Evening star., 1939-10-17
Modern Submarines
Prove Outstanding
Problem 10 Allies
Experts Who Believed
U-Bouts Undecisive
May Revise Views
BY COL FREDERICK PALMER,
Noted Military Expert.

BY COL FREDERICK PALMER,
Noted Military Expert.
While staff chiefs, who would
keep the proper balance of all arms
for homogeneous efficiency, wait for
the supreme test of air power-not
overlooking the hits made in yes
terday's raid on Rosyth, Scotland
experts who thought that the sub
marine had had its day were run
ming short of arguments even before
the German attack on the western
front brought fresh reminder OF
the dependence of the Allied armies
upon overseas supplies.
The efficacy Of the submarine is
demonstrated not only in sinking
the aircraft carrier Courageous and
the Royal Oak and the reported
damage to the battle cruisers-Re-
pulse and Hood-not only in mer-
chant ships sunk. It is also in the
interdictory threat to possible tar
gets.
Two great passenger ships, the
Queen Mary and the Normandie,
are laid up in their New York berths.
Other allied passenger ships cross
ing the Atlantic are few and far be-
tween. Mails to and from Europe
are long delayed. On all the sea
lanes which lead to Britain and
France the submarine threat leads
ships to call for cruiser and then de-
stroyer escort.
A 300-mile zone is established of
the West Coast of the American
Hemisphere, essentially against the
submarine. If we should send an
army to France again, we should
not be free Of the problem of guard
ing its safe transport.
The Listening Service.
What of the listening device? Its
object is to detect a submarines
proximity. Then the destroyers pur-
sue and drop their depth charges.
But the device is of little use un-
less it locates the submarine within
3 or 4 miles Of the destroyer. Since
the World War, the best naval SCI
entif1c brains have been working to
bring 1t to perfection. Before this
war, the British insisted they had
an infallible one. This may have
been to warn of potential enemies
OF their sea power against extensive
submarine construction.
Anyone with sufficient under
standing Of all the complicated
mechanism crowded into the small
space, of the thin steel shell who
has ever been on board q German
U-boat will be most welcome at the
British admiralty. He may have in
valuable secrets to reveal.
From the little information avail
able, apparently Germany has fol-
lowed her usual practice in design
ing pattern boats for swift mass
production to replace wastage and
increase her present number of 10.
Normally, submarine takes a year
or more to build. But, under this
system-the same as our own for
automobiles, which set the example
for the world-with her intensive
militarized labor, she might built
one in six months.
All Are Modern U-Boats.
She has no underage U-boats.
Having started from scratch, the
new ones include all the improve
ments, which are the more signifl-
cant If the listening device has not
kept pace with them. These include
better engines, more speed, better
mobility in maneuver and two other
more important items. One is the
electric propelling power for the
torpedo, which does not make
soap-bubble warning wake, outlining
its progress toward the target.
But the greatest advance is in the
gyroscopic direction of the torpedo.
Formerly, before firing her torpedo,
a submarine had to point her bow
toward ship, ss gun is pointed at
the target. This took time and gave
the ship time to get past. Now, the
submarine may fire the torpedo
when running at a sharp angle, or
practically parallel to the ship, and
the gyroscope will turn it dead on.
IL Lldy NC pOSSlUle, GIlOuSu uOC
probable, when the naval and mill
tary scientists of nations have a
strange way of keeping abreast of
one another, that the Germans have
new and more powerful explosive
for the torpedo head. If so, that
may account for the sinking of the
battleship Royal Oak. But it would
not be essential. Doubtless more