New-York tribune., 1918-01-13

place, LOT IL Is IN the commanders
turret that tho whole apparatus is
centralized for submersion, for steer.
ing to the right depth and also for
emersion. At this juncture every man
the thirty members Of the crew must
feel individually responsible for the
safety Of the whole in tho difficult and
rapid mannuvrc Of plunging, for the
slightest mistake may cndanger The
security Of the boat.
The central control, situated in the
commanders turret, is in reality the
brain Of the boat. When the alarm
signal is heard to change the course
from surface navigation to sub sur
face navigation several previously
des gnatcd members of the crew take
their post of duty in the commanders
turret The commander himself is on
duty during the whole of the expedi-
tlon in time of war, and he seldom gets
a chance for rest in his tiny lite
cabin. Day and night, if there is the
slightest suspicion of the approach Of
the enemy, he watches on the exposed
bridge on the top of the turret, for
few seconds delay in submerging
might forfeit the taking of much
coveted prize. So he learns to do with
out sleep, or to catch few brief
seconds of rcpose by lying down in his
wet clothes, and he is at once ready
a1or
officer Of the watch.
! Observation Taken
In Few Seconds
In one bound he is once more s,,~-
veyng the horizon through the peri
scope, or mounts to The bridge to deter
mine with his powerful field glass
whether friend or Foe is in sight. His
observations must be taken in the space
OF a few seconds, for the enemy is
also constantly on the lookout, and
continual practice enables the sailor
IN the crows nest to detect the slender
stem of periscope, although the hull
of the boat is scarcely visible on the
face of the waters.
The commander must come to a
prompt decision as soon as he locate
the advcrsary's enact position. Not
only may retarded submersion spoil
our plar of attack, but we arc exposed
to being rammcd by rapidly advanc-
ing steamer; our haste must be all the
greater if the conditions of visibility
are impaired, as is often the case on
the high seas, for it takes time for the
U-boat to submerge completely, and
during this process it is helplessly
exposed to the fire of long distance
J guns.
Calmly. but with great decision, the
commander gives tie general orders Ia
submerge.
Quickly, with dett hands, the out
board connections. which served as ex-
hausts for the oil motors, must be
closed in such a way as to resist al
once the high water pressure 1t is
l we'll known that for every ten metres
under water we oppose the pressure
of one atmosp sphere-one kilogram ts
5 the square centimctre-and we must he
prepared to dive to far greater depths
When all these openings have bee,
carefully closed and fastened. then be-
l gins the mannuvre of submersion
: The sea water is admitted into biz
open tanks. Powerful suction engines
in the central control Of the boat. draw
out the air from these tanks SO as II
increase the rapid thrush of water
The chief engineer notifies the captai,
!, as soon as the tanks are sufficient,
: filled and an even weight is establishc,
t. so as to steer the boat to the prope
= depth for attack. Notwithstanding th,
f noise Of the machinery, large, wide
open speaking tubes facilitate the de
livery Of orders between the com
mander's turret and the central. an,
now is the moment the commando
G gives the order to submerge
o All this may sound very simple an,
p yet there are a great many things t,
= consider In the same manner i,
= which an airplane is carefully bal
: anced before taking wing into the higl
: regions of the sky submarine mus