Iowa County democrat. [volume] (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1877-1938, 1918-01-24
AIRCRAFT HELP.
FIGHT U-BOATS'
important Factor in Defeat OF
Submarine Drive.
SPEED IS GREAT ADVANTAGE

Seaplanes Battle Submarines, Detect
Mines and Rescue Seamen-Co-op-
Grafton With Naval Vessels Robs
German Campaign of Effectiveness
Stories of Daily Fights Would
Make Thrilling Epic.
GAS everyone knows, aircraft are
used for many purposes In this war,
that most familiar to the public being
the direction of artillery fire at the
'front.'" writes a special correspondent
in the London Daily Telegraph. "This
is one of the ways in which aircraft
| preserves human life, but far more ex-
tenSiye in it's consequences is the use
of aircraft at sea to protect us from
the submarine menace. Had it net
been for the cooperation of our air.
craft, the antisubmarine campaign
would have been far less effective, the
people of Great Britain and certain Of
cher allies would have been faced with
SITTER rations, and the central pow
ers would have been unduly elated.
"Here are few figures relating to
the work which naval aircraft per-
formed during the month of SepteIn-
Der, 1917. The total distance covered
by the patrols was 10000 miles, Of
which 10000 miles was covered by sea-
planes and $4,000 miles by airships.
On seven occasions ships which were
| being attacked by submarine sent
S o S signals, which brought sea-
planes to their assistance in time to
save them by compelling the subma-
rines to dive. Several hundreds Of
ships were conveyed.
Speed Big Advantage.
Unfortunately the number of sub
marines attacked and destroyed by
our aircraft cannot be published, but
a few words may be said as to the
method of attack. When Il destroyer
sights a submarine some five or six
miles away, he goes full speed to the
attack at about thirty miles an hour,
so that the submarine has ten minutes
or so in which to dive beyond the
reach of the destroyer's depth charges.
"But when q seaplane sights SUD-
marine at the same distance he flies
to the attack at anything from 50 to
100 miles an hour, SO that the SUBJ
marine has only three or four min.
utes before bombs begin to fall around
her. 1t must not be assumed, how.
ever, that destroyers have been SUPER
seeded by the seaplanes as the enemy
oS submarines On the contrary, the
| two very often work together, and
their cooperation usually spells dlsas-
ter to the U-bOat.
"The stories Of these fights, which
are going on daily between seaplanes
and submarines, would make thrill
ing epic. Here is one which happened
recently: A seaplane sighted q Ger
man submarine ON the surface, few
directly over her before she had o.
chance to dive, and dropped q bomb
on her tail which was seen to make q
large hole in the deck. immediately
afterward the seaplane pilot saw
through the mist three more German
submarines, in line abreast, followed
by three German destroyers, and eS-,
corted by two German seaplanes. All
six vessels fired their antiaircraft
guns at our seaplane but the German
seaplanes did not attack because they
could not get through the barrage put
up by the fire of their own destroyers.
Calls British Warshps.
"Our seaplane turned, dropped an
other bomb on the wounded submarine,
saw her sink amidst q pool Of Oil, In
which fragments of her floated, and
then retired gracefully from an unequal
contest,
'This incessant and ruthless warfare
against the U-boat by naval aircraft
has been one of the main factors in de-
feating Germany's aims and in saving
the people of this country from the
starvation which Germany has tried
to infict upon them. But our
seaplanes save life in other ways. AS
already mentioned, their mere presence
has many times saved merchant ship
when o submarine has been attacking
1t. Moreover, when the tragedy has
actually occurred and the torpedo has
found it's mark, it is the seaplane which
is the first to see the shipwrecked
crews in their boats, to send wireless
messages for assistance and to direct
the rescuers to the right spot.
1T is the seaplane and the other air
craft which first sight the deadly mine,
and so help the minesweepers in their
task. In a word, it is the naval air.
craft which has been, and is, saving the
lives not only Of those who traverse
the seas, but of every man, woman
and child in the British isles, who otflc
erwise would be threatened with star
walton. The strike at Coventry already
has been a serious blow to the empire;
a repetition there or elsewhere would
be a disaster which cannot be contem
plated, for the consequences would be
so far-reaching that no one could prop
erlv estimate them