AT A HUN HARBOUR GATS

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2919, 3 November 1916, Page 8

AT A HUN HARBOUR GATS

BRITISH SUBMARINE'S EXPLOIT (By "A Naval Correspondent," in the "Daily Mail.") Her real titlo was not Z Double-one,-though it is a good enough same for our purpose.. She was policing a stretch of water wherein dangers hung as thickly as apples 011 a tree and doing the job in her own particular way. Being of the type that does things, Z Double-one's skipper at last decided that if Opportunity would not come to him he would go in search of Oppor-. tnnity. With this eiid in view he worked his boat along to a position from which he would be able to get sight of an enemy destroyer which lie knew was iu the habit of "coming out" to take a furtiro peep round, though she never ventured far enough to bring herself into danger. j In due course tho. destroyer appear' ed and after a brief reconnaissance •'turned again home." This was what xha skipper had been waiting for. As tho destroyer threaded her way back through tho minefields Z Dougle-one tagged in behind her; of course, without the destroyer being awaro of it. Unless you lenow (Something of .the craftsmanship of war it will be difficult for you to understand fully the daring of this action. That minefield had been laid by cunning hands, it was very wide, and the only safe channel through it had designedly been made so tortuous that only those familiar with its twists and turnings couldpossijjly navigate it in safety—even they had to go warilr. By this you will see how indispensable it was to Z Doubleone that she should have a. pilot. Through the Minefield. Very carefully had she to thread the maze behind her unconscious guide. At every low yards certain death lay waiting if she deviated ever so little from the beaten track. As it was she more than onco felt the menacing scrape of cables along her side, and she knew not at what moment a mine might rend her to fragments. Making that passage was 'Something more than ticklish work. Z Double-one not only had to net safely through, she had also •to think about getting back again, which meant that her skipper had to chart his course carefully,_ as there/would be no unwittingly obliging destroyer to lead him out again. Winding and twisting she dodged her way behind the destroyer, liko a head hunter stalking his victim, and ,tlie comparison is not inept, since it was heads she was after.

Safely through the minefield at last, though in a nest of perils, and-there lay before the skipper's eyes a prospect that was exceedingly fair to look upon from his : point of view. ' Unsuspicious of danger, though not unprovided agaiust it, enemy ships of various kinds lovingly, hugged their buoys insido a great harbour -which could only be entered through a "gate." To pass through this would he easy to a submarine. and onco through, what glorious diversion she could have rousing into panic-stricken activity those sleeping leviathans inside. All this ran. through the mind of Z' Double-one's skipper, and had its temptations for him. But ho was a workman, not merely; a venturesome fool, and kept the bigger things in mind. One of these wajj that in. his daring penetration of enemy "territory" be had acquired much information) which it was important should be conveyed to the right quarter. Yet another, that if he could block the entrance to the harbour ho would inflict greater damage upon the enemy than by merely giving a fit of neurasthenia to a foe that had already got' l "nerves" badly. Also, he would stand a good chance of getting safely away with his own boat, failing which his daring enterprise would fall short, of its full achievement.'

Waiting His Prey; So the skipper took_ bis rielts cheerfully and calmly awaited his chance. This came when an outward-bound ship approached the "gat©." Then out shot one of Z Double-one's torpedoes and "swish" went a second in its track. Maledictionl Number one _ torpedo "broke water" just ahead! of its target, while the second only caught the ship by the stem. Local currents are things an invading submarine officer may be forgiven for not knowing to a nicety though \they do spoil his aim. Z Double-one's skipper had the mortification of seeing the ship turn round torror-stricken and limp back into harbour. Savagely/ lie sent tho rest of his "mouldies" (torpedeos) amok among the vessels tied up there, for the failure of his "blocking" plan had brought a red streak to his eyes: then down went his boat, seeking safety for herself in the green depths of the estuar.y. But what a commotion'her exploit caused among the enemy. Nothing is so unnerving as tlie unseen danger the extent of which cannot he estimated. Guns began to blaze, watching destroy-

ors outside were called up, and the "gate" was hurriedly closed. Tha' enemy did not know whether one submarine or a dozen had' crept into his fastness, and he did not know where the adventurous foo had gone, but ho did know that there was only one way out for it, and this he hastened to close. And that Z Double-one managed to escape in safety from under the heap ,of danger she had pulled' down upon herself was, perhaps, the most astonishing feature of her adventure.