The Caucasian., 1919-02-23
MYSTERY SHIP
WAS GREATEST
U-B0AT SINKER
Tramp, With Hidden Guns, Dead
ly to Subs. =
crews HAD TO WORK HARD

S0tShS ~ W. "St sSJ"SoStbbSoS
Was to Lure German Submarine
From Depths to Position Where 1t
Could Be Destroyed by Guns Con-
cealed on Mystery Ship.
The 20" boat, Britain's great "Hush
Hush," or mystery ship, that was re-
sponsible for the sinking of more Ger
man submarines than any other device
ever attempted, has just made de-
mure appearance in the London docks
For the modest fee of II cents the
British public is allowed to carry out
q self-conducted tour of inspection of
her sinister closed matches and her
shadowed decks, where cunningly con-
cealed, great guns hug their noses be-
hind innocent-looking deck houses,
periscopes are to be found concealed
In chimney cowls, and whole decks
fall away at the touch Of magic but
ton.
London's 90 boat is one of the &C
tual band of blood brothers which
rolled and reeled around the storm
zones, wallowing fiendishly down the
traffic lanes, looking, asking and pray
ing for trouble of the first water;
trouble with a shining horror of tin
fish as the beginning and the end of it.
The business of a mystery ship is
we'll known. It is to lure a German
submarine from the depths to a posi-
ton at which it may be destroyed by
guns or other engines concealed in the
ship. The events recounted to US by
the mystery ship commander happened
some time ago, but not till now has
the silence been broken.
First, the mystery commandeE talk
ed about his early days when the mys-
terry service was in it's infancy, two
or three years ago, and of hopes de-
ferred and disappointments. One day,
hunting in the Irish sea, he saw fat
old tramp torpedoed without the sub
marine appearing, and soon afterward
he saw a three-masted coaster go
down-but still no luck. The coaster,
however, gave him an inspiration.
Gets His Big Idea.
"n I could get a little ship like
that" he thought, II might get my
birds all right" So he hunted through
the docks of the kingdom and at last
he picked up vessel of the right size
and look and put into her what was
necessary, and after that had doubts
whether she would float. But at last
he began his cruise.
II was near the Lizard in an awful
sou'west gale when / got to know that
sub was near by, torpedo passing
right under the engine room, too deep
to touch the ship" '"This," as the
commander said, Twas not in the song
book. We didn't see the sub and kept
on with the men at action stations,
with good lookout, until three
o'clock, when we caught sight of him
following and pretended not to have
seen him-his oil was awful-when he
was ON the beam 1900 yards away,
and we could see the phosphOrescent
wash of his propeller. He went down
and jammed the helm hard and just
missed the torpedo, which came as ex-
pected. It was three feet ahead"
The next incident was off the French
coast near the Channel islands, when
he heard reports that submarine
was about and saw two French air
planes dropping bombs. This was con-
sidered a nuisance, for anything which
interferes with mystery ship being
torpedoed, and preventing 1t doing its
work after that, is not liked in the
special service.
In this special service. it must be
noted, the ship has first of all to be
torpe1oed, and the officers and men
take their chances Of death and
wounds before they can break their
silence or strike blow. The torpedo
hit the ship at the bulkhead just at
the bridge. The commander was blown
up and the forward gun dismounted
and fell on one of the gunners. A
huge column of water went into the
air, and coming down in bulk on the
ship did a lot of damage. Fortunate
" no one was killed, but two other
officers were badly injured.
Show Good Acting.
The wounded were put in SAFE |
places in the tween decks and the
"abandon ship" party ordered into the
boat. This is curious act in the
tragi-comedy of the mystery ship. The
crew is so like an ordinary tramps |
crew that it's own brothers could not
tell the difference. Some acting taxes
place as they rush, panic stricken TO
the boat. 1t is called the "movie act.
The boat bucketed away; the snip lay
silent, the wounded uncomplaining In
their blood, the rest OK the crew MD
den in their recesses. If the ship sank
quickly there was no chance for any
of them. The submarine came TO the
surface and lay off three-quarters OF
q mile ahead watching her sink. Sne
was going down very slowly. The life
boats pulled away for distance, then
lay to. Would the second act ever
come? Then followed SO minutes OF
inconceivable strain, the commander
Il - r. six