TRICKING SUBMARINES.

Pukekohe & Waiuku Times, Volume 4, Issue 90, 1 October 1915, Page 2 (Supplement)

TRICKING SUBMARINES.

WARDING OFF SURPRISE ATTACKS.

It is the surprise attack which in nearly every case enables a submarine to torpedo a bostjile tshipj Captain Turner, of the Lusitania, lor instance, might have avoided the torpedo fired at h:6 6hip by the German submarine hod he known of its proximity, but a brief glimpse of a periscope was the only warning ho received before the liner was struck. There are several manoeuvres by means of which a ship can trick a submarine. Several vessels have diverted torpedoes by swinging round their stern until it points in the direction of the under-sea craft. In this way the wash of the propellers has deflected the torpedo from its course, and it has sped harmilessly past its mark. Another successful ruse is to stoke up the furnaces of a ship chased by a submarine, and thick black smoke belches from its funnels and envelopes the vessel in a protective shroud. In this way the submarine gunners are confused, and cannot perceive the correct direction in which to send their torpedo. A speedy ship which follows an erratic, zigzag course presents a poor markto a submarine. When a torpedo is dispatched against a fast-travelling vessel it is directed to a point just ahead of its mark, and the craft literally runs into the death-dealing device. This obviously cannot happen, however, if a ship is swinging rapidly from side to side, and alternately pointing the narrow expanse of its bows or 6tern to the under-sea marksmen.

Ships in many cases now travel in pairs. A submarine seldom attacks a vessel if it is not alone, for it can only attack one at a time, and whilst it is launching a torpedo at its first mark the second vessel lias an excellent opportunity of ramming the submarine, which can be located by its tell-tale periscope.