The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1919-09-19

MTEMi The collapse of submarine warfare
kFNHU during the closing months Of the Eu-
VUEEM ropean conflict and the prediction that
its resumption may never be seriously
feared again. was the result Of the invention in
the United States of a wonderful listening device,
or submarine detectOr, which anne very close to
driving the Hun submersible from the ocean, and
would have done so, in the opinion of naval eX-
perts, had the war continued through another
summer.
AS soon as the United States entered the war
the navy department formed q special board to
develop ways and means for combating the U-boat
peril, then growing to alarming proportions.
This board consisted largely of officers from the
bureau OF steam engineering, of which Rear AID.
miral r.. S. Griffin is chief. 1t called to it's assist
ance in an advisory capacity many noted engineers
and scientists from industrial concerns, including
the General Electric company, represented by Dr..
w. L. Whitney, director of that cOmpany's re-
search laboratories.
Commander c. S. Mcdowell, .. S. N, served as
executive secretary of the board, while the other
advisory members were Col. f. b. Jewett of the
Western Electric company, and Prof. r. A. Mill
kan of the University of Chicago.
Development headquarters were established at
New London, Conn. The General Electric COM
pany in conjunction with the Submarine Signal
company Of Boston started an experimental field
station at Nahant, Mass, and were later joined by
experts from the Western Electric company.
Out of the activities Of these two groups Of
scientists there was developed the American
listening device, an instrument which proved to be
able successfully to detect submarines while sub
merged within range Of anywhere between 3 and
IL miles.
Even with the signing of the peace treaty little
can yet be known of the details Of this device. 1t
is, however, an instrument using the principle Of
sound-wave transmission through water in a new
and startling way and it depends for It's d.
rection-getting qualities on the peculiar and little
understood faculty of the human ear to detect the
direction of sound ny the shifting Of sound from
one ear to the other as the instrument was re-
volved.
AS soon as the device was considered practical
the General Electric company undertook it's man
ufacture on q large scale in Lynn, Mass, develop
ing three kinds of listeners: One which was hung
overheard from the deck Of ubmarine chasers, an
other which could be trailed off the stern and a
third which protruded through the hull Of the
vessel. American destrOyers, chasers and subma-
rineS were at once equipped with the instrument.
When the submarine detector had been turned
out in suficfsfs quantity, the navy department be-
lieved that the allies should get the benefit of the
invention at once. A special service party, in
charge of Capt. r. Fl. Leigh Of the bureau Of steam
engineering, was formed TO take samples Of the
apparatus abroad and test it under actual condi-
tons before the British admiralty. The instru-
ment was likewise demonstrated to- the French
and Italian navies. The party consisted, besides
Captain Leigh, Of Lieutenant Carter, U. S. N, En-
sign WEIGH, y. S. N. r. F., six enlisted men, C. E.
Eveleth, C. f. Scott, and 7. p. Collins OF the Gen
eral Electric company, representing the Nahant
group, and w. L. Nelson Of the Western Electric
company, who was connected with wireless devel-
opment. They sailed November %, 1917, and
Joined the British grand fleet at Scapa Flow In
the Orkney islands during the first week Of the
following month.
The admiralty and the supreme war councii
shortly afterward adopted the American device
and from that time on submarine patrol work was
revOlutionized.
Defensive tactics which had been. employed
since 1914 were now no longer the sole reliance.
The war was carried into the enemy's territory.
Fighting ships, instead Of patrOlling the steam
ship lanes looking for a stray "sub" to poke its