A LONG CRUISE.

Taranaki Daily News, 4 September 1915, Page 12

A LONG CRUISE.

THROUGH GIBRALTAR. IN A SUBMARINE. 42 DAYS. Whether you admire the German submarine warfare or not you have to hand it to the seamen of the Kaiser for delivering the goods, says an Amerieau paper; It is efficiency below the water, the same as army efficiency on land. That's the way it looks to a man on shore. How does It look to the man on the submarine! 1 Captain Otto Herzlng took a submar-' inc from Wilhclrashaveu to the .Dardanelles and sank two British warships and got away without losing one of his 33 men or getting hit. The voyage occupied 42 days. Imagine 42 days in a hermetically sealed metal can, plunging about in the ocean a few thousand miles. "We slipped quietly out of Wilhelmshaven like so many other submarines going into the warfare," said Captain Herzing. "We kept to the surface most of the iime, watching for big enemy ships, but failed to sec any for a long time, to. our great disappointment. PASSED GIBRALTAR TJNCHAL- ' LENGED. "Off the coast of • England we were finally fired upon by a destroyer and had to dive for safety, but along the French coast we encountered no enemy. When 1:00 miles from Gibraltar we wcje fired upon by another British destroyer. We waited outside Gibraltar and passed through thd strait early in the morning in plain view, but without drawing a single shot ort attracting the least attention.' Those were tense, but gratifying hours. "Once within the Mediterranean the watch, already exacting, was re-douWed,, Here, again, we encountorod enemy ships near a small island, but dived to safety under fire. While passing Malta we were fired upon by a French destroyer, but were untouched. We then proceeded south of Greece into the Aegean Sea and to the Dardanelles. We arrived there on the night preceding May 2u, having come from Wilhelrnshaven in exactly one month. "In the early morning light we saw the Triumph and Majestic lying off the coast constantly encircled bj destroyers, Through the periscope I saw a destroyer coming directly for us. We dived, and the destroyer passed immediately over us with a sound like that of a motor-car. SANK TWO BRITISH SHEFS. "Wo came up immediately. I took aim through the periscope, 'pressed tho button automatically firing the tgrpedp, and the projectile slipped noiselessly into the water. We dived again. The explosion which followed was as terrific as though it had been the forepart of the submarine itself. "Then we lay hidden two days and ahalf, after which we came up again in the midst of the British ships. Just before noon, looking through the periscope, I saw the Majestic surrounded by 10 ships steaming around her in a constant circle for her protection. I could see the Majestic sailors on the deck taking their noonday nap. 'Shall I disturb them?' I thought. Then seeing a welcome space between the encircling ships I pressed the electric button, and the torpedo was going. It caught the Majestic a little to the rear of amid l ships. We dived again in silence. "We remained submerged for several hours, and then came to the surface to rind that the British'had disappeared, and all search for them was in vain. Wc camo to Constantinople, having spent 42 days in the submarine without rest or let up." 52 HOURS AT PERISCOPE, Most or the crew had not come on deck during the entire voyage, and-had forgotten how to. climb the ladder oi really how to walk, They staggered up Constantinople . .with clothes damp, shoes whited, and . themselves., blinking in the sunlight and tottering like babies. Once in the Mediterranean Captain l Herding stayed oi hours-at the periscope. ■ '•Training has everything'to do with it," said Lieutenant Dietrich <Mebu.hr, son of the famous historian. "One soon learns to stay 24 hours standing in the name place, though one does get sleepy. ' at the 1 end of it." Though' the air is oxygonised, there is . no device to keep it dry. Clothes, even of silk, are soon shimmering, and shoes are whited by the moisture, while drop.* . of water constantly fall from the low, vaulted roof. 1 "But on such a journey good 'humour saves the situation," said Captain Herzing. "Wc well know we arc facing " death, but we have to die some time, be it to-morrow or 10 .years from now.: Wo make up our minds to it, and 90 everyone is jolly. .Another essential is.unquestioning discipline, without which the | submarine would bo lost. Built like a watch, it is impossible to do- anything without complete confidence, for if on« ■ fails even-one is gone. The crew,must \ have confidence in the .commander,'.-and he in Hie crew." , (