SUBMARINE LIFE.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LIX, Issue 253, 25 September 1939, Page 9

SUBMARINE LIFE.

STRAIN ON CONSTRUCTION. (British Official AVireless.) RUGBY, Sept. 23. A description of life in a hunted Üboat drawn from details supplied by men with_first-hand knowledge of the 1 conditions, in submarines throws inter- " esting light on the question of how efs l’ective the submarine weapon is likely ) to 'prove apart from the successes ob- : tained before the defence preparations. “ Submarines are very vulnerable, be- [ cause damage trivial to a surface ship ’ may render submersion impossible, and a U-boat on the surface is easy prey. An attack by depth charges is a most demoralising experience, and the strain with the explosions coming closer and closer is almost intolerable, the crew well knowing that the next one I may sink them l’or ever. Hunted by , ■ destroyers and patrol craft, for ever | searched for by aeroplanes, and conscious always of mines arid mined nets, , the strain is terrible. , Neither do the living conditions ease ■ the situation. Even on the surface the . boat must always be trimmed down for instant diving. On the deck space

above water only three men can stand and all the others below are cabined and confined in an oppressive and often foul atmosphere. No matter how great the capability of the submarine men, living in. a perpetual nightmare ol suspense and anxiety, they tire long before the machinery. The opinion of experts is, therefore, that, though Britain may endure great losses, submarines alone can never maintain an adequate, blockade.