The Pensacola journal., 1920-03-07

extended. Some of the chasers were
now sent around Lands End and up
the north Cornish coast, where colliers
bound from Wales to France were
proving tempting bait for the U-boats:
others operated farther out to sea, off
the Scilly Islands and west of Brest In
these regions their contacts with the
submarine We're quite frequent.
Out For the u-53.
There was no U-boat in the German
navy which the Allied forces were so
ambitious to get as the U-53 IL
have already referred to this cele-
brated vessel and its still more ceie-
brated commander, Captain Hans Rose.
1T was this submarine which suddenly
paid .ceremonious visit to Newport,
r. l., in the autumn OF 1916, and which,
on it's way back to Germany, paused
long enough off Nantucket to sink half
a dozen British ships. 1t was the same
submarine which sank our own de-
stroyer, the Jacob Jones, by a chance
shot with a torpedo. Thus Americans
had peculiar reason for wishing to
see it driven from the seas.
About the middle of August, 1918,
we discovered that the U-53 was op-
Grating in the Atlantic about $50 miles
learned that two German submarines
were coming down the coast of Island.
We picked up radio messages which
these three boats were exchanging;
this made it quite likely that they pro-
posed to form junction west of Brest
and attack American transports, which
were then sailing to France in great
numbers. Here was an opportunity
for the subchasers. The distance-250
miles to sea-would be a severe strain
upon their endurance, but we assigned
four hunting units, twelve boats in all,
to the task, and also added to this
contingent the destroyers Wilkes and
Parker.
! Disguised With Sails.
On the morning of September 2, one
of these subchaser units picked up
suspicious sound. A little later the
lookout on the Parker detected on
the surface on object that looked like
4 coming tower, with an upright just
forward that seemed to be mast and
sail; as it was the favorite trick of the
| U-53 to disguise itself this way, it
seemed certain that the chasers were
now on the track of this esteemed yes
sci. When this mast and sail and con-
! ming tower suddenly disappeared under
| the water these suspicious became still
lstronger. The Parker put on full speed.
found and oilslick where the submarine
had evidently been pumping its bilges,
| and dropped barrage of sixteen depth
charges. But had this injured the sub
marine? Under ordinarily conditions
there would have been no satisfactory
answer to this question; but now three
little wooden boats came up, advanced
about 1900 yards ahead of the Parker,
| stopped their engines, put over their
| listening tubes and began to listen. In
| a few minutes they conveyed the dis
appointing news to the Parker that
the depth charges had gone rather wild,
that the submarine was still steaming
ahead, and that they had obtained a
fix of its position But the U-53,
as always, was exceedingly crafty. 1t
knew that the chasers were on the
trail; it's propellers We're revolving so
slowly that almost no noise was made;
the U-boat was stealthily trying to
throw it's pursuers off the scene. For
two and a half hours the chasers kept
UP the hunt, now losing the faint
noise of the U-53, now again picking
il UP, now turning in one direction,
then abruptly in another. Late in the
afternoon, however, they obtained a
fix" which disclosed the welcome fact
that the submarine was only about 800
yards north of them. In few minutes
four depth charges were landed on
this spot.
Where Was it?
When the waters had quieted, the
little craft began listening. But moth
ing was heard. For several days after
ward the radio operators could hear
German submarines calling across the
void to the U-53, but there was no
answer to their call. Naturally. we be-
lieved that this long-sought enemy had
been destroyed; about a week later,
however our radios caught message
off the extreme northern coast of Scot
land, telling its friends in Germany
that the U-53 was on its way home.
That this vessel had been seriously
damaged was evident, for it had made