July 27, 2025 • 21 mins
Delve deep into the clandestine world of submarine warfare during WWI with the Journal of Submarine Commander Von Forstner. As the commander of the German U-boat U-28, Forstner provides an unvarnished account of the gritty realities of life under the sea, including detailed descriptions of torpedo attacks on Allied ships. First published in 1916, this 1917 English translation aimed to support the Allied war effort by revealing the fearsome nature of their invisible enemy. Inspired by a visit to the captured WWII German U-505 submarine at Chicagos Museum of Science and Industry, this audio reading offers a visceral understanding of the claustrophobic conditions endured by the submarines crew, exemplified by the cramped sleeping quarters nestled alongside 15-foot-long torpedoes. This is a journey into the heart of the submarine warfare experience. (Introduction by Sue Anderson)
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Part two of an introductory essay by John Hayes Hammond
Junior to the Journal of Submarine Commander von Forstner. This
is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
LibriVox dot org. Recording by Sue Anderson. The Journal of
(00:25):
Submarine Commander von Forstner by Georg Gunter Freeher von Forstner,
translated by Anna Kraft's Codmen, with commentary by John Hayes
Hammond Junior, Part two of the introductory essay, The Challenge
of Naval Supremacy. Obviously, the first method of handling the
(00:46):
submarine problem would be to bottle the German under sea
craft in their bases. There has been a number of
proposals as to how best to accomplish this. It has
been stated that the English Navy has planted mines in
channels leading from Zebruga and other submarine bases. But it
is necessary only to recall the exploits of the E
(01:08):
eleven and the E fourteen of the British Navy at
the Dardenelles to see that it would not be impossible
for the Germans to pass in their U boats through
these mine fields into the open sea. It will be
remembered that the E eleven and the E fourteen passed
through five or more mine fields, thence through the Dardenelles
(01:29):
into the Sea of Marmora and even into the Bosporus
under seemingly impossible conditions. Yet in spite of the tremendous
risks that they ran, these boats continued their operations for
some time, passing up as far as Constantinople, actually shelling
the city, sinking transports, and accomplishing other feats which have
(01:51):
been graphically described in the stories of Rudyard Kipling and again.
If the mine fields were placed in close proximity to
their bases, it would be comparatively easy for German submersibles
of the Lake type, possessing appliances to enable divers to
pass outboard when the vessel is submerged, to go out
and cut away the mines and thus render them ineffective.
(02:15):
Nets are also used to hinder the outward passage of
the submarine. These nets can likewise be attacked and easily
cut by devices with which modern U boats are equipped.
The problem of placing these obstacles is a difficult one
in view of the fact that the ships so engaged
are harassed by German destroyers and other enemy craft. Outside
(02:38):
of Zebuga, shallow water extends to a distance of about
five miles from the coast, and it has been suggested
that a large number of aircraft carrying bombs and torpedoes
should be used to patrol systematically the channel leading from
that port to deep water, with the intent of attacking
the submersibles as they emerge from this It is ridiculous
(03:02):
to suppose that the Germans would not be able to
concentrate an equally large number of aircraft, to be supported
also by anti aircraft guns on the decks of destroyers
and by the coast defenses. We have not yet won
the supremacy of the air and it must inevitably be
misleading to base any proposition on the assumption that we
(03:26):
are masters of that element. The problem of bottling up
the submersibles is enormously difficult because it necessitates operations in
the enemy's territory where he would possess the superiority of power.
I believe that the question of operations against the submarine
bases is not a naval but a military one, and
(03:50):
one which would be best solved by the advance of
the western left flank of the Allied armies. The second
method is to attack the summary with every appliance that
science can produce. In order to attack the submarine directly
with any weapon, it is necessary first to locate it.
(04:11):
This is a problem presenting the greatest difficulty, for it
is by their elusiveness that the submarines have gained such
importance in their war on trade. They attack the more
or less helpless merchant ships and vanish before the armed
patrols appear on the scene. Almost every suitable appliance known
(04:33):
to physics has been proposed for the solution to the
problem of submarine location and detection. As the submarine is
a huge vessel built of metal, it might be supposed
that such a contrivance as the Hue's induction balance might
be employed to locate it. The Hues balance is a
device which is extremely sensitive to the presence of minute
(04:55):
metallic masses in relatively close proximity to certain parts of
the appera us. Unfortunately, on account of the presence of
the souline sea water, the submersible is practically shielded by
a conducting medium in which are set up at ey currents.
Although the seawater may lack somewhat in conductivity, it compensates
(05:16):
for this by its volume. For this reason, the induction
balance has proved a failure. But another method of detecting
the position of a metallic mass is by the use
of the magnetometer. This device operates on the principle of
magnetic attraction, and in laboratories on stable foundations, it is
(05:38):
extremely sensitive, but the instability of the ship on which
it would be necessary to carry this instrument would render
it impossible to obtain a sufficient degree of sensitiveness in
the apparatus to give it any value. The fact that
the submersible is propelled underwater by powerful electric motors begets
(05:59):
the idea that the electrical disturbances therein might be detected
by highly sensitive detectors of feeble electrical oscillations. The seawater
in this case will be found to absorb to a
tremendous extent the effects of the electrical disturbance. Moreover, the
metallic hull of the submersible forms in itself an almost
(06:22):
ideal shield to screen the outgoing effect of these motors.
Considerable and important development has been made in the creation
of sensitive sound receiving devices to hear the propeller vibrations
and the mechanical vibrations that are present in a submersible,
both of which are transmitted through the water. There are
(06:44):
three principal obstacles to the successful use of such a device.
When the submersible is submerged, she employs rotary and not
reciprocating prime movers, being in consequence, relatively quiet when running
under water and in audible at any considerable distance. The
noises of the vessel carrying the listening devices are difficult
(07:07):
to exclude, as are also the noises of the sea,
which are multitudinous. Finally, the sound receiving instruments are not
highly directive, hence are not of great assistance in determining
the position of the object from which they are receiving sounds.
To locate the submersible, aerial observation has been found useful.
(07:30):
It is particularly so when the waters are clear enough
to observe the vessel when submerged to some depth, but
its value is less than might be supposed in the
waters about the British Isles and northern Europe, where there
is a great deal of matter in suspension, which makes
the sea unusually opaque. The submersible, however, when running along
(07:52):
the surface with only its periscope showing, is more easily
detected by aircraft than by a surface vessel. Behind the
periscope there is a characteristic small wake which is distinguishable
from above but practically invisible from a low level of observation.
Many seaplanes are operating on the other side for the
(08:14):
purpose of locating enemy submersibles and reporting their presence to
the surface patrol craft. In order to overcome the disadvantages
of creating the periscope wake which I have mentioned. It
is reported that the Germans have developed special means to
allow the U boats when rating, to submerge to a
(08:34):
fixed depth without moving. To maintain any body in a
fluid medium in a static position is a difficult matter,
as is shown in the instability of aircraft. One of
the great problems of the submersible has been to master
the difficulties of its control while maintaining a desired depth.
(08:56):
The modern submersible usually forces itself under water while still
in a slightly buoyant condition by its propellers and by
the action of two sets of rudders or hydroplanes, which
are arranged along its superstructure and which tend to force
it below the surface when they are given a certain inclination.
(09:18):
But should the engines stop, the diving rudders or hydroplanes
would become ineffective, and, because of the reserve buoyancy in
the hull, the vessel would come to the surface. In
order to maintain the vessel in a state of suspension
under water without moving, it would be necessary to hold
an extremely delicate balance between the weight of the submarine
(09:42):
and that of the water which it displaces. Variations in
weights are so important to the submersible that as fuel
is used, water is allowed to enter certain tanks to
compensate exactly for the loss of the weight of the fuel.
Obtain such an equilibrium, an automatic device, controlled by the
(10:04):
pressure of the water, which of course varies with the
depth is used. This device controls the pumps which fill
or empty the ballast tanks, so as to keep the
relation of the submersible to the water which it displaces constant,
under which condition the vessel maintains a fixed depth. The
(10:25):
principle of this mechanism is of course old, and was
first embodied in the whitehead torpedo, which has a device
that can be set so as to maintain the depth
at which it will run practically constant. With the addition
of a telescopic periscope, which can be shortened or extended
at will, it will be possible for the U boat
(10:47):
to lie motionless, with only the minute surface of the
periscope revealing her position. To attack the submersible is a
matter of opportunity. It is only when one is caught
operating on the surface, or is forced to the surface
by becoming entangled in nets, that the patrol has the
(11:08):
chance to fire upon it. Against this method of attack,
modern submersibles have been improving their defenses to day. They
are shielded with armor of some weight on the superstructure
and over part of the hull. They are also equipped
with guns up to five inches in diameter, and affording
(11:29):
as they do a fairly steady base. They can outmatch
in gun play any of the lighter patrol boats which
they may encounter. One of the important improvements which have
been made has resulted in the increased speed with which
they now submerge from the condition of surface trim. A
submersible of a thousand tons displacement will carry about five
(11:52):
hundred tons of water ballast. The problem of submerging is
mainly that of being able rapidly to fill the tanks.
On account of the necessity of dealing with large quantities
of water in the ballast system, the European submersibles are
equipped with pumps which can handle eight tons of water
(12:12):
per minute. Again, the speed which the electrical propulsion system
gives the vessel on the surface greatly increases the pressure
which the diving rudders can exert, enforcing the submersible under water.
This effect may be so marked that it becomes excessive,
and Suitor emphasizes the point that vessels at high speed
(12:33):
when moving under water, may, on account of the momentum attained,
submerged to excessive depths. To eliminate this tendency, there is
a hydrostatic safety system which automatically causes the discharge of
water from the ballast tank when dangerous pressures are reached,
thus bringing the submersible to a higher level where the
(12:55):
pressure on the hull will not be so severe. From
this fall that the opportunity of ramming a submersible or
of sinking it by gunfire is greatly minimized, since the
vessel can disappear so rapidly. A great deal has been
attempted with nets. Fixed nets extend across many of the
(13:17):
bodies of water around the British Aisles. Their positions, doubtless
are now very well known to the Germans. The problem
of cutting through them is not a difficult one. Moreover,
the hull of the submersible has been modified so that
the propellers are almost entirely shielded and encased in such
(13:37):
a way that they will not foul the lines of
a net. There has also been a steel houser strung
from the bow across the highest point of the vessel
to the stern, so that the submersible can underrun a
net without entangling the superstructure. Some nets are towed by
surface vessels. The process is necessarily slow, and to be effective,
(14:01):
the surface vessel must know the exact location of the submersible.
Towing torpedoes or high explosive charges behind moving vessels has
been developed by the Italian Navy, but the chances of
hitting a submersible with such devices are not very great.
Bomb dropping from aeroplanes can be practiced successfully under exceptional
(14:24):
conditions only in view of the fact that such bomb
dropping is exceedingly inaccurate and that the charges carried are
relatively small, this form of attack ordinarily would not be
very dangerous for the submersible. Surface craft have also employed
large charges of high explosives, which are caused to detonate
(14:44):
by hydrostatic pistons upon reaching a certain depth. Patrol boats
carry such charges in order to overrun the submersible, drop
the charges in its vicinity, and by the pressure of
the underwater explosion, crush its hull. Since the pressure of
an underwater explosion diminishes rapidly as the distance increases from
(15:06):
the point of detonation, it would be necessary to place
the explosive charge fairly close to the hull of the
submersible to be certain of its destruction. To accomplish this,
it would seem that the ideal combination would be the
control of an explosive carrier by radio energy directly from
(15:26):
an aeroplane. Thus, we would have a large explosive charge
under water where it can most effectively injure the submersible,
controlled by the guidance of an observer in the position
best suited towards the movements of the submerged target. The
third method by which to frustrate the attack of the
submersible is to give better protection to the merchant marine itself.
(15:52):
While a great deal of ingenuity is being concentrated on
the problem of thwarting the submersible, by little common sense
has been used. While endeavoring to devise intricate and ingenious
mechanisms to sink the submersible, we overlook the simplest safeguards
for our merchant vessels today. The construction of the average
(16:14):
ship is designed to conform to the insurance requirements. This
does not mean in any way that the ship is
so constructed as to be truly safe. Thousands of vessels
that are plying the seas today are equipped with bulkheads
that are absolutely useless because they do not extend high
enough to prevent the water from running from one part
(16:37):
of the ship to another when the ship is partially submerged.
Then again, the pumping system is so arranged as to
reach the water in the lower part of the hull
when the ship is up by the head. Should the
ship be injured in the forward part and sink by
the head, these pumps would be unable to reach the
(16:57):
incoming water before her condition had become desperate. There is
a vessel operating from New York to Day worth approximately
a million dollars, and if she were equipped with suitable pumps,
which would cost about eight thousand dollars, her safety would
be increased about forty percent. Her owners, however, prefer running
(17:22):
the risk of losing her to expending eight thousand dollars.
If the merchant vessels were made more torpedo proof, it
would be an important discouragement to the U boat commander.
During the past two years of the war, nineteen battleships
have been torpedoed, and out of this number only three
(17:44):
have been sunk, showing that it is possible, by proper
construction to improve the hull of a ship to such
an extent that it is almost torpedo proof. While it
may not be practicable on account of the cost to
build merchant vessels along the lines of armed ships, nevertheless,
(18:04):
much could be done to improve their structural strength and safety.
And since speed is an essential factor in circumventing torpedo attack,
new cargo carriers should be constructed to be as fast
as is feasible. So radically have conditions changed that Today
we have a superabundance of useless dreadnought power. The smaller
(18:27):
guns of some of these vessels and their gun crews
would be far more useful on the merchant vessels than
awaiting the far off day when the German fleet shall
venture forth again. The submersible must be driven below the
surface by a superiority of gun fire on the part
of the merchant marine and its patrols. In this way,
(18:50):
the submersible would be dependent upon the torpedo alone, a
weapon of distinct limitations. In order to use it effective,
the submersible must not be more than from eight hundred
to two thousand yards from its target, and must run
submerged at reduced speed, thus greatly lessening its potentiality for destruction.
(19:15):
Today submersibles are actually running down and destroying merchant vessels
by gunfire. If merchant vessels carried two high speed patrol
launches equipped with three inch guns of the Davis non
recoil type, and these vessels were lowered in the danger
zone as a convoy to the ship, such a scheme
(19:37):
would greatly lessen the enormous task of the present patrol
in the event of gunfire attack by a submersible, three
vessels would be on the alert to answer her fire
instead of one, an important factor in discouraging submersibles from
surface attack. The future of the submarine campaign is of
(19:58):
vital importance. The prospect is not very cheerful. Le Bouff
states that at the beginning of the war, Germany had
not over thirty eight submersibles. This statement may be taken
with a grain of salt. The Germans do not advertise
what they have. It is probable, however, that today they
(20:20):
have not more than two hundred submersibles in operation. Over
four thousand patrol boats are operating against this relatively small number,
and yet sinkings continue at an alarming rate. It is
estimated that Germany will be able to produce a thousand
submersibles in the coming year and mann these vessels with
(20:43):
crews for her blockaded ships. This will be a tremendous
addition to the number she has now in operation. The
greater the number of submersibles she has in action, the
greater the area the submarine campaign will cover. The number
of pro vessels will have to be increased in direct
proportion to the area of the submarine zone. Since a
(21:07):
large number of patrol boats has to operate against each submersible.
It will be seen that a tremendous fleet will have
to be placed in commission to offset eight thousand submersibles.
Thus the problem becomes increasingly difficult, and the protection of
the trade route will be no more thoroughly effected than
(21:27):
it is today, unless we overwhelm the enemy by a
tremendous fleet of destroyers. And of the introductory Essay
Part two of an introductory essay by John Hayes Hammond
Junior to the Journal of Submarine Commander von Forstner. This
is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the
public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit
LibriVox dot org. Recording by Sue Anderson. The Journal of
(00:25):
Submarine Commander von Forstner by Georg Gunter Freeher von Forstner,
translated by Anna Kraft's Codmen, with commentary by John Hayes
Hammond Junior, Part two of the introductory essay, The Challenge
of Naval Supremacy. Obviously, the first method of handling the
(00:46):
submarine problem would be to bottle the German under sea
craft in their bases. There has been a number of
proposals as to how best to accomplish this. It has
been stated that the English Navy has planted mines in
channels leading from Zebruga and other submarine bases. But it
is necessary only to recall the exploits of the E
(01:08):
eleven and the E fourteen of the British Navy at
the Dardenelles to see that it would not be impossible
for the Germans to pass in their U boats through
these mine fields into the open sea. It will be
remembered that the E eleven and the E fourteen passed
through five or more mine fields, thence through the Dardenelles
(01:29):
into the Sea of Marmora and even into the Bosporus
under seemingly impossible conditions. Yet in spite of the tremendous
risks that they ran, these boats continued their operations for
some time, passing up as far as Constantinople, actually shelling
the city, sinking transports, and accomplishing other feats which have
(01:51):
been graphically described in the stories of Rudyard Kipling and again.
If the mine fields were placed in close proximity to
their bases, it would be comparatively easy for German submersibles
of the Lake type, possessing appliances to enable divers to
pass outboard when the vessel is submerged, to go out
and cut away the mines and thus render them ineffective.
(02:15):
Nets are also used to hinder the outward passage of
the submarine. These nets can likewise be attacked and easily
cut by devices with which modern U boats are equipped.
The problem of placing these obstacles is a difficult one
in view of the fact that the ships so engaged
are harassed by German destroyers and other enemy craft. Outside
(02:38):
of Zebuga, shallow water extends to a distance of about
five miles from the coast, and it has been suggested
that a large number of aircraft carrying bombs and torpedoes
should be used to patrol systematically the channel leading from
that port to deep water, with the intent of attacking
the submersibles as they emerge from this It is ridiculous
(03:02):
to suppose that the Germans would not be able to
concentrate an equally large number of aircraft, to be supported
also by anti aircraft guns on the decks of destroyers
and by the coast defenses. We have not yet won
the supremacy of the air and it must inevitably be
misleading to base any proposition on the assumption that we
(03:26):
are masters of that element. The problem of bottling up
the submersibles is enormously difficult because it necessitates operations in
the enemy's territory where he would possess the superiority of power.
I believe that the question of operations against the submarine
bases is not a naval but a military one, and
(03:50):
one which would be best solved by the advance of
the western left flank of the Allied armies. The second
method is to attack the summary with every appliance that
science can produce. In order to attack the submarine directly
with any weapon, it is necessary first to locate it.
(04:11):
This is a problem presenting the greatest difficulty, for it
is by their elusiveness that the submarines have gained such
importance in their war on trade. They attack the more
or less helpless merchant ships and vanish before the armed
patrols appear on the scene. Almost every suitable appliance known
(04:33):
to physics has been proposed for the solution to the
problem of submarine location and detection. As the submarine is
a huge vessel built of metal, it might be supposed
that such a contrivance as the Hue's induction balance might
be employed to locate it. The Hues balance is a
device which is extremely sensitive to the presence of minute
(04:55):
metallic masses in relatively close proximity to certain parts of
the appera us. Unfortunately, on account of the presence of
the souline sea water, the submersible is practically shielded by
a conducting medium in which are set up at ey currents.
Although the seawater may lack somewhat in conductivity, it compensates
(05:16):
for this by its volume. For this reason, the induction
balance has proved a failure. But another method of detecting
the position of a metallic mass is by the use
of the magnetometer. This device operates on the principle of
magnetic attraction, and in laboratories on stable foundations, it is
(05:38):
extremely sensitive, but the instability of the ship on which
it would be necessary to carry this instrument would render
it impossible to obtain a sufficient degree of sensitiveness in
the apparatus to give it any value. The fact that
the submersible is propelled underwater by powerful electric motors begets
(05:59):
the idea that the electrical disturbances therein might be detected
by highly sensitive detectors of feeble electrical oscillations. The seawater
in this case will be found to absorb to a
tremendous extent the effects of the electrical disturbance. Moreover, the
metallic hull of the submersible forms in itself an almost
(06:22):
ideal shield to screen the outgoing effect of these motors.
Considerable and important development has been made in the creation
of sensitive sound receiving devices to hear the propeller vibrations
and the mechanical vibrations that are present in a submersible,
both of which are transmitted through the water. There are
(06:44):
three principal obstacles to the successful use of such a device.
When the submersible is submerged, she employs rotary and not
reciprocating prime movers, being in consequence, relatively quiet when running
under water and in audible at any considerable distance. The
noises of the vessel carrying the listening devices are difficult
(07:07):
to exclude, as are also the noises of the sea,
which are multitudinous. Finally, the sound receiving instruments are not
highly directive, hence are not of great assistance in determining
the position of the object from which they are receiving sounds.
To locate the submersible, aerial observation has been found useful.
(07:30):
It is particularly so when the waters are clear enough
to observe the vessel when submerged to some depth, but
its value is less than might be supposed in the
waters about the British Isles and northern Europe, where there
is a great deal of matter in suspension, which makes
the sea unusually opaque. The submersible, however, when running along
(07:52):
the surface with only its periscope showing, is more easily
detected by aircraft than by a surface vessel. Behind the
periscope there is a characteristic small wake which is distinguishable
from above but practically invisible from a low level of observation.
Many seaplanes are operating on the other side for the
(08:14):
purpose of locating enemy submersibles and reporting their presence to
the surface patrol craft. In order to overcome the disadvantages
of creating the periscope wake which I have mentioned. It
is reported that the Germans have developed special means to
allow the U boats when rating, to submerge to a
(08:34):
fixed depth without moving. To maintain any body in a
fluid medium in a static position is a difficult matter,
as is shown in the instability of aircraft. One of
the great problems of the submersible has been to master
the difficulties of its control while maintaining a desired depth.
(08:56):
The modern submersible usually forces itself under water while still
in a slightly buoyant condition by its propellers and by
the action of two sets of rudders or hydroplanes, which
are arranged along its superstructure and which tend to force
it below the surface when they are given a certain inclination.
(09:18):
But should the engines stop, the diving rudders or hydroplanes
would become ineffective, and, because of the reserve buoyancy in
the hull, the vessel would come to the surface. In
order to maintain the vessel in a state of suspension
under water without moving, it would be necessary to hold
an extremely delicate balance between the weight of the submarine
(09:42):
and that of the water which it displaces. Variations in
weights are so important to the submersible that as fuel
is used, water is allowed to enter certain tanks to
compensate exactly for the loss of the weight of the fuel.
Obtain such an equilibrium, an automatic device, controlled by the
(10:04):
pressure of the water, which of course varies with the
depth is used. This device controls the pumps which fill
or empty the ballast tanks, so as to keep the
relation of the submersible to the water which it displaces constant,
under which condition the vessel maintains a fixed depth. The
(10:25):
principle of this mechanism is of course old, and was
first embodied in the whitehead torpedo, which has a device
that can be set so as to maintain the depth
at which it will run practically constant. With the addition
of a telescopic periscope, which can be shortened or extended
at will, it will be possible for the U boat
(10:47):
to lie motionless, with only the minute surface of the
periscope revealing her position. To attack the submersible is a
matter of opportunity. It is only when one is caught
operating on the surface, or is forced to the surface
by becoming entangled in nets, that the patrol has the
(11:08):
chance to fire upon it. Against this method of attack,
modern submersibles have been improving their defenses to day. They
are shielded with armor of some weight on the superstructure
and over part of the hull. They are also equipped
with guns up to five inches in diameter, and affording
(11:29):
as they do a fairly steady base. They can outmatch
in gun play any of the lighter patrol boats which
they may encounter. One of the important improvements which have
been made has resulted in the increased speed with which
they now submerge from the condition of surface trim. A
submersible of a thousand tons displacement will carry about five
(11:52):
hundred tons of water ballast. The problem of submerging is
mainly that of being able rapidly to fill the tanks.
On account of the necessity of dealing with large quantities
of water in the ballast system, the European submersibles are
equipped with pumps which can handle eight tons of water
(12:12):
per minute. Again, the speed which the electrical propulsion system
gives the vessel on the surface greatly increases the pressure
which the diving rudders can exert, enforcing the submersible under water.
This effect may be so marked that it becomes excessive,
and Suitor emphasizes the point that vessels at high speed
(12:33):
when moving under water, may, on account of the momentum attained,
submerged to excessive depths. To eliminate this tendency, there is
a hydrostatic safety system which automatically causes the discharge of
water from the ballast tank when dangerous pressures are reached,
thus bringing the submersible to a higher level where the
(12:55):
pressure on the hull will not be so severe. From
this fall that the opportunity of ramming a submersible or
of sinking it by gunfire is greatly minimized, since the
vessel can disappear so rapidly. A great deal has been
attempted with nets. Fixed nets extend across many of the
(13:17):
bodies of water around the British Aisles. Their positions, doubtless
are now very well known to the Germans. The problem
of cutting through them is not a difficult one. Moreover,
the hull of the submersible has been modified so that
the propellers are almost entirely shielded and encased in such
(13:37):
a way that they will not foul the lines of
a net. There has also been a steel houser strung
from the bow across the highest point of the vessel
to the stern, so that the submersible can underrun a
net without entangling the superstructure. Some nets are towed by
surface vessels. The process is necessarily slow, and to be effective,
(14:01):
the surface vessel must know the exact location of the submersible.
Towing torpedoes or high explosive charges behind moving vessels has
been developed by the Italian Navy, but the chances of
hitting a submersible with such devices are not very great.
Bomb dropping from aeroplanes can be practiced successfully under exceptional
(14:24):
conditions only in view of the fact that such bomb
dropping is exceedingly inaccurate and that the charges carried are
relatively small, this form of attack ordinarily would not be
very dangerous for the submersible. Surface craft have also employed
large charges of high explosives, which are caused to detonate
(14:44):
by hydrostatic pistons upon reaching a certain depth. Patrol boats
carry such charges in order to overrun the submersible, drop
the charges in its vicinity, and by the pressure of
the underwater explosion, crush its hull. Since the pressure of
an underwater explosion diminishes rapidly as the distance increases from
(15:06):
the point of detonation, it would be necessary to place
the explosive charge fairly close to the hull of the
submersible to be certain of its destruction. To accomplish this,
it would seem that the ideal combination would be the
control of an explosive carrier by radio energy directly from
(15:26):
an aeroplane. Thus, we would have a large explosive charge
under water where it can most effectively injure the submersible,
controlled by the guidance of an observer in the position
best suited towards the movements of the submerged target. The
third method by which to frustrate the attack of the
submersible is to give better protection to the merchant marine itself.
(15:52):
While a great deal of ingenuity is being concentrated on
the problem of thwarting the submersible, by little common sense
has been used. While endeavoring to devise intricate and ingenious
mechanisms to sink the submersible, we overlook the simplest safeguards
for our merchant vessels today. The construction of the average
(16:14):
ship is designed to conform to the insurance requirements. This
does not mean in any way that the ship is
so constructed as to be truly safe. Thousands of vessels
that are plying the seas today are equipped with bulkheads
that are absolutely useless because they do not extend high
enough to prevent the water from running from one part
(16:37):
of the ship to another when the ship is partially submerged.
Then again, the pumping system is so arranged as to
reach the water in the lower part of the hull
when the ship is up by the head. Should the
ship be injured in the forward part and sink by
the head, these pumps would be unable to reach the
(16:57):
incoming water before her condition had become desperate. There is
a vessel operating from New York to Day worth approximately
a million dollars, and if she were equipped with suitable pumps,
which would cost about eight thousand dollars, her safety would
be increased about forty percent. Her owners, however, prefer running
(17:22):
the risk of losing her to expending eight thousand dollars.
If the merchant vessels were made more torpedo proof, it
would be an important discouragement to the U boat commander.
During the past two years of the war, nineteen battleships
have been torpedoed, and out of this number only three
(17:44):
have been sunk, showing that it is possible, by proper
construction to improve the hull of a ship to such
an extent that it is almost torpedo proof. While it
may not be practicable on account of the cost to
build merchant vessels along the lines of armed ships, nevertheless,
(18:04):
much could be done to improve their structural strength and safety.
And since speed is an essential factor in circumventing torpedo attack,
new cargo carriers should be constructed to be as fast
as is feasible. So radically have conditions changed that Today
we have a superabundance of useless dreadnought power. The smaller
(18:27):
guns of some of these vessels and their gun crews
would be far more useful on the merchant vessels than
awaiting the far off day when the German fleet shall
venture forth again. The submersible must be driven below the
surface by a superiority of gun fire on the part
of the merchant marine and its patrols. In this way,
(18:50):
the submersible would be dependent upon the torpedo alone, a
weapon of distinct limitations. In order to use it effective,
the submersible must not be more than from eight hundred
to two thousand yards from its target, and must run
submerged at reduced speed, thus greatly lessening its potentiality for destruction.
(19:15):
Today submersibles are actually running down and destroying merchant vessels
by gunfire. If merchant vessels carried two high speed patrol
launches equipped with three inch guns of the Davis non
recoil type, and these vessels were lowered in the danger
zone as a convoy to the ship, such a scheme
(19:37):
would greatly lessen the enormous task of the present patrol
in the event of gunfire attack by a submersible, three
vessels would be on the alert to answer her fire
instead of one, an important factor in discouraging submersibles from
surface attack. The future of the submarine campaign is of
(19:58):
vital importance. The prospect is not very cheerful. Le Bouff
states that at the beginning of the war, Germany had
not over thirty eight submersibles. This statement may be taken
with a grain of salt. The Germans do not advertise
what they have. It is probable, however, that today they
(20:20):
have not more than two hundred submersibles in operation. Over
four thousand patrol boats are operating against this relatively small number,
and yet sinkings continue at an alarming rate. It is
estimated that Germany will be able to produce a thousand
submersibles in the coming year and mann these vessels with
(20:43):
crews for her blockaded ships. This will be a tremendous
addition to the number she has now in operation. The
greater the number of submersibles she has in action, the
greater the area the submarine campaign will cover. The number
of pro vessels will have to be increased in direct
proportion to the area of the submarine zone. Since a
(21:07):
large number of patrol boats has to operate against each submersible.
It will be seen that a tremendous fleet will have
to be placed in commission to offset eight thousand submersibles.
Thus the problem becomes increasingly difficult, and the protection of
the trade route will be no more thoroughly effected than
(21:27):
it is today, unless we overwhelm the enemy by a
tremendous fleet of destroyers. And of the introductory Essay
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