The Wallace miner. [volume] (Wallace, Idaho) 1907-current, 1918-04-25
AMERICAN SUBMARINES
FIGHT HUN U.B0ATS
NAVAL OFFICER EXPLAINS HOW
THEY MAY RENDER IN.
PoRTANT SERVICE.

Now that secretary DanlelS mas
permitted it to become known that
our submarines are operating against
the U-boats on the other side, it is
only natural that persons should be
interested in the question of how sub
marines hunt submarines. This form
of naval warfare is now going on and
the young officers on the American
undersea craft are having all the ac-
ton they desire, for there is plenty
of opportunity for excitement in this
diamond cut diamond game, says an
American naval officer in the New
York Sun.
Before explaining in general terms
how submarines fight each other it
may be just as well to disabuse the
popular Imagination of those features
which really do not exist in these
battles and to explain that fighting in
the depths of the sea does not really
play a part. There have been one
OF two cases where enemy submar-
ines have been in collision while sub
merged and the submarine which did
not happen to be damaged seriously
might be regarded as having come off
victor But this was purely acciden
tai, for there Is no known means
whereby a submarine can battle effec-
lively against another submarine un
der water. This Jules Verne idea of
underseas battle between submarines
may therefore be dismissed at the out
set as having no particular bearing
on the problem.
But with this idea eliminated there
Is nevertheless much room for vivid
and unusual action in the submarine
VS.. submarine hunt. We must, how
ever, realize that the submarine, ex-
cepting when submerged, acts like
wide awake surface craft.
Sub vs. Sub.
To get at the crux of the problem
confronting our submarine command
.ers in the war zone let us first pict-
,ure in our Imagination an American
submarine, manned by an American
crew, equipped with American devices
armed with American guns and our
latest type torpedoes. Somewhere in
the vicinity, let us say, is lurking
German submarine, manned by Ger
man crew, equipped with the latest
German devices, armed with German
guns and torpedoes. The American
submarine Is there to strike at the
German U-boat If it can get the
chance, while the Hun naturally wants
to eliminate the American craft as
matter of self protection. For pur-
poses of illustration let us imagine
that the two submarines are within
few miles of each other. What meth
cd of warfare will each purs ue against
the other ? What is likely under
these circumstances to happen?
The best general description of the
fight now to ensue is perhaps to say
that 1t is battle Of the senses-sight,
hearing, pluck, judgment, intuition,
etc. 1t is battle between the person
mel of one crew. backed by mechani-
cal ingenuity, and the personnel of the
other. The object to be attained in
the first phase of this battle is to get
in a position to destroy the other boat
without being destroyed first. Natur-
ally the element of surprise attack is
all important.
Advantage of First Sight.
First comes the question of sight.
The submarine commander who sights
the periscope of the other before his
own craft is sighted obviously will
have the advantage. This has been
so we'll appreciated that each COM
mander has been equipped in advance
with the best known means of i'm
proving his sight by modern mechan-
ical genius. The element of person.
mel, it can be readily seen, merges in
tc the element of national inventive
genius as applied to the instruments
used Assuming the American and
German submarine commanders to be
equally alert the advantage of the in
itial surprise will rest with the best
instrument
The question of hearing is all i'm
portant-far' more important. by the
way, than the average person has the
slightest conception of, for the inven-
ton pf instruments which record
sounds and pulsations of submarines
in the distance has been developed to
an amazing extent since the begin
ming of the U-boat campaign. We
have means of detecting the presence
of submarines from a distance and the
Germans have similar instruments.
Which submarine commander will do
the detecting first? Here again the
question Of national inventive genius
comes in, for the advantage of the
element of surprise will rest with the
commander who gets the first inform
alton.
After locating the enemy submarine
the question then arises as to whether
It will be possible to keep track OF her
movements, how far away she Is,
which direction she is going, what her
speed is, etc. Here again comes In