DEADLY SUBMARINE.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVI, Issue 227, 25 September 1935, Page 17

DEADLY SUBMARINE.

INVISIBLE TORPEDOES. GERMANY'S NEW NAVY. LONDON, August 16. Invisible torpedoes and invisible firing, which will make submarine attack far more deadly than in the world war, have been made the standard equipment of the German fleet. The torpedoes are driven by electricity instead of compressed air, whose bubbles left a white trail across the water. These telltale tracks saved many a ship in the world war. Electric torpedoes, according to the naval correspondent of the "Daily Telegraph," were invented in Germany in 1918, but the war ended before they could be tried. Great improvements have been made since then and, although the electric torpedo is still slower than the compressed air type, it can reach a speed of 30 knots. It gives no indication of its approach, so the sharpest lookout in a danger zone would be worthless. Invisible firing is the second development of the German Navy. When torpedoes were let loose in the old days the compressed air from the tubes rushed to the surface, revealing both the launching of the torpedoes and the position of the submarines. The Germans have perfected a device that captures the compressed air at the muzzle of a tube as the torpedo is shot out and bubbles cannot rise to the surface.