THE LOST SUBMARINE

Hokitika Guardian, 25 November 1925, Page 4

THE LOST SUBMARINE

LAST WORD IX DESIGN. !

BUILT FOR DARDANELLES.' j BLENHEIM, Nov. 23. Some interesting facts in regard to submarine Ml, which was recently lost with all hands, were given to a reporter this morning by Mr John Dobson, R.X.R., of Blenheim, who served ! for tt short time on the ill-fated vessel when she was first commissioned at the end of 1918. Mr Dobson, who was engaged in the mercantile marine tit the outbreak of the war, holding a master’s certificate amt being a member of the Royal ' Naval Reserve, was called to the colours and. with other youthful oflieers. j qualified for Die task, was drafted to the submarine division. serving j throughout the war in the various "E boats” in the North Sea and at the Dardanelles. He had as his commanding officer Commander Bruce, 8.X.. D. 5.0., probably one of the best known of the submarine officers, and was also well-acquainted with Commander Ramsay. the intrepid officer who took the EP2 on her remarkable voyage up the Dardanelles to the Sea of Marmora, diving under the enemy’s three lines of minefields and threading the tortuous channel fully submerged without mishap. Mr Dobson was frequently on the EI2 and knew the vessel well. The ill-fated Ml. Mr Dobson said, was the very last word in submarine design and was specially built for the Dardanelles, hut owing to -delays in her construction and repeated alterations in design as she lay on the stocks she did not reach the Aegean until the Armistice had been signed, and consequently never saw active service. Some idea of the size of the vessel could he gained from the iact that she was approximately ol the same dislaccnicnt. as the Arahura. with which all Blenheim people are lamiliar, and she carried a crew of about seventy. She was the first submarine l" be fitted out as an indepenenf unit, that is. to work without a mother ship, and she was comfortably equipped will, oflieers cabins, commodious quarters lor the crew and alt the lacilities ol a big ship. Her primary jirnuuiiont. not. the torpedo tube, as in the case ol the E boats, hut a big 12in gun. which could lie fired either when the submarine was on the surlace or when onp the gun appeared above the water. The vessel had hydraulic lilts lor her ammunition hoists, and was in evci.V inspect a submersible cruiser. In addition io her 1 Din gun. she was also fitted with, torpedo tubes. Ml- Dobson was a member of the new ship’ complement when she underwent her first- gunnery trials in the Straits, and said that some idea ol the success which was attained when she was launched was to bo gained from the fact. that, firing at a —tit target at various ranges trom JOCUyds in SOLJvds she secured twenty hits out of a possible of twenty-four. The iuterviewer suggested that, according to recent newspaper reports. M 1 was not, regarded as a success, hut Mr Dobson said this was quite untrue, as she had proved herself a most sucresltil type of ship, though naturally the bigger submarines became the more difficult they were to handle, pait ieiilarly in diving, and trom that, point of view the M typo was not so adaptable as the famous E boats. Nevertheless a vessel firing a 12-inch projectile and capable of a surlace speed of 20 knots with, a submerged speed of f> to 8 knots would have proved a wonderful weapon of offence during the war and with an experienced crew on hoard would not have been very much more diliicuii to bundle than an l‘. boat. Mr Dobson explained that in the submarine service every man on h ,ard had his allotted station and his own particular duties to attend to and was trained loth in peace time and in war time to spring to his particular station at an instant's call and to carry out his duties almost automatically. •‘She was a line -hip.” concluded Ml' Dobson, ‘and when designed was years ahead of anything produced bv any oilier nation. She was used lor some time for demnnst rat ion puiposcs at Italian. Greek and ain't' ports with the idea of eoititteraeti ng the abMiril German claim that no nation had submarines to compare with the f boats and ill this -en.-o she was a great advertisement lor the Britts,i Navy.’’ Mr Dobson added that several other vessels of the M type ,l; "l been added to the navy and lie had no d; hi I>i that the stimcrstUe monitor had ionic to stay a- a naval unit.