The Richmond palladium and sun-telegram. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1907-1939, 1920-09-06
SUBMARINES ARE
PERIl0uS CRAFT,
Even IN PEACE
(Kansas City Starl

(Kansas City Starr
The hazards and perils Of life on a
submarine are almost as great in time
OF peace as In war. And this despite
the many improvements in machinery
and construction that have been made
in the last two or three years.
A submarine is q delicate instru-
ment Of war. It is filled with compli-
Gated machinery and devices for carry
ing out the work for which 1t Is de-
signed. The hulls are not the great.
thick arnors that protect other war
ships. Naturally enough, a broken
bit OF mechanism may prove as deadly
as q depth bomb and hidden, jagged
reef may pierce the hull Of a sub
marine as easily as a 6-inch shell.
The United States navy has had
fewer submarine disasters, perhaps,
than any other of similar standing.
But the accident Of the So recalls an
undersea tragedy Of a few years ago
that had many elements Of drama in 1t.
That was when the submarine F-4
sank and was caught on a submerged
reef off Honolulu harbor in March,
1915, after its engines had failed.
The F-4 carried a crew Of II men,
commanded by Lieut.. Alfred L. EIDE,
and all persisted after a brave battle
against long odds at depth of 120
fathoms. Heroic and desperate efforts
were made to rescue the imprisoned
men. Graphing hooks and cables were
lowered in an attempt to get hold on
some part of the submarine and drag
it to the surface. All failed, however,
and finally deep sea divers, with spe-
cially designed equipment, went down
under the sea to fasten pontoons to
the F-4 so it could be brought up and
the bodies taken out.
Four men were killed and 10 injured
by an explosion inside the E-2 in the
dry dock of the Brooklyn navy yard in
January, 1916.
Five men were killed and three
were injured in an explosion on the
AIT at Cavite, Philippine Islands, in
July. 1917.
Three men were drowned in July,
1910, when the obsolete G-2 sank with
bomb experiments near Pleasure
Beach. Conn.
The commander and three members
Of the crew of the HI lost their lives
when the craft went aground on Re-
dondo Point, near the entrance to Mag
ealena Bay, Lower California, March
Is, this year.
The SIS is one Of the latest types of
submersibles. While no accurate
statistics regarding the newer sub
marines are available, it is probable
that he SIS displacement exceeded
$500 tons and its speed was more than
% knots an hour on the surface, with
a cruising radius of 1000 miles. In
this respect it probably came up to
the standard of the huge U-boats OF
the German navy which performed
many daring exploits far from home
waters during the war.
In general, submarine Is shaped
like a cigar, cross section at any
point along the hull being practically
circular. In the submersible this
shipe is retained for the inner shell,
but over this is built hull that gives
the completed vessel the shape OF a
torpedo boat. The inner shell con-
tains all the working parts Of the
boat, while the space between the
two shells is utilized for water bal
last compar tments which, when filled.
overcome the buoyancy Of the craft
and cause it to sink to any desired
depth beneath the water.
The interior of a submersible i'm
presses one as being a thing Of SUI
preme nervous energy, with every de-
tail devoted to the accomplishment of
Just one thing-that of slipping in
close to the enemy's ship and sinking
1T with a torpedo. So completely Is
the vessel filled with machinery and
equipment for this purpose that only
very limited space can be utilized for
quartering and feeding the crew.
While the newer submersibles are
equipped with tubes for firing torpe
does from the stern and even from
the ide, the principal fighting equip
ment Is at the bow. Here are located
either two or four torpedo tubes. Each
tube is closed by a trap door that
turns automatically when the torpedo
is fired and closes the instant he
torpedo has sarted on it's journey CT
destruction.
Back Of the torpedo tubes is a CON-
partment for the storage Of torpedoes
and in this are also sleeping quarters
for the officers Of the vessel. In the
deck above the compartment is a
hatch for taking in the torpedoes. Next
comes a compartment containing one
OF the two electric storage batteries
which furnish power for propelling the
vessel when it is under water. Back
of this at the center of the vessel, is
the central operating department,
from which every movement of the
vessel is controlled.
Next comes compartment contain
ing the second set of storage batteries,
then the engine room and workshop,
and finally the compartment at the
stern containing the propelling and
steering machinery The crew is US
ually quartered in hammocks in the
containing the storage
batteries.
Schneider-Kendau Wedding