BEATING THE U-BOATS.

Auckland Star, Volume L, Issue 64, 15 March 1919, Page 17

BEATING THE U-BOATS.

CONVOYS AND CAMOUFLAGE.. REMARKABLE DECEPTION. With the cessation of fighting "on Jand, on the sea, and in the air," the veil of secrecy that screened the movements of shipping during the war is lifted by the United States Shipping Board, which has issued a statement ■written by one of the officers of a merchant ship, telling how a convoy was managed, and how a group of camouflaged ships looked at sea. Convoy and camouflage are the two devices that enabled the merchant marine to baffle the pirate hidden beneath the wave, peering for his victims through his periscope. The Navy completed the job by protecting the merchantmen with destroyers, and furnishing them with guns and gunners; but the disguise of camouflage, and .the ancient convoy system— which was employed by the Spaniards carrying treasure from the New World to the Old as protection against seventeenth century pirates—made the. work of the naval men much easier than otherwise it would have been. OPENING CHAPTER OF SEA TALES. The Shipping Board officer's description of these two war devices—now happily a thing of the past—proves an interesting opening chapter to the sea tales that soon will be released, telling of our successful fight to keep open the ocean ferry against the pirates of the U-boat. It begins with the ship's departure from New York, and is as follows: — "Once out in the stream, we headed down the channel for the lightship, beyond which our convoy and escorts were waiting for us. All were slowly under way when we reached them. The loading ships of the different columns took their places, and after a few minutes' confusion and lively work on the signal halyards, the other ships of the convoy got into place. "Guarded above by the dirigibles, hydroplanes, and anchored balloons, and on the surface by a fleet of patrol boats as well as our ocean escort, we proceeded, and America soon dropped below the western horizon. At sunset we were well out to sea. "As in the Army, we have turned back to medieval helmets and armour, on the water we have turned to medieval naval tactics; but instead of convoys of Spanish galleons and frigates of the seventeenth century from the New World to the Old, ou» convoys were American transports and destroyers. WHY CONVOY SYSTEM WAS EFFECTIVE. "It is not hard to see why the convoy system was effective. Take the case of a. convoy of 25 ships ( 72 13 the largest number I've heard of in one convoy; our mate told mc of being caught in a 72----ship convoy in a sailing ship in the Bay of Biscay). When these ships went in convoy, instead of there being 25 different units scattered all over the 'zone' for the U-boats to find, there was only one. That is, the Hun had only one chance of meeting a ship where he had 25 before. And if he did meet the convoy he found it usually with a naval escort whose sole business was sinking submarines. He found, too, 25 look-outs on watch for him, 25 sets-of guns ready for him, where there was but one each before. If the Hun showed himself to a convoy and its escort, the odds were that he was due for a quick trip to the bottom. THE USUAL FORMATION. "The usual convoy formation was in columns in a rough square. This was the most compact and the inside ships were practically immune from attack. The escorts circled the convoy, if necessary, and the outside ships concentrated their fire on any submarine that appeared. "Convoys were made up at different speeds, and even the rustiest old tramps were provided for, in a 6-knot class. "In spite of this some captains' imagination always tacked a couple of knots to their ships' speed. There seemed to be a nautical version of 'Home, Sweet Home' —be it ever so humble, there's no ship like mine,' and vessels making nine knots on Broadway make a bare seven off Fire Island. These were the fellows who were always falling back. Blowing up the convoy, and bringing grey hairs to the heads of naval escort commandere. "It was remarkable what a snappy escort commander could do with his charges. After a day or two together he had them manoeuvring in position like a second grand fleet; may be zigzagging 'dark' through a black night, not a ray of light showing anywhere, it they were in the danger zone, or a tin fish was reported near. WHAT CAMOUFLAGE WAS FOR. "The war brought no stranger spectacle than that of a convoy of steamers ploughing alorg through the middle of the ocean, streaked and bespotted indiscriminately with every colour of the rainbow in a way more bizarre than the wildest dreams of a sailor's first night ashore. "Ever3 r American ship going across was ordered camouflaged. The Allies had similar orders. So one seldom saw a ship at sea, except neutrals, that was not camouflaged. After a good iook at them you could why the sea serpent had the best season last summer he has had since Baron Munchausen died. "Most paople seem to think the purpose of mj.rine camouflage wa? the same as that of the land camouflage the Army used for its guns. That idea is quite mistaken. The purpose of marine camouflage was not to decrease the ship's visibility at sea—indeed tne bright whites often used in camouflage sometimes made a ship much more prominent than a neutral grey would. ENEMY DECEIVED AS TO COURSE. "The purpose of. the camouflage was to deceive the submarine as to the true course cf the 6hip in the distance. It figured out her course and speed in order to choose the right time and place Vo come up or put its periscope up and :ire the torpedo. If deceived as to its intended victim's course it came up in t-he wrong place, where it could not get off a torpedo successfully and was perhaps discovered. "The effect of good camouflage was remarkable. I have often looked at a ftllow ship in the convoy sailing on our quarter on exactly the same course we were, but on account of her camouflage ehe appeared to be making right for us on a course at least 45 degrees different from the one she was actually steering. "The deception was remarkable even under such conditions as these, and ot course a U-boat, with its hasty limited observation, was much more likely to be fooled. "Each nation seemed to have a characteristic type of camouflage, and alter a little practice you could usually spot a ships nationality by her style oi camouflage long before you could make cut her ensign.' , , I