The West Virginian. [volume] (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1914-1974, 1918-06-01
They Are Eyes for the De-
strOyers as Well as for
the Army.
H0V THEY PROCEED
They Keep Watch on the
Sea Just Like a Fish
Hawk.
D. SEAMAN R. W. BURKE, OF THE


With the destroyers, you can keep your
ayes right on the submarine.
The higher the airman gees above
Gho wster the farther down under the
VaioF he can seen the principle OF
No fish hawk.
With q big convoy, planes are al
gayB sent out from land to meet US.
ThSy are big hydro.planes-you never
000 them over herewith big pom
mons fastened on them so they can
come down and sit on the water ana
maize repairs and 90 up again. They
ran shove OF any time they want 10.
Ana they can 90 out on a very good
rolling sea. Sometimes they come
but aS far - 80 miles to meet con
V0y.
Thsy circle about scouting over and
around the convoy, and signal to US
whenever they spo: anything. They
nignal either by a blink light-some'
thing like an occulist's light--or by
wireless.
We got q wireless one day that a
rhip had been sunk about 10 miles be.
low q certain point which made 1t 90
miles away. We got down there, bnt
We never saw anything OF It. The
shin had been toFpedoed but when we
lFFiVsd all the survivors had been TAX
Sn Of By another boat The sinking
chip had been spotted by an airplane
% miles away.
That is where the airplana comes in
handy. We would never have known
anything about that sinking II it had
not been for the airplane.
Then, too. the "blimps" or dirigibles
are used q lot. We used to see them
scouting around the sky like so many
pigeons all along the coast. They can
1fop bombs as we'll as the destroyers.
They have accounted for a number OF
submarines.
A number Of our destroyers we're
operating with q couple Of "hlinps"
one day and the "blimps" discovered
4 few submarines, don't know how
many. making back to their base. and
Slgneled the desr o"ers. They hal
6ulte an engagement; the "blimps"
ffopped bombs and the destroyers
fbplh charges and after few minutes
hey had cleaned up the submarines.
We used to pick up wireless mes.
lagss BY the hundred. The wireless
would be reporting submarines here
and there. ship sighted, ship sunk, exc.
ALI kinds OF wireless messages.
Sometimes we picked them up from
away down in southern waters, way
down IN the Mediterranean, aud one
day We picked up a wireless saying
three merchant ships were engaged
With some submarines in a CUR bat
he. They were too far away; we did
not attempt to reach them.
But Immediately after we picked up
another wireless which said another
destroyer coming up" The subma.
Tine must have heard that wireless
coming back so she submerged as soon
as she saw the destroyer coming
along.
There was one mysterious subma-
Fino captain who sent out messages
al the time signed kelly" He would
send q message boasting that he was
going 10 torpedo such and such a ship,
signed kelly" or that he had missed
. ship; and message to such a ship:
Sorry ! missed you"
The commanding officer used all our
wireless boys at the time on those
messages from Kelly, trying TO find
out Who he was, but we could not make
bin out. He seemed 70 be pretty
square; he would never deal in the
regular German dirty work. He al
ways got the passengers of before he
would torpedo q ship. And he was
clever.
Sometimes We would be in port tax.
lng on supplies, cleaning ship, or with
half the boats wash out on the lines,
when the signal would come suddenly
that q submarine was reported outside.
md ordering so many destroyers to get
under way At once.
The quartermaster would pass the
word that the admiralty had reported
Submarine operating such and such
place; how soon can you get under
Way?" Then they would send out q
cell, How soon can the different ships
set under way?" Sometimes we could
ct under way in ten minutes II we
had steam up. Sometimes the destroy.
ofB would 90 out and they wouldn't
have any life lines rugged or anything,
ald maybe not ell the crew on board.
TIE men on liberty would have to be
picked up later.
When We went ashore IN England
TIE fret thing We would DO would be
o Do and get something TO eat. We
would buy q chicken and some Brus.
oolS sprouts and take them to a res.
t1nraRt % be cooked. There's moth.
ing IKE . change. We would get tired
o Canned BILL" (eoned beef), Gold.
nsh (eanned Salmon) and the other
regular "choW." At the American club
~ could get real American French
ttled Potatoes We brought back
aboard With 40 some English war
bIeld. ne fine. But l guess you can
81 TOO much Of Il. Anyway the Brit.
- naval officers used to come aboard
the American ships to get some Of our
hlip bread