SUBMARINE RUSES
HIDDEN PETROL DEPOTS VPLANTS" ON "NEUTRAL" SHIPS Ihe ruses adopted by tho enemy to supply his submarines with fuel and stores have been manifold, writes a special correspondent in tho "Scotsman." Submarine supply arrangements in the Mediterranean were not so well advanced when war broke out as they were in the northern waters. The Geiman had foreseen his difficulties in tho north. His purposo had been well defined, and his plans were complete anil his depots stocked. Tho underwater depots of tho German submarino service wero not created after tho beginning of hostilities. Something of the care which has been bestowed by Germany upon peace-time preparations for the war at sea may be realised from an incident, in which two vessels of our County class figured many months ago. The vessels wero on duty in the North Sea, out from the eastern edge of the Dogger Bank. Mysterious "Periscope," Quite a lively time was experienced on one of the,ships when in tho distanco an object whicli appeared to bo a periscope was seen just lifting above the surface of a very calm sea. The sighting ship was about to warn her neighbour when from the latter vessel also the suspicious object was seen. A pretty game at once developed between the two ships. It was a gamo which had been fatal to submarines of tho enemy before, but on this occasion the prospective victim was unresponsive. The . supposed periscope remained where it had first appeared, despito the wiles of tho cruisers. The uncertainty did'not last very long, and as soon as> it was realised that, whatever the object was, it certainly was not a periscope, there was an examination by a launch, and tho young naval officer ill charge of the examining party received what was perhaps the greatest surprise of his career. Ihe object which had sent the cruisers on a merry dance was a very unpretentious buoy, made in Germany. It was hauled aboard tlio launch, and tho light tacklo which held it was carefully gathered in. Then came, swirled in seaweed, heavier tackle which had lain on the occau floor, And with tho heavier tuckle camo the surprise. Running gear, devised anil shacked with groat ingenuity, was set free, and tlio launch crew hauled away happily. (Jp to tho surface hove a great steel tank. Thus was found one of the first petrol-supply depots set under the sea, whilst wo wore wrangling over domestic affairs for the use of an enemy who had 110 thought of warl The tajik was carefully examined, and tho surprise occasioned by its discovery was •no greater than the respect evoked by tlio skill displayed in its construction. A\ lthoufc difficulty, aud in complete safety, tho U boats could draw oil fuel' from this store, either by bringing it to the surfacc or by submerging beside it. There was provision for compensation by weight di water for petrol witndrawn. The Traitor Ship. ■ The problem of dealing with the "neutral" supply ship is much more difficult in tlie Mediterranean than it proved in tho North Sea aud in northern waters generally. A serious problem enough it was in the north. Trawlers in. scores took the risks of war and came out to tho fringes of the Dogger Bank to glean what they could of°fish or information. . Wo are respectful of the rights and feelings .of neutrals. liut there oame a day of reckoning all along tho Dogger Bank, and of what was round in the weediug-out that took place many interesting things might bo told. Here if an instance. There was a surprise one breezy dawn for a tiny group of British trawlers on that bank. Examining destroyers rushed out of the west, and were in the midst of the fishers almost as soon as sighted. Every trawler bore an English number," and everyone had certainly done some . fishing. There was not a single hold but iiel;l some of the spoils of . tho deep. Aud thero was one hold in particular which seemed well filled. That was the traitor ship. Tho "hold" was not much more than a depression. It was a false hold, fitted over tlio real hold and the real cargo. Under that shallow cupped aipper "hold" with its burden of fish there was the real hold with its burden of supplies for submarines; its wireless outfit, its bombs and benzine. She was one of the best examples of her kiud taken. "Doublc-sklnnec!" Trawler. The submarine supply ships wero very sadly shaken up that week, and uono more effectively than one trawler, which was actually a cleverly-constructed oil tank, "double skinned." all over! Neutrals have but little reason to grumble if the British Navy has now an inquisitive way with it. The "concrete blocks," which wore proved to bo oil cases, the coils of new hawsers which yielded each its little tank of petrol, the copper-packed "tuunels" of innocent tramp steamers, have not been forgotten. With his undor-watcr depots failing him, his coast depots discovered and removed, and his supply ships falling into the hands of the British Fleet, tlio resourceful German Moked to tho North —and it seemed to him that from the willing West —for cash down—his U, boats might "bo reached by vessels with supplies. Then came istirring days on the edge of the ice. Little or nothing has been heard of the swift dash upon a certain station up in that- bitter No Man's Land, and the silencing of a "voice"—a German voice—which was being raised for tlie benefit of tho .U boats and the supply ships of the same.
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Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2712, 6 March 1916, Page 7
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935SUBMARINE RUSES Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2712, 6 March 1916, Page 7
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