SMALL SHIPS

Gisborne Times, Volume LXXIII, Issue 11539, 16 January 1932, Page 9

SMALL SHIPS

NEW SUBMARINES. BRITISH POLICY. fj ; The submarine Swordfish, which bag gone afloat at Chatham, ire presold s a drastic departure from the policy that lias governed British submarine construction’ for many years, writes Hector Bywater in the “Daily Telegraph.” Hitherto these boats have shown a progressive increase in size. Our wartime “E” craft of 700 odd tons were six times as large as the first British submarines, and since the jmaco we have been building boats twico as heavy as the “E” class. But in tho Swordfish and her sister Sturgeon we have reverted to small dimensions; Displacing only 040 tons each, they will be lighter than the pre-war type. At first sight the Admiralty, in designing such little craft would appear to have sacrificed fighting power to economy, but that does not by any means follow. In surface warships size is a fairly reliable index to combatant power; in submarines it is not.

0 A small submarine is easier I" handle, and therefore safer, than a large one. It can navigate shallows where ’the larger boat would be n> helpless as a stranded whale. It can dive more quickly and manoeuvre under water with greater facility—two points of capital importance in war. Being armed with torpedoes of equal power, its attack is no less deadly than that of a big submarine. As for cruising endurance, there is not much to choose between the giant and tho- dwarf. ’A .

Moreover, since the handling of a submarine is essentially a one-man job, there is a distinct advantage in restricting the tonnage of the boat to (lie lowest practicable figure. The captain then has everything under his immediate eye. lie has only to glance forward and alb to sec what all his men are doing. He can issue his orders verbally and watch them being carried out. The risk of error is. virtually.i eliminated; •■ and • since the- slightest mistake may well prove fatal in submarine navigation, this personal ’snipervision by the captain is one of the best safe-guards against disaster

It cannot be exercised to the same degree in a large boat, where part of the crew must perforce be stationed in compartments beyond the captain’s vision and orders have to be mechanically transmitted. In war jjml peace alike a submarine running below the surface is entirely at the mercy of the captain. Standing at the periscope, he alone is able to see what is happening above. His men, completely shut off from the, outer world, can only guess what is going on from the orders lie nsuos. For all they know to the contrary the steel prow of a destroyer or a merchantman may be -rushing straight at them, in which ease only a swift plunge into the lower depths can save them from destruction. It is true that our submarine sailors are trained to meet every emergency, but in such moments they can only obey the orders of their captain, whose shoulders must bear the full weight of responsibility for the safety of boat and crew. The fact that the most brilliant submarine exploits of tho war were performed by small boats j s . no mere coincidence. Submarines no larger, and in some cases even smaller, than Lite Swordfish Iwuke through the defences of the Dardanelles to play havoc in the Sea of Marmora. Others nosed their way into the Baltic, where they proved a thorn in the enemy’s side. Diminutive submarines on each side destroyed great

warships. Small submarines offer greater scope for personal enterprise and initiative. They arc risked more freely than their big sisters, and thus achieve better results. And they have the additional merit of cheapness. Two boats of the Swordfish class can be built for the price of one Poseidon, and would undoubtedly represent better value.