SUBMARINE TO BE SACRIFICED.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume L, Issue 61, 2 November 1907, Page 3

SUBMARINE TO BE SACRIFICED.

DEFENCE EXPERIMENT. A British submarine is shortly to be sacriliced in an endeavor to find "a satisfactory method of defence against the attacks of imder-wntcr vessels. When the submarine was first introduced as a permanent factor in war lleets, the naval authorities sought protection against it in the form of a spar torpedo—an explosive charge attached to the end of a long pole projecting over the bows of a destroyer. As soon a submarine appeared on the surface the destroyer was to steam up to the spot at full speed and explode the charge, either against the actual side of the submarine or as near to it as possible.

Owing to the improvements in the diving arrangements of the new ships, however, it was found that the destroyer would very_rarely have time to reach a spot sufficiently close to the submarine for the charge to do any damage, so the system was abandoned. Then Admiral Sir A. K. AVilson introduced a large steel net in which the unseen boats were gathered up; but with the growth of the underwater vessel this, though successful at first, has also become useless. The main idea of the experiments about to bo undertaken is that a submarine can be effectively fought by upsetting her and that this can be done by creating a considerable disturbance in the waters about her. In order to test this theory, a submarine cf the early Holland type—l he first built for the British service—will be placed nfc the disposal of the Vernon Torpedo School at Portsmouth, and submarine mines containing charges of gradually increasing magnitude will lie near the submarine while the latter is in various positions—on the surface, awash, and submerged. • ' The Holland submarine will be the fourth vessel in recent years to be sacrificed in this way, the previous sbips being the old Bellerophon, battleship, {Tin Landrail, jrnnbont, and the Skate, des. troyer. The ITcro, battleship, will follow shortly.