Evening star., 1921-04-20
NURSERY JINGLES THAT FOOLED
THE KAISER'S SECRET SERVICE
Heroic Deeds of the Lig ht-Hearted, Devil
May-Care Sub-Chasers Told by
Former Secretary.

| degrees"
Executive reports: "2 (number OF
! wing boat turbine 112 degrees"
| Executive reports: "3 number of
| other wing boat) submarine 13O de-
| greeS.
! Captain orders: Course 1913 de-
| grees."
Executive to radio: "Fox-unit:
| Executive to listeners: "Tp-tubs.'
| Start Hunt for U-Boat.
| At the order ''Up-tube," the listen
| ing tube is raised from it's position
| beneath the vessel; the signal boy
| beside the mast hoists the cone. the
| position of which shows the other
| boats what the engine of this sub
| the wheel over. and the vessel heads
for the estimated locality of the
| t-boat. All this is done in a mo-
| ment or two.
| If the submarine is not located
| the captain orders stop" the ex-
ecutive orders Down tube" The
/ tube which extends through the
! bottom of the chaser. is lowered.
! and the listener strives again to
/ hear the sound of the t-boat.
! We built over 400 of these little
| sub b-chasers-110-foot wooden boats.
! We let the French navy have fifty.
i They all gave good account of
| themselves. crossing the ocean in
storms which made heavy going for
| the big liners.
, They served in our coast patrol and
| operated in foreign waters from bases
! at Queenstown. Plymouth. Brest, Gil
! braltar and Corfu.
There were thirty-six based on
! Corfu, whose chief duty it was to
guard the entrance to the Adriatic in
| order to prevent the escape of enemy
subs into the Mediterranean, the most
/ dangerous stretch of the long water
| line of communications which the al
| lies had to use.
They were part Of the Otranto
barrage, consisting of mines and
three lines of patrol vessels-the first
two composed of British destroyers
and the third of American SubchaSers.
The Austrians say that barrage ac-
counted for at least six U-boats.
Good Work at Durazzo.
Our subchasers distinguished them
selves particularly in their participa
tion in the attack on the Austrian
1918. A dozen of them escorted the
British and Italian men-of-war, brav
ing the fire of the forts and attack
ing the Uboats under rain of
shells. They emerged from the con-
fiict unscathed.
admiral in command of the British
Adriatic naval force. with which they
operated, gave me thrill:
Il am most gratified for the val
liable service rendered by twelve
submarine chasers. under Capt. c. P.
mander P. D. Bastedo. U. S. N, whom
] took the liberty of employing in
an operation against DuraZzo, Octo-
ber 2.
They screened heavy ships during
the bombardments under enemy fire,
al n 1pfir fG1v
one submarine, which torpedoed H. NJ.
S. Weymouth. and damaged, prob
ably destroyed, another submarine.
During the return voyage they as
sisted in screening II. NJ. S. Wey-
mouth and in escorting enemy hospi-
tai ship. which was being brought
in for examination. Their conduct
throughout was beyond praise. They
all returned safely without casual
ties. They thoroughly enjoyed them
selves
Relates Thrilling Experience.
The most thrilling experience be-
longs probably to S. c. IS, one of the
fifty we turned over to France. Alexis
PuIuhen commanded the S. c. 2S 1t
was manned by French sailors. In
storm the night of January 16, 1918.
it isappeared. It's sister ships wealth
cred the gale. but it was missing
when the sky cleared.
February Is, a month and two days
later. we heard from it at the Azores.
crew and commander safe and we'll.
Puuhen tells story of danger and
hardship. Their engines broke down.
Drifting helplessly in the white-cap-
ped sea they kept watch for some
friendly craft. Two steamers We're
sighted that same night and signafed
but to no avail. The S. c. 2S was leak
ing and the pumps had to be kept go
ing constantly. Next day they saw
the mast of vessel in the distance.
and fired salvo. but the vessel fed
They tried to start the engines. but
had no lubricating oil. They used all
the salad oil and butter. 1t was no
use. The dynamo burned OUT The
radio would not work. They took the
boats linen and made sails of it
a fore-and- aft mainsail. a staysail and
= leg -of-mutton" sail at the small
foremast. The crew was put on the
smallest rations; drinking water was
doled out. So. catching a breeze, they
sailed east They were able to make
about four knots.
Gets Help at Last.
They sailed for a month They saw
other ships, but no ship dared to let
them get near. Doubtless they were
| ieared as SOME ne" tTlCk ol lHe
treacherous enemy. Soon after dawn
February Is, Puluhen sighted land.
About noon he recognized it as Fayal.
and hoisted the signal ''YP"-'1 need a
| tug" A tug came out and towed him
| into Horta.
| The S. c. %, after undergoing repairs.
took up its journey. and little later,
| but far better late than never, as
sumed it's place with the other Ameri-
| can-built chasers patrolling the
| French coast What better tribute
| could there be to the seaworthiness of
these little boats, or the heroism and
resource of the men who manned
them?
Copyright. 1921, by John F. Ollie. Copy.
! right by National Newspaper Service Copy
| right in Great Britain, Canada and throughout
| France. All rights reserved, including trans
| iat1on into foreign languages. including the
| Scandinavian. Unauthorized reprinting for any
| purpose forbidden.)
| (AnOther article by former Secre-
tary Daniels will be printed in The
| Star tOmOrroyv.)
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