Republican farmer. [volume] (Bridgeport, Conn.) 1810-1920, 1918-03-15
HOW The U-.BOAT
is FOUGHT And
BEATEN TODAY
Seaplanes, Torpedo Boat De-
stroyers and Trawlers All
Strive to Be in at the Kill

London, March 1s.-One of the
methods by which, as the First Sea
Lord, Sir Eric Geddes said recently,
the submarine menace is being held"
is wildly described by writer in the
Liverpool Journal of Commerce
A seaplane had spotted" a sub
marine lying on the sea-oed. Instant
ly, the observers finger commenced
to tap a key and ten miles away, a
long, lean destroyer and four squat
trawlers detached themselves from a
pack of hounds working a covert, and
fastened to the kill. Meanwhile the
seaplane ctrcled around, but when the
surface ships arrived her instructions,
delivered b wireless were curt and
precise. Acting upon tha1a the traw-
lers stationed themselves at the four
corners of wet quadrangle, while the
destroyer kept her guns ready to talk
to Fritz should he appear above the
surface.
The trawlers at the corners of the
wet quadrangle got out their sweeps
long hawsers of an incredible stout
ness, with a heavy kite" in the CEN
ter to keep their bights down on the
seabed-and commenced to steam to-
wards each other. AS the pairs of
vessels met, their wires simultaneous
ly engaged themselves under the u
boats bow and stern, and commenced.
to work their sinuous way between
her hull and the sea bottom.
The the strange thing happened.
Two round, black objects seemed to
detach themselves from her hull and
float surfacewards, to hover a sec
opd and then to commence bobbing
down the tide-bobbing down a lane
much frequented by those ships that
brought food, munitions of war, and
hundreds of other things to England's
shore.
, "Minelayer, eh?" called the sea-
planes observer.
That's it, lad" came the telephon-
ed answer. but her eggs can wait a
minute"
The trawlers now crossed their de-
pendent cables and thus held the u
boat in kind of a wire cats cradle.
She seemed to suddenly wake from
her danger, for with a bound she
tried to disentangle herself from the
meshes which held her. But it was
no use; the trawlers had been too
long at the game to leave any loop
holes and the submarine was doomed.
Got him." signalled the seaplane.
Thanks" replied the destroyer.
"We'll give him five minutes to come
up and breathe but no longer" That
time passed but still Fritz made no
further move.
At a tagged signal from the des-
troyer the port foremost trawler and
the starboard after one clipped a
small red tin of high explosive to the
bar-taut wire, and allowed it to slide
down till it touched the U-boat's hull.
1t was the seaplane's turn to wave a
flag, and Immediately there followed
the crashing of two fists upon two
firing-keys; the uprising of two grey
mounds of water and a rumbling,
muffled explosion.
1.-The seaplane circIed twice above
the patch of rising oil, ascertained
that Fritz had been destroyed, and
notified the destroyer of the fact
Then, with her observer slipping g
drum of cartridges into his machine
gun, she sped on after those objects
bobbing down tide. A burst of rapic
firing-and the first Of the devil!
eggs, it's buoyancy chamber punctur.
ed, sank with a gurgle; the SECOND
gave a better show for it exploded
grandly-and harmlessly-as the bull
let's reached it.