The Taihape Daily Times THURSDAY, JULY S, 1915. SUBMARINE RANGE

Taihape Daily Times, Volume 7, Issue 247, 8 July 1915, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times

THURSDAY, JULY S, 1915. SUBMARINE RANGE

AND WAIMAEINO ADVOCATE.

,£With which ia Incorporated The lai» hape ;Post 'ma Waimarinu Newa.)

,ftom day ,to day w« learn with a chagrin that begets resentment and anger,' of the disaster and death wrought by German submarines, many hundreds of miles from any German naval base, temporary or otherwise., and we marvel at what our enemies , have ibeen able jo aqhieve. The sinking of shipping jn the Mediterranean, whatever effect it may have had on the British Admiralty, has filled the ordinary layman with surprise and wonder, so much so that he can hardly ' fix in his mind a 'limit to the range and: desttuetiveness of these underwater war engines. 'lt appears quite evident now that the latest submarines ;can -remain away from any b&se' for a yery great length of time, and i a quotation hereunder from a recent' • issue of ''Engineering," to some ex-: tent, lets' us into the secret of how this is don i .e.. The neighbournood of the Scilly Islands has been -a favourite and prolific hunting ground for these sea vipers; to have aeeomplibhed destruction to tlie extent they -hasve must hav e involved considerable cruising and waiting about. Th e . last great disaster to British shipping, and kiss of non-conrbata.nt life, was the siiflring of the Armenian, a few days ago. Tfhis loss has resumed in the Government being adversely criticised for not insisting upon evef.v British liner behig I armed with one or two guns, that| would be ample for their protection. It I is pointed out that if the Armenian had had but on e 4.7 gun she could have dealt with Mi" Submarine most effectually. It is another cas<? of Britain sacrificing lives and ships iu the hope, that Germany would stay her hand in sinking,smarmed, helpings craft carry- '' inig passengers;- Disillu«ionHient has come, and most Ocean liners wilL ui ftil probability, now cairey ; thaf, wilder.- ordinary' cireymstariiee*; '

ivhen tiny particular degree of lij*k :'ce.i not favour V' le submarine, be adequate tor ensuring sonic immunity from tliea' interested attentions. Lately it was reported that the U2l, which ] sank the Triumpn and Majestic, euteied uit l.teanerraneau uy way oi me ;sirau ol Uityraitar, a run 01 ayproxiuiviiteiy -±ooe! iuiieo, aud the qaos: llU u i» laiot-vA Uitj Utile vtt>iiiJJ. v.uUiU liii\e aCOUllipiliSiieU SO lou^ ~ >ujuo>i t.uutUb tae tuu 01 u suppij' jU »jj ui u. uit uepot. it is posma., fciic loe-K oil iii ou the - ... o iioi o>U'j.uee lunge is suplJv,.a,v. u< ivc tamiou. io ou>jU nines at ayeeu. Her Qispiaeemeui IO u;jovu boo louo, and htv best speed Ltijove \. is stated to be 14 knots,

ivU tt h a. tiivtt spwa her range would

uo inu-on iuui-e iaiUied. Tne faster anu itioia uiouern submarines, with improv-; ed engines, have, it is claimed, a cruis., ing range up to 2000 miles at high speed ami ct more than double that distance at economical speed, but the U2l has engines of 1200 h.n., whereas the later vessels are fitted wit,h engines of 2000 h.p. and with larger oil tanks "There is abroad," says the writer, •'a suspicion that German submarines must have bases along our coast; but an examination of the endurance of such submarines as are utilised for operations far down the English Channel, in the Irish Sea, or on the Atlantic seaboard of our islands, shows that their radius of action is quite sufficient to enable them to do serious damage. Of these submarines, the latest built are well over 200 feet in length, with surface displacements of from 650 to 675 tons. They are capable of steaming at from sixteen to eighteen knots and have sufficient fuel to give tjhem a radius of action of close upon 2000 miles at this speed. But the tactics of the submarine rarely demand this speed, because if danger besets them they have only to disappear to a sufi ficient depth in order to elude the enemy, at all events for the time being. Consequently their cruising is probably done fl-t a low speed, and seme of the vessels are quite capable of doing 4000 or 5000 miles at such low speeds." The writer then proceeds to consider whether the range of the submarine could be increased by the utilisation of the ballast compartments as fuel tanks. Ships, he says, might leave their base awash, showing only the conning-tower. "In such condition," ha continues, "their ballast tanks require to be partially filled, and when operations are to be carried out in ) waters distant from the German base, there is no reason why fuel oil should not be used in these ballast compartments instead of water, the fuel oil for the first part of a prolonged cruise being pumped from t,hese tanks for use in the engine. When the .oil in such tanks has been used, water 'can be pumped in to ensure the required degree of immersion. The vessel having reached "her station, to await the passage of her prey, need use little fuel oil, as she may remain in any condition, with the deck above water, in the awash state, or submerged, in a sta- ) denary position, or with only a sufficient way on to ensure rapid submergence if on the surface. The electric storage batteries in the later ships are supposed to give a radius submerged of about 100 miles at four knots, which would be quite sufficient to enable th e boat to get out of the visible range of attack by torpedo boat destroyers or other craft. But, when convenient, the main propelling Diesel engines can be used to recharge the storage batteries by the working of the motor generator. It follows, therefore, that there is no need of alarm on this score regarding German espionage or agents for t,he maintenance of re-fuelling bases on the coast." ; ;