in the war was to
jog along in leisurely fashion, keeping
oNNtihi llbll TIC Coast,
moving at speed Of about eight knots
"a bait for German submarines.
The holds of the seeming tramp
were crammed with cork and wood. so
that in the event of being ''slugged" by
sub torpedo she would keep afloat
for several hours. Neither officer nor
crew wore naval uniforms, and no SAL
yates were to be exchanged.
If the tramp were "whaled' by a "tin
fish" thirty five of the crew, principally
from the fire room. were to take to the
pulling boats and Leave the old sled"
to all outward appearance, abandoned.
Details of the apparent abandonment
were so carefully worked out that the
leader of the thirty-five cutters"
hoatswafns mate, was to return after
his men had pulled few yards away,
climb on board, go below, and reap
pear with humble, ostensibly the ships
papers, and finally be pulled away for
GOOD.
After a short time had elapsed the
calculation was that the Hun would
follow his per;scope and emerge. and
then would come alongside to forage
for food, oil, and other supplies before
tHt NTdIIlp 10 lJdNN Jones
locker
Meanwhile. down in the wardroom
of the tramp. was the skipper, with
his eye at one end of a periscope.
When he thought the time was oppor-
tune he would throw over a lever.
which would cause the rnasts 10
collapse and the bulwarks to fall in.
Camoufiage canvas would slump. dis
closing row of four-inch guns cap
able of making II decidedly unpleasant
for the foraSing Win fsh.'.-The sixty
gunners and other man o. warsmen.
tagging behind from the pulling boats.
and parked at their stations aboard
the decoy tramp, would do the rest
upon signal thru speaking tubes from
the commander at his periscope.
British Q-boats had been so success
full in this method of naval warfare
that one boat already had attached the
scalps of eleven subs to its belt
But the Hun got wise" and instead
of emerging to forage finished the O.
boats with torpedoes while submerged.
Prisoners from the Q-boats captured
were branded on the cheek with
letter "Q,' two inches in length.
AIIer volunteering lOf Q-DOdt SeTS.
ice Griffith was installed on his tramp
decoy steamSr in the spring Of 1917.
From Queenstown, England. at mid
night last Christmas his crew started
back to this country Four and one
half hours later Hun torpedo crashed
into the vitals Of the tramp. No
periscope could be detected. The
engines of the tramp were put out OF
commission. and there was no chance
for the deceptive abandoning of the
ship. Later the crew was picked up
by an allied warcraft patrol, and the
sinking tramp was towed to a British
port. After the Q-boat plan had been
abandoned Griffith was assigned to the
Leviathan, formerly the German pas-
senger steamer Vaterland. the largest
passenger steamer affoat.
Griffith is firman first class. Now
he Is on the U. s. s. Bell. He was
serving in the national guard before
the war with Germany, and for seven
months was on the Mexican border.
When the United States entered the
war Griffith enlisted in the navy az a
second class fireman.
Griffith has lived here eight or nine
years, making his home with his sister,
Mrs. W. C. Robinson.