Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1919-02-06

marines tn the tpopeun todT eOneJ
"Peering through the mist ! spied 4
suspicious appearing craft about mile
on our starboard bow Smashing through
the heavy seas our submarine made for
II. but suddenly there was a terrific ex-
plosion.
1T literally picked US NJ. shook our
craft violently and deposited us in a
,yawning gap betwcen.two monster seas
{, As our tiny craft trembled and threat
ened 10 60 down ] looked over my right
shoulder. Towering at an appalling
height was a wall Of water that tumbled
down with the fury and noise OF
thousand demons
but our motor was working and
down we went to q depth of sixty feet
below the surface Of the ugly sea. The
torpedo let loose by the boche had MISS
cd us but through some queer and un-
expjainable turn of fate had struck the
craft from which it had been fred.
qhe enemy got a taste Of his own medi-
cine Then. | realized that there is
,.1od and that He was with We. We were
sac and a German U-boat had gone TO
Dayy Jones' locker"
In those crisp sentences Lieutenant
Scott Umsted. executive officer and navi-
rator aboard the L. :. :. \ L., re-
lated one Of the thrilling moments eN-
perienced by Uncle Sans undersea
fighters during the great war.
Lieutenant Cmsted of Wilkes Barre,
Pa. PLAYED an important role III the
nava, campaign aginst the Germans and
nf
the nvy.
L. s. Submarines Cleared snip Lanes
while doughboys were making his
tory at Chateau-Therry. Nerdun ana
the Arsonne Forest our sailormen were
hunting down the enemy. Because or
the rigid censorship their exploits have
no, been recorded. snd to the outside
world but little information has filtered
tbat could convey the real story of our
boys in blue ...-
And no chapter in the naval history
az the war is more captivating than
that dealing with our undersed boats.
"A fleet of them went across the ocean
TO hunt down the assassins or the Lusl-
tania and other ships
At this task they made good for
thanks to the daring efficiency and
neyer-failng spirit Of the crews they
cipaI steamship lanes.
!. Now they are back In Philadelphia
and tied up at the navy ward. What
they did is a part Of americas naval
history, and as the veil is secrecy is
lifted from the naval stage il is possible
fo- the EVENING PUBLIC LEDGER to tell
the story.
----- Out of the mass Of detail is the story
of Lieutenant Cmsted and the sturdy
craft that for many months was his
home
II is a story in which science and the
daring Of men are linked together and
in color and gripping interest excels the
wondrous fiction Of Jules Verne.
The A IT. was one OF our undersea
boats that was ordered to hunt down
the German L crafts and destroy them
Lieutenant Cmsted was the navigator; /;
Philip c. Ransom. Of Woodstock, Vt,
was second officer; Lieutenant Com
mander Paul Foster. OF Kansas was
commander. and twenty-nine brave lad
dies from almost as many states made
up the crew.
Thrilling Gilman to Long Routine
On July 10 their craft was fifteen
miles south OF Fsstnet Light, point at
the mouth of the English Channel that
is known TO every mariner. The German
U-boat commanders like it, for II offered
a virgin field for their cowardly opera
tions.
The A L-2 had been cruising about
the spot for eight days, but aside from
battling with the elements had expert
ence an uneventful patrol At $3.50 IN
the afternoon. Foster skipper of the
craft had ordered run 10 the base IN
Baptry Bay. ireland He was comment
sG., . I.ct a n
earned rest" that would be his in few
hours.
Lieutenant Cmsted relieved Ransom
on the bridge. This Pennsylvania
standing in the coming tower mat is
STYLED a bridge searched the seas with
his eaglelike eyes. For the next two
hours the submarine Of Uncle sam
navy had a thrilling experience. This
is the story as told by Lieutenant I'm
.sted.
"A nasty sea was running and a
heavy fog hung over the water. ON our
starboard bow and about a mile away
was a suspicious-appearing craft. We
made for II. Suddenly there was ter
rinc explosion. 1t literally picked ny
the A l. and shook her with grea
violence. There was so much noise tha
: II could not determine the direction
->from which 1t came, but naturally my
nrst thought was for the ship. I though
That an internal explosion had wrecked
her, for the craft trembled like leaf.
Our engines stopped, lights went out
men sleeping in hunks were hurled out
mess dishes smashed TO bits and th'
devil to pay generally. I looked aloft
thinking that an airplane had dropped q
bomb, but there were no alrplanes II
The sky. Then | looked over my righ
shoulder and viewed an inspiring spec
tacle. Towering at an appalling heigh
was a tower OF water, and as it fell tn