The Bamberg herald. [volume] (Bamberg, S.C.) 1891-1972, 1919-01-02
Writer Uses Desk of Hun Sub Chief.

Writer Uses DeSk OF nun SuD CIuo1.
Aboard Under-Sea-Chaser U-117,
Harwich Harbor.-The U-117, which
during June, July and August cruis-
ed up and down the American At
lantic coast sinking sailing vessels,
tugs, barges, and coastwise passenger
steamers, lies under a thin fog to-
night in Harwich Harbor. Reduced
to a curiosity.
Just up the haroor floats a, feet
of SO other former German U-boats,
tied up in twos and threes.
Stripped of her crew and potenti-
ality for frightfulness, the monster
submarine is nesting alongside a sis
ter diver, while English sailors
search her for BOBBY traps. 800. = :.
In the empty control room the
butt ends of her two periscopes-
one for navigation and the other for
range-fnding-swing useless, with no
one to look through. them. -.
She returned last September to
Kiel from 3-months cruise in Am
erican waters, with record of 40,-
900 tons of shipping sent down, ac-
cording to her crew. - :.
From her mine racks in the. rear
to the torpedo tubes in the PROV;
through a greasy queer-smelling
jungle of steel rods and tubes, tiny
steel walled compartments Joined by
manhole doors, through crews quar-
ters, the officers and captains cabins,
the control room, the kitchen and the
engine and switchboard rooms--is
close to 800 feet.
The only variation in the steel lin
ing Of the passageway is the captains 8
cabin, where I am writing this-a
pretty little den about feet square,
with oak-pahelled walls. Each panel
is the door of a cupboard. There is
just enough room for lounge, up
holstered in beautiful imitation leath-
er ,(the captains bed) little oak
desk, where he wrote his log, and
a small oak armchair, with an up
ho1stered cushion.
The only other hint of luxury in
the ship is the leather upholstering
on the officers berths in the adjoin-
ing cabin.
Both are simply enlargements OF
the direct end-to-end passageway Of
the ship.
The U-117 could shoot 2S torpe-
does without returning to base. She
had a mine-carrying capacity of 40
inches, and 4-inch gun on her deck
in front of the coming tower.
She has 3 places of control-on
top of the coming tower for surface
travel, in the upper control room
Gin the lower part Of the coming
tower) for semi submerged or near
the-surface travel, and the lower con-
troll room, still further down for
deep submerged sailing. A slippery
steel ladder, running through the
manholes in the ceiling connects the
three.
Here, squirting into the periscope,
with one hand resting on the engine
room telegraph beside him, the cap
tain directed the actions. Behind
him, with his back to him, stood
the pilot, at an iron steering wheel
sat perpendicularly in the wall.
The life of a German submarine
sailor was series Of restrictions.
He climbed from his narrow iron
bunk in the morning to bump into the
narrow passageway to the tiny wash
room. He ambled a little further
along to another small compartment,
where the cook bends over square
electric cooking range with cook
ing surface about 80 inches square
on top and a small oven below.
He probably returned to his bunk
to eat his ration, for there is no din
ing room. Perhaps he went back to
the torpedo or mine room, where
there is small open floor space
about 10 by 8 feet.
Or, if. the submarine happened to
not been heard from.