WINGING A ZEPP.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLIII, Issue 14074, 18 August 1916, Page 7

WINGING A ZEPP.

A SUBMARINE'S EXPLOIT

"A Submarine" .furnishes the Daily Mail wah v true stury oi how an English submarine brought down a ZepI puliri : — ! JNew-born day had just began U shoulder back the mists that cloaked earth from the early sunlight when a man clad m artificer's unilorm walked to the edge of the jetty, stretched his arms, gave a mighty yawn, then dropping quickly down a ladder stepped ou ooard a submarine. A little later a couple of officers- auu a party of men came over tho side of the jetty and took their places on board the submarine. Ropes were cast off, and the boat slid quietly past the gvey walls of lowering forts oil her way to the open sea. On and on . went the boat, sometimes awash, sometimes submerged, questing hither and thither about the sea some" what^iu the manner of a terrier hunting for rats m a ditch. In truth, it was "tats" of a sort that she was m search of; timidly artful "water-ra,ts" which only left their holes when the coast lay clear, and scurried back into them again, the nipmen^'danger, threatened. , Llttfe chance did tftey gt%e for i either . terrier or bigger dog to get a suap at them. " •'.% , Qur boat had v been "watching .the holes" assiduously ..for some time, and m doing this, had travelled long leagues | from homo when "the- big thing" hap- ( pencd. She ..,vvas. crawling about as fishes I swim, and had only her -periscopes, peep-' ing above water (one might, indeed, .well have taken her for; a ihuge predatory fish possessed l of eyes that floated at the.surface at the end of long, antennae), when tlie field of .the periscope showed a huge body floating ' between her and the suit. ,;, "A >Zoppelin out- scouting," reflected tiio submarine's commander, as he studied the image before him. "I woncie-.- if I can get her? At any rate, I'll try * he decided. | KePjjing his boat as inconspicuous as possible, 'for "he. -knew that eyes m the ' air sco deep into the water, tho commander, gave chase to the great "gasbag" that sailed above him, apparently unsuspecting of evil. Either the^ Zeppelin was unwary, or she bad seen and meant to bomb the submarine. Gradually she dropped lower and lower until she brought herself within gun range from the sea. - Keenly the commander wait hed the airship's manoeuvres, .dog.■.•fid:y he followed .her, nnd promptly Jic .idol when he judged her to bo -within his reach. A pull on the lever and he blew out his tanks, a tilt of tho.planejß and his boat, rose to tho surface. Up sprargjier gun ; eager but steady-nerved •yen ' ipid"- it smartly upon the aerial t.ivct't :".a flash from, its muzzle, an earsp\;.ttin.r "bang," and the submarine's ■ i!V v v. . watching... anxiously the effect of the s«tiut, saw the great airship stagger. "Bang" went the gun again, and once more tho Zeppelin was hit. ; The gunners could see that she was trying, vainly trying^ to increase her altitude and «et away, so they gave her another doae ■^-and this finished her. Th© huge silver envelope began to sag heavily, then fell like a bird that has been winged by a fowler. A, queer, uricarny kind. of combat this — unprecedented m the, world's long fighting history — between a ship designed, to do battle under water and a ship designed to battle m the air. But the under- water craft, had been handled so cleverly tjiat the airship failed to hit her. and received a death wound herself. . As she collapsed, a tangled, helpless mass, upon the water, the submarine s crew forgot for a moment their stoic self-control and cheered with delight. Pardonable, too, was their exultation,^for had they not accomplished a feat never achieved before! Victory, however, did not make them unmindful of the British Navy's humane practice of saving the lives of beaten, foemen whenever possible. By working energetically at the job they brought, on board the submarine as many of the Zeppelin crew as they could find. Longer search was made impossible by an interruption that could , not be ignored. A 6-inch shell shrieked angrily over tho boat and plunged into the sea just beyond her. It-came from an enemy cruiser which was tearing wrathfully towards the scene of the fight intent upon destroying the victor m it and m np mood to discriminate whether its shells fell upon foes., only or upon friend and foo-valikc. Submarines are. "slick" of movement. This one :was commanded bya-'inaster of his /craft, who had no intention of marring, a .notable success by losing tho boat that won it. ' '.'■-■, v ' 'Down. you go, " said ho to his prisonera, .pointing towards the conning^ tower; .'^jiat, m there!" exclaimed one of them "aghast. "Yes, and quick about it." Although they did not at all like it, the. prisoners were jammed into the interior of the boat, whither ttoh o commander, followed them, closing the "onning tower behind him, _and tlie submarine dived with a celerity , that, as one of them later admitted, frightened the captives half out of their lives. .-..• ■ When the cruiser roached the spot sho found there only the wilted-up ; remnants of a Zeppelin. Gone was the submarine, swallowed completely by the sea, and not a trace of her visible anywhere. Through the chilly depths she was speeding for home with her good newß— and a batch of much-frightened prisoners lo corroborate, it. Nor did the cruiser stay long around searchitiEr for her. Over' the edpo of the horizon leaped certain black hulls, and the cruiser promotly nut on. her best speed to escano the - sthig ;of scahornets that buzzed viciously along m her wake.