THE NEW SUBMARINES.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1368, 20 February 1912, Page 2

THE NEW SUBMARINES.

A BRITISH TRIUMPH

The naval correspondent of (lie London "Daily M-.iH" stale?:—

On our onslpri) iimi southern roasts men are now brooming familiar in all conditions of wind ami weather ivitli the sight of cortain strange, whiley-grey ob-' "jects hovering on Iho surface of the f<niand travelling swiftly through the water. Xo swiior lias the eye pid'.rd them up than they are gone. They dive, vanish, and return.

These are the dreaded submarines, the engines of the naval war of to-morrow. If Iho aeroplane, which has conquered the heights of the firmament, sliumS for the greatest triumph over the forces of nature (hat man has achievrd in his whole long history, the submarine, which has comiuered the depths of (ho waters, comes assuredly second in the romance and portent of its achievements. What (lestiuies are before it few dai-e to proilict. As a sea-going craft, it is not y«t ten years old. and already it has evolved terrific power for mischief.

]f in the development of air-craft our nation has talTcn a secondary place,-we can at least congratulate ourselves on our submarines. Tiny arc possibly the best dII the world, and certainly unions the best. The year 1012 will ever be memorable in their development. Following tho completion ■ of a vessel of large size, ])f, last month, another of similar typo, 1)5, will shortly join the flotillas which guard the British coast. They are the first submarines to bo armed with (tuns. Later in the year the first submarine of the E class will Jjo delivered, a vessel'which from her size anil power deserves the name of submarine gunboat. Dt was completed six weeks ago. She carries-ons small quick-firing gun on a disappearing mount just forward of her coiming-tower. When the vessel is preparing to dive the gun sinks into the interior of the hull and two water-tight doors cksso down upon it. It can come into action and vanish ,iu a few seconds. ])5 differs from 1)4 in that she has two guns in place of one, and others of the D class will he thus armed.

■ These gims »re not intended for action asainst the liig'ship, the eternal enemy of the .submarine; lor threo little pieces would not be wore vnhmblo than pcashootors acaiiiFit the modern supcr-J)read-nought. They are intended for the attack (in the coiming-twers and'hulls of hostile submarines and for defence against hostile destroyers when theto take to luuitinj; the under-watcr vessels. Already Giirinaiiy and the United Ktatos are. introducing puns in their submarines, but tho British designs,' it.-is believed, are well in advance of any inrepared abroad. The D and K'classes of submarines are remarkable in other respects besides (heir fjun armament. The D s are the smaller, displacing 550 tons on the surface or COO tons submerged. 'In one of them Sir. Churchill some weeks ago made a trip under water. They arc capable at a pinch of remaining below for forty-eight hours. They carry fuel enough tu motor on the surface a distance of 4001) mil«s; so that in favourable circumstances they could cross the Atlantic without replenishing their oil tank?. On tho surface .they are propelled by Diesel oil engines developing 1200-horsc power ami Riving a maximum speed of IB knots. Under water they are driven by electric motors, supplied with current from Iwtteriiis, and can develop GOO-hor.se power. Their best speed below the surface is, however, only 11 knots, and it is here that their great weakness lies. . In these vossels most of. the. difficulties which once rendered submarine navigation a precariouH matter have Ijcen overcome. There is no petrol to cause explosions and endanger-'life by its vapour. Heavy oil is used. The motion of the I sea is hardly felt, and the atmosphere on board when divine; is not disagreeable. . There is room for the crew to live in tolerable comfort, and a stove, electrically heated,- is carried in which food can be" cooked. The submarine has become self-dependent and capable of keeping the se»i for a reasonable term. The connhig- , towor is. spacious, and there is superslmctHve'en'ougTr to enable the crew to work the shin with fair easo in rough "weathers,! Tho lilifYSductioW of • the gyroscope compass, 'pno. pf the most wonderful inventions of our time, gives a means of steering the boat under water; on a fixed bearing, The earliest submarines in the Navy were only fitted with one eye for lisa under water—n wnglo periscope. . The new boats'. all have two. Tho , periscope is an arrangement of prisms which enables the men' inside tho boat to see what is ; -happening on the surface. It is carried in a tube .which pan be protruded, to a height of 18ft. above the conniiig-tower and revolved to cover every point of the compass. When the boat is diving the commanding officer in the eonning-tower watches the surface through one of the periscopes, while the look-out, mpn- keeps his eye at the other,- and constantly sweeps tho hori.zon. • "•"

The D class carry three torpedo tubes,two in the bow and one in the stern;. The E class, which are 12 in number,- against the eight D's, will carry four tubes, The Ts's vnrv iii displacement- when submerged from BCO (0 1000 lons, and are the largest submarines as yet on the .stocks, though they are believed to lie very closely apnvoached by tho newest German boats. They will have a sliirhtly higher sjveed than tip D's, a longer raduus of action, a heavier drirament, mid a jrreater doirrsc of habitiibility. They will in fact be ocean-keening ve.-sels. In the opinion of the best judges of submarine warfare, it will nnt be long bc-foro craft of this lypo replace destroyers and .torpedoboats. i'or lorp-rlo attack tho aibnarine has enormous i.dvantages over the torpedo-/ brat, provided she can locate her enemy without herself beinjr seen. That is the '•eal difficulty, as submarines lie .<-o low in thf water that the field of vision from their connins-tower or bridge i? very small. -To aM her the-submarine is iisunlly. .accompanied by.a. parent ship which is of (ho cruiser tynp. When the enemy has booTfeen and his b?.irini* pointed out by wireless .telegraphy—with which the (-.ite-t submn'vines are fitted— parent ship will retire. The submarines will approach, running with only their pt-ri-penes above water, and as th°y get nearer will only sh)w these from lime to time, ■as. not more .than twn seconds' envenjence on Ihe surf ise is sufficient to correct the course. Unless the enemy is movins fast, away from tliem tliov have everv chance of making hit?. There is nothing to shake the nerves of their crws. Omifire cannot affect them. They offer no torpor, snbinorsod. And they win close in till thfir torpedoes cannot miss.