LIFE ON A BRITISH SUBMARINE.

Otago Witness, Issue 2653, 18 January 1905, Page 35

LIFE ON A BRITISH SUBMARINE.

A VIVID DESCRIPTION.

Mr Herbert Russell gives a vivid descrip tion in Pearson's Magazine of a voyage on a submarine boat — -

"The contour of the hull is like nothing so much as a gigantic symmetrical fish. A very narrow level ridge of platform, scarcely worth dignifying, by the name of Seek, ex- / tends- fore and aft for a 'length of about 40ft. - From the ends of this the bull tapers* very rapidly. A miniature flagstaff rising out of the water, with a little salt-bleached square of red bunting fluttering frori nt, marks either extremity of tke hidden sub- " marine; they are just lOOffc apart. A single life-line, joining a. row of br-east-high iron stanchions, is the only protection upon the slippery-sloppy platform. A trifle forward of amidships rices «the eonning-tower— a tapering, circular structure standing about a man's height, with- a row of little glas3, scuttles winking from the upper ( rim of *b, a small collapsible bridge giving another three 1 feet or' &o of elevation abaft, and the periscope tube rearing -itself stalk-like from the fore edge of the tower. Aft, just where the hull becomee ' awash, a stout trunk of curved pipe spans some 3ft of water with its arc ; this is the exhaust for the petrol fumes."

The lieutenant in command- now haa orders to find his "first day's trim" — that is, the minimum degree of buoyancy ia which the vessel will float awash. The firsfe day's trim is always picked up in a stationary position : —^ " Inch by inch the water steals up the la<vender walls of the conning-towei\ Then, the boat begins to pause in her descent as though hesitating whether she should go any deeper. This, in truth, is just what the lieutenant, bottled up under your feet, is considering. Not only is he concentrating: his attention upon the gauge that will show him when the submarine has reached the vanishing point of buos'ancy, but he is also closely watching the clinometer to see that the vessel is sinking upon an even fceeL A iittle too much depression forward mta* 1 be rectified by letting a greater volume a» * water into the trimming tank N aft, or vlc# versa. A horizontal poise is v as necessary as fine limitation of buoyancy to a submarine's diving state.' : \ Ere this all the standing_ gear on deck- — the "collapsible bridge, ' life-line, flagstaff, etc. — have been struck. Before sinking, the crew blow out the compensating tanks pausing the boat to rise again some few feet; this is a precaution to test the valves and pipes which is never neglected on a ~ British submarine. Then everyone goes below. There is a sensation of helpless imprisonment as the hatch is hermetically sealed, but this soon wears off: —

" Our boat, like all the under-water craft of the British navy, is a submersible, and not, strictly 'speaking, a submarine. Th© distinction is -well-defined. The submarine sinks through the exhaustion of all its buoyancy; she will go to the bottom like m stone. The submersibles on the Holland principle are forced up against their will, so to express it. Their surface buoyancyis reduced almost to the vanishing point, and th»y are then steered downwards by means of their diving rudders. The thrusfc of the propeller blades accomplishes and maintains a state of submersion; once stop the engines, and the boat will rise to the awash stage again, as determined by th© finding of her diving trim. Of course, the eubmeißible may be employed as a submarine pure ancl simple by admitting water enough into her tariks to carry her down, but the objection to this is the great difficulty of finding what may be termed a; sinking mean." Three hours is the submerged limit of a British submarine, though there is sufficient compressed air to last for six. The effectivo nange of their torpedo, with gyroscojie attached, is a milt; they have suiSeienfc petrol for a ruii of 350 miles, and their actual speed is a little over 12 knots. The depth to which these boats cam descend is only limited by strategic exigencies. If all their tanks were flooded they would sink 50 fathoms, although tha interior, walls would be sweating In «tw>,anjs v under, tha m-essuTe.