GERMAN SUBMARINES.

Hokitika Guardian, 4 May 1917, Page 4

GERMAN SUBMARINES.

A Deserter’s Story.

• It will always bi difficult to discover how many submarines the Germans have in active operation. The nearest approaoh to an official statement on the subject was Lord Milner’s estimate of 200. This, as it happens, agrees with the estimate given to the “ Telegraaf ” recently by a deserter from the German Navy who esoaped into Holland. According to this witness submarines are built and repaired day and night in ths Yobs, Tecklenbnrg and Urania Dockyards. Most submarines require thorough examination ou their retnrn. He estimated that Germany has 200 submarines on active service out of a total of 600 submarines. He deduced this from their numbers. He saw Y 200 (Yoss), T 197 (Teobenbnry) and U 203 (Urania). The numbers on some submarines were so inscribed that it was difficult to distinguish them in the open sea, but they were clearly visible in port. Every submarine was certainly numbered. Seivioe on board Submarines was voluntary, l(l«ny of his comrades joined the submarines hoping for a better life than on board big vessels, but they were bitterly di&“ appointed.

Generally the submarine remained out ore month, the deserter continued, after which, if it returned, it remained one month docked. Most seamen leaving with a submarine did not.expect to retnrn. More submarines bad been lost than one dare admit. He knew this because so many of his comrades never returned.

Before entering a- submarine men had a course of four to six weeks at the submarine school at Kiel. Theuee they proceeded to a XJ-boat division. Many accidents occurred even during tba trials of new U-boats. It happened repeatedly that a submarine submerged for ever daring its trials in port. The latest submarines are said to be 50 metres long (nearly 200ffc), and carry three gnus of S.Bom. (3.5i0.) The very newest have one 15om. (6io) gun. Submergence is now very quick—within one minute. Submarines'usually tiavel ab)ve water, but submerge entirely as soon as anything is in sight. The periscope closes automatically. After submerging the boat only comes to the surface slowly in order to reconnoitre, but it is very difficult to observe through

the periscope. It is generally known that one of the submarines once torpedoed a German ship. The matter, however, was kept a secret as much as possible.

The deserter olaimed, to have been Bix years in the German Navy and to have been present at the Jutland battle. He stated that in the bat r le ho x was aboard the Lntziw which wa l ! sunk. Over 1000 were saved of her crew, which totalled 1600. He was taken aboard a destroyer, which was sunk five minutes later.

. On August 19 last he served aboard the Grosser Kurfurst. They Steamed with five other vessels, including the Markgraf, Baysrn, Yon der Tann and Moltke, as far as the English coast, with the intention of bombarding it, but a Zeppelin warned them that the English fleet was approaching, and they quickly returned, . They left Bgain eight days later with the Markgraf and the Bayern to seek a strayed Zsppelin, but returned home unsuccessful. It repeatedly happened that Zeppelins, torpedo-boat destroyers and submarines were but these losbss were never a*nnonnced j as they occurred ao often. The German went on to say that he was last aboard the new battleship Baden, 30,000 to £5,000 tons. She bad not fewer than eight guns of 38om. (Isin), also 16 quick-firers of 15cm. (6in) and eight B.Bjra. (3.5 in). This ship was not yet completely finished. Her official trials would occur shortly, and she would definitely begin service at the beginning of Mfiroh. The Baden steamed only 25 knots; the Lutzow could do 31. The new vessel Hindenburg would enter active service simultaneously with the Baden.

The new battleship Baden, thus vaguely described as being between 30,000 and 35,000 tons displacement, must be one of three battleships launched in 1914 and 1915. These were said to be of 29,000 tons approximately, but no particulars were available except that they were to have eight 15iu guns as the main armament and sixteen 5.9 in guns as the secondary armament. The reference to the “ new Hindenburg '' is quite puzzling. Apparently authoritative German reports gave it out that ibe battlecruiser Hindenburg was commissioned early last year, and there were even suggestions that she was engaged in the Jutland battle, though that assertion had no official warrant. That thenew battle oruisers Lutzow and Derffiinger were there could not bo concealed because one of them was sunk and the other so badly battered that she had to be beached. Tbs Hindenburg was laid dawn a full year before the war commenced, so that she should have been in commission at least by the beginning of 1916.

The Markgraf and Grosser Kurfurst mentioned by the deserter, are both battleships of the Kenig class. The Von der Tann and the Moltke, of course, are the earlier type battleoruisers. The Bayern is an unknown quantity, unless she happens lo be the .unnamed battleship “T,” laid down at Kiel iD 1913, in which case she would belong to tbe same class as the Baden. The deserter stated that a new Karlsruhe was already in commission and that a new Emden would shortly be ready. The Ersalz Blnchar was on tha stocks at Dantzig, but the new construction was almost exolnsively of large cruisers and submarines. Apparently daring tbe w&r period Germany has added to her capital ships only tbe Baden and the Bayern, whioh are no doubt the “T ” and Ersatz Worth listed in I&LS as having been laid down in 1913, aud the Hindenburg.

The Lutzow was commissioned after the commencement of the war , bat she has been sank. If this is the sum total of new capital snips the enemy cannot have greatly accelerated his programme, for the battle-oruiser Victoria Luise was to have been laid down In 1914 and so was the battleship Kaiser Friedrich 111, belonging to the Baden class. The Kaiser Wilhelm 11, of the same class, has been authorised.