UNDERSEA TRIP.

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXII, Issue 11452, 28 February 1931, Page 12

UNDERSEA TRIP.

TO NORTH POLE. SUBMARINE TO LEAA'E IN JULY. The submarine 0-12 i:i which Sir Hubert AA’ilkins proposes to grope his way. to the north pole through uncharted. under-water currents topped by a thick blanket of ice, is

expected- to be ready tor test trips in April. If tentative plans materialise, it will put off on its perilous voyage on July 1. These plans were disclosed by Lieut.-Commander Sloan Danenhower of Lake and Danenliower; submarine builders of Devenport, Conn., under whose supervision the work of making over the O-ld was recently started N at the Philadelphia Navy Yard. It is estimated that the boat will be equipped with its totally new equipment by April. 'What the new\equipnieut will de-

relop into depends a great- deal upon tests to be made on the proposed collapsible, ice-boring conning tower and periscope, the steel bumper which will extend in an are from bow to stern, and the trolley wheel which experts declare will run along the bottom of the ice-paek. thus serving as a guide and protection for the uuder-water craft-, *

Something of . the Jules A’erne

idea of attacking the .north pole from beneath, the only angle not yet attempted, is inculcated in the plans of Sir Hubert AA’ilkins, as described by Lieutenant-Commandant Dancnhower. It- is estimated that -tlie average thickness of the' ice in July ami August near tlie pole is from 7 to 10 feet, but there is no way of being certain of that, it was pointed out. However, the explanation given for tlia.t problem is that the submarine well be able to descend at least 200 feet, a practically impossible depth for any ice ridge. v A crew of 18 men divers to plant explosives if necessary, and powerful searchlights will reinforce the submarine’s chances of, making the trip successfully. Tho 0-12 will be Capable of remaining under the writer 72 hours and in ease of need, can ris© in one of the numerous iceopenings or blow an opening for itself in the ice .pack. Icebergs, one of the polar sailors' greatest duimers, and the underwater crags, . w hich would prov© a great menace lo the submarine pilots, are not believed to exist in the far-northern polar seas, the lieuten-ant-commander explains. Hie craft will not be made to crash icebergs, by any means, but will depend for its success cliielly upon skilful manipulation of th 0 steering wheel, and the calculations brought back by previous expeditions. . Liqut. - Commander Danenhower hopes that the expedition will return to civilisation with valuable data ou the contour of tli 0 land beneath the pole, and a wealth of 'information on meteorology, gravity and oceanography.