The Pensacola journal., 1920-03-21

have already referred to the sea-
going abilities of the subchasers; but
the feat accomplished by those that
made the trip to Corfu was the most
admirable of all. These thirty-six
boats, little more than motor launches
In size, sailed from New London to
Greece distance of 5000 miles, and,
a day or two after their arrival, they
began work on the Otranto barrage.
or course they could not have made
this trip without the assistance of
vessels to supply them with gasoline,
make the necessary routine repairs,
care for the sick and those suffering
from the inevitable minor accidents;
and IL is greatly to the credit of the.
naval officers who commanded the es-
corttng vessels that they shepherded
these f1otillas across the ocean with
practically no losses. On their way
through the Strait Of Gibraltar they
made an attack on submarine which
SO impressed Admiral Niblack that he
Immediately wired London headquar-
ters for . squadron to be permanently
based on that port
Az already said. the otranto Strait
was an ideal location for this type of
antt-subm arine craft. 1t was SO mar
rowN-ahoEt forty miles-that force
Of moderate size could keep practi-
caIiy all OF the critical zone under fair
ly close observation. About all the
water was so deep-nearly 500 fathoms
$500 feee-that q submarine, once
picked mp by the listening devices, could
not escape by the method which was
SO popular in places where the water
was shallow-that of sinking to the
bottom and resting there until the ex-
citenent was over. On the other
difficult to obstruct the passage by a
fixed barTier-a difficulty that was be-
ing rapidly overcome by a certain
Franco-Italian type OF torpedo net
Formidable Barrass-
This barrage. after the arrival OF our
chasers, was so reorganized as to make
the best use OF their tactical and listen
ing qualities. The several lines Of pa
trolling vessels extended about thirty
five miles; there were vessels OF sew
eral types. the whole making for
rnidable gauntlet. which the subma-
rines had to run before they could get
from the Adriatto to the Mediter-
ranean. First came a line of British
destroyers; 1t was their main duty to
act as protectors and to keep the bar
rage from being raided by German and
Austrian surface ships-a function
which they fulfilled splendidly. Next
came a line or TaWterRp rnen critters,
motor launches. and chasers, the whole
being completed by a line OF kite bal
loon sloops. Practically all these yes
sells British as well as American,
were provided with the American de-
vices: ana so well did these ingenious
mechanisIns function that 1t was prac-
tfcally impossible for any submarine
to pass the Otranto barrage in calm
weather without making itself heard
In fact. it became the regular custom
for the enemy to wait for stormy
weather before attempting to slip
through this dangerous area, and even
!, under these conditions he had great
difficulty in avoiding detection
From July. 1918. until the day OF the
arnistfce, our flotilla at this point kept
constantly at work; and the reports of
OF our commanders show that their
sound contacts with the enemy We're
very frequent. There were battles that
Internationally ended in the destruc-
tion OF the submarines; just how much
we had accomplished, however. we did
not know until the Austrians sur
rendered and our officers, at Cattaro
and other places, came into touch with
officers of the Austrian navy. These
men, who showed the most friendly
disposition toward their Americna enc
mics, though they displayed the most
bitter hostility toward their German
allies expressed their admiration for
the work of our suhchasers.
We Forced Austrian Mutiny.
These little boats, the Austrians now