THE LATEST SUBMARINE.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 24, 26 March 1915, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE LATEST SUBMARINE.

Capable of Laying Mines and Blowing up Biockaued Meets.

THE SUBMARINE AUTOMOBILE. THE DAWN OF A NEW TYPE OF SUBMERSIBLE. CAN PASS THROUGH MINKS. AND ATTACK A FLEET. The time is near when the absolutely invisible submarine will become a reality is the opinion of Simon Lake, the inventor of the even-keel submergence submarine torpedo-boat, a vessel whose double hull and buoyant superstructure have made it popular in certain countries in the Old World. The same authority is also responsible for the statement that shortly we shall witness the arrival of the submarine that will be canable of laying mines under battleships* lying at anchor, connecting them up with electric fuses and exploding them. In one of the latest issues of the •'Scientific American," Mr. Lake writes an interesting story of the prospects for the submersible. "It has been well established," he says, "that submarine boats should lie divided into two classes —one, a torpedo-boat with as high surface and submerged speed as it is possible to attain, with a large radium of action, capable, if possible, of excecd-

the water. During several years of experimental work with submarines, investigating bottom conditions, I have travelled many miles in the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea, and it is a fact that a submarine of the above type may be taken into any harbour in the world entirely unseen and remain there, it necessary, for a month at a time, and destroy shipping, docks, and war craft deliberately and leisurely, and defy discovery.

My method of entering harbours or through mine fields consists principally in providing submarine vessels with bottom wheels and other component undisclosed details. When submerged, the vessel is given sufficient negative buoyancy so that she will not be drifted off her course by the currents when resting on the bottom. The vessel is what might be termed a submarine automobile, and it may be navigated over the bottom as readily as an automobile on the surface of the earth. The submarine automobile has one great advantage over the surface type in its ability to mount steep grades or go over obstructions, because the vessel is so nearly buoyant that she will mount any obstruction she can get her bow over. My early experience proved to me that a submarine could not be Fntisfactorily navigated submerged in shallow, rough water by the same method of control as was found to be satisfactory in deeper water, for the reason that the vessel would pump up and down with the rise and fall "of the sea. Neither could the vessel lie at rest on the bottom as the lift of the ground swell in bad weather was sufficient, even with a considerable negative buoyancy, to cause the vessel to pound so badly that the storage battery plates would be destroyed in a few minutes. I therefore suspended the wheels on swinging arms and applied a cushioning cylinder. The

PASSING THROUGH A MINE-FIELD \ Lake submarine, travelling on the bottom, can push the anchorage cable aside by means of the guards atached to the bow.

ing battleship speed when on the surface so that it may intercept a battlefleet on the high seas and submerge in its path of approach before being discovered ; the second-class should consist of smaller, slower speed, mine-evading submarines, with torpedo and mining and counter-mining features. Such submarines are essentially defensive; but if they have sufficient radius of action to reach the enemy's harbours and to lie in wait off the entrance to such harbours, or to enter submerged the harbours themselves and there destroy the enemy's craft, they have become potent offensive weapons of the raiding fleet. For a European Power it is relatively easy to give such boats the radius necessary for them to invade an enemy's uorts.

The submarine, even at its present development, has shown its superiority over the battleship in coast operations; however, to intercept a battleship at sea, even a high high speed submarine must lie in wait, perhaps for days or even weeks at a time. Because of its relatively slow speed it would have to wait a long time, also, for a battleship or fleet to pass sufficiently to be headed off, especially if the submarine were entirely submerged, because the moment the" periscope appears above water the quarry will take to its heels. The conclusion must be reached, therefore, that on the high seas the only advantage the dreadnought has over the submarine lies in its ability to run away and to rule commerce far offshore on the high seas.

The principal means used in my mineevading submarine are the bottom wheels and diving compartment, which were incorporated in my 1893 design, which also carried my pioneer features of lateral hydroplanes to get even keel submergence; high, watertight superstructure, which is indispensable for high-speed, ocean-going submarines; anchors, and lifting and lowering sighting instruments. Excepting the bottom wheels and diving compart uent, most navies have now incorporated these features in their submarines. Three navies have adopted the bottom wheels, etc These mine-evading craft are able to enter the enemy's own territory with impunity and destroy his merchant ships and warships in their own harbours. In 100,'S, former President Tal't, then f'.S. Secretary of War, appointed a Hoard of Officer-:, who reported: "It will give the nearest approach to absolute protection now known to the board.

. . . The boat can lie for an i11(I•.• - Unite time adjacent to the point to be ih fended in either cruising, awash, or submerged condition, hy its anchors, or on the bottom ready for instant use, and practically independent of the state ill' tin 1 water, and in telephonic connection with the shore, or can patrol a mined or unmined channel, invisible to the enemy and able to discharge its torpedoes at all times," and for the attack. " Kir-it, it can he run by any field hut little danger from the explosion of any particular mine or from gun fire, during the few seconds it exposes the sighting hood for observation, and can attack at its pleasure the vessels in the harbour. Second and third, the board personally witnessed the ease with which cables can tie grappled, raised and cut while the boat is manoeuvring on the bottom: mine en Ides can be swept for, found, find cut or a diver can be sent out for that purpose."' Tin' mine-evading submarine can enter with comparative safetv through a mine field. To comnrehend thoroughly ibe safetv with which this is aernmnlished, it is most insunerahle difficulty of discovering an object like a submarine vessel when once sunk beneath the surface of

hull of the vessel was then free to move up and down, synchronising with the lift of the ground swell, and at the same time the weight of the wheels kept the submarine close to the bottom and able to keep her position while at rest or to bo navigated over the bottom at any speed desired. Lake boats, fitted with bottom wheels, have, in a comparative test abroad, entered land-loci-.ed and fortified harbours mthout discovery, where the entrance from the sea has been through a tortuous channel. All other vessels, except the one littod with bottom wheels, were discovered long before reaching the outer fortifications, because it was necessary for them to show their periscopes to sight their way. They struck the sides of the dredged channel, which caused them to broach and be discovered, because they had to maintain a comparatively high speed to be kept under control. In tests carried out in Russia, the boat fitted with bottom wheels simply wheeled along in the channel at slow speed and stopped and backed to change couise at will. The revolutions of the bottom wheels save the distance travelled, the manometer gave the depth, and the compass the proper direction; consequently, with a correct chart as to courses and depths, navigation on the bottom in entering harbours is very much easier than on the surface, unless the channels are well buoyed. Host mines, as at present installed, are either of the observation or contact type: the obvervation mines are f'ued usually from shore stations when the enemy is scon to be over them, while the contact mini' is anchored a few feet beneath the surface and is either exploded by contact with the surface of the vessel's bottom or by the agitation caused by the rush of water due to llio swiftly passing vessel. The Kuropeiill belligerents have put out contact mint's to protect their capital ships from the submarines. The dread of these mines is holding the submarines outside of the mined area, and the mines are, therefore, effective. None of the British vessels aie fitted with bottom ivl Is and diving compartments, and they must ho navigated at such speed to keep Nubinerged control that they would explode a contact mine if either the mine or its anchor rojxi was touched. I am inclined to the belief that this has heel! more or less of ;i mistake, because the bottom wheeled submarine can go to and "dig' the enemy out of its base, in addition to hunting the big surface craft of the enemy on the high seas. With the bottom wheels, navigation can be conducted so can-fully over the bottom that inspection of the course can l>e made, if desired, loot by foot, as progress is made, and all mines can be avoided. If the commander of a submarine recognises that the first principle, of successful submarine raiding is to never betray bis position by exposing his periscope while under way when within sight of enemy, his vessel becomes invulnerable because it is invisible; for no one can attack nn unknown, invisible object. The submarine vessel is then invincible licoause all the science of naval architecture has not thus far been able to devise a protection against the mine and torpedo.

The suggestion has been made that battleships might be kept from destruction by the use of amour placed on Ihe hot torn, as well n.s on the sides of the ship, or that a shit) might he mined !y subdivided «n that she would remain afloat even if torpedoed; but up to now. it seems impossible to provide adequate protection to a capital ship

:H'fiinst torporWs nr minos hv oitlior nrmounng tho l)nttom or subdividing the hull.