SUBMARINE EXPLOITS.

Hokitika Guardian, 27 July 1918, Page 4

SUBMARINE EXPLOITS.

IN THE COTTEGAT

First take tlie story of a failure —of an attempt by a submarine to pass through the Sound into the Baltic. It was known that the German Fleet was exercising - in the Baltic, and three submarines, X, Y, and Z, were detailed to make the passage of the Sound and to attack. It was essential that the three vessels should pass through on the same night, but unfortunately X developed certain defects, and she did not roach the entrance to the Sound until the night after Y and Z had successfully made the passage. Their presence was discovered in the Baltic, and the enemy took all possible steps to prevent them from getting out or others from getting in. X. found I'oar merchant ships in line abreast proceeding through the narrow entrance to the Bound, and from the norm rate station they kept it was evident that they wire sweeping. Beyond them were destroyers. These ships were all showing navigation lights, and accordingly X thought it would be best to do so too, hoping to pass without attracting attention. She had not proceeded far, however, before she was detected by a destroyer, which tried to rain lima Her only course was to dive, and as she submerged she heard the thrashing of the enemy’s propellers above her. To make the passage with lights burning was clearly out of the question, but, nothing .daunted, she returned, stea 1 tliily creeping on the surface, unf il she got into the wake of a vessel proceeding through the Sound, trusting to he able to follow unobserved. For a while it seemed as if the plan would succeed,' but suddenly the vessel ahead stopped. As luck would have it she, too, was a destroyer ; at once sin; endeavoured to ram, hat again the submarine dived and escaped. A third and a fourth attempt liivuvrld no greater success Another effort would not only have been helpless, but would have tin justifiably risked the hiat and the lives of the crew, so she returned to her base, us her commander expressed it in liis report, “prior to making a further attempt.” SLX't'FISSES OX PATHOr.. A submarine on patrol between the mouths of the Eastern Ems and the Weser had better luck. She sighted two patches of destroyer smoke to south-eastward, and two anxious hours were spent manoeuvring for position to attack. Then, at a range of 500 yards, two torpedoes were fired, one at the how and the other at the stern of one of the destroyers. The submarine then dived to avoid detection, but. a loud explosion told that one torpedo had reached its mark. Eight minutes Inter the destroyer was seen sinking by the stern, Lilt ol her bows still standing vertically out of the water.

ft freqim lily happens t hat a submarine does not actually -ce her victim struck, but >he inmcaddy has the satisfaction of hearing tin? explosion if the torpedo gets ho ■e. On one occasion a single stibium ine attacked four battleships of the Kaiser class while she was paired'ingulf the Danish coast. After getting into position to attack the submarine broke surface owing to the heavy swell, and it was neci-s-ary to go full speed to get her under again. Just before the periscope dipped sights were got. on to the third ship in the line, and four torpedoes were tired. The range win estimated tit 4,1 00 yards. Two loud explosions wore heard, mid the commanding officer was of opinion that the third and fourth ships in the line were each hit. by a torpedo.

Oil another occasion a submarine on patrol one morning off the Ems sighted an enemy destroyer, and lived both how tubes at, a range of .‘GO yards. As the submarine dived on firing the result was not seen, batafter a lapse of a few seconds there was an exceedingly loud explosion, which was distinctly heard 2 o miles away. A quirk sweep round with the periscope two or three minutes later revealed no sign of the destroyer which had been fired at. In view of the violence of the explosion if is probable that the magazine bleu up, and that would account for the rapid disappearance of the ship. Another instance of the total disappearance of a vessel may he given. One of our submarines sighted an enemy submarine ahead of her. and, giving chase, reduced the range to 460 yards. Two torpedoes were fired, and one was seen to hit'. When the smoke cleared away there was not a vestige of the hostile vessel to b 3 seen.

WINTER KAROSHIPS. The hardships suffered by submarine crews in stormy weather are terrible. During the winter westerly gales were frequently experienced ill the Bight and these gales were invariably accompanied by high, steep seas which made it impossible to open the conning tower hatch. Vision was limited to that through the periscope, and its range was oniv a cable or two between the seas continually breaking over the vessels. There was no rest at the bottom, even at 22 fathoms, as the vessels rolled and bumped dangerously. They were, consequently, compelled to keep under wav at a depth clear of the keels of possible ships. “The seamen got very little sleep owing to cold.” With these words the captain af a submarine concludes his report on a cruise in the North Sea. making no reference to the fact that while the crew had got very little sleep he had got very much less himself. The weather had not been good, and throughout the six days of the cruise the cold had been intense. At times ice formed on the periscope very quickly and obscured .vision, so that it had to be dipped every five minutes. On the surface, tlie thermometer gave no reading, though it had a minimum of ißdeg of frost. To receive messages by wireless was impossible, as tlie spray froze ou the aerial, forming a coating of ice 21'n thick. From time to time it was necessary to dive to remove the icicles, over a.toot long, which depended from portions of the -tmpef Structures The bridge screen f'ro/ce Hlge a board qpi-1 only witH

difficulty coulv it bo folded, and the ice on tlie coats of the officers and crew did not thaw until some hours after the garments had been hung up below. IN THE EIGHT. The following extracts are taken from an official report ol operations iti the Heligoland Bight:— When a submarine is submerged, her captain alone is able to see wliat is taking place ; the success of the enterprise and the safety of the vessel depend on his skill and nerve and the prompt, precise execution of his orders by the officers and men under his command. Our submarines have been pioneers in waters which have been mined. They have been subjected to skilful and well-thought-out anti submarine tactics by a highly-trained and determined enemy, they have been attacked by gunfire and torpedo, driven to lie at the bottom at great depth to preserve battery-power, hunted for hours at a time by hostile torpedo craft and at times forced to dive under our own warships to avoid interfering with their movements. Sudden alterations of course and depth, the ‘swish, swish’ of propellers overhead and the concussion of bursting shells give an indication to the crew of the risks to which they are being exposed, and it speaks well for the moral of these young officers and men. and their gallant faith in their captains, that they have invariably carried out their duties quietly, keenly and confidently under conditions that might well have tried the most hardened veteran.”

The enemy practises many tricks, and iiis innocent-looking decoy ships sometimes succeed in deceiving our men. One day a submarine sighted what appeared to be a merchantman and gave chase, showing the signal “ stop engines ” and “ Send a boat.” When the submarine bad closed to about a ini'e, the steamer hoisted the German naval ensign and opened fire with 6-inch guns, at the same time increasing speed and altering course so as to rain the submarine. At the time the submarine’s gun was manned, the signals were still flying and there were altogether about 12 men on her deck, but she just managed to dive m time. Two or three minutes later two loud explosions were heard overhead, but beyond shaking the boat violently they did no damage.