THE SUBMARINE

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 64, Issue 4537, 16 February 1942, Page 3

THE SUBMARINE

TELLING THE STORY FRUIT OF 350 YEARS QF INVENTION (Reviewed by “Audax.”) The story of the submarine —still a most deadly and indispensable arm of the world’s navies—is not the story of'any one man's invention. It is the story of many men of : amazing personal courage, inventive genius and _ consuming patriotism., whose lives spread well over 35(1 years. - s It is told with clarity and a wealthl- - illuminating detail by Prof. A. M. Low, principal of the British Institute of Engineering Technology, in his latest book, “The Submarine at War” (London and Melbourne: Hutchinson and Company). Like his volume on “Modern Armaments,” it is written for the intelligent laity, and it is free, from those evasive generalities which are so irritating to thoughtful men ■ and women who want to get a real grip of the history and purpose of the highly scientific munitions used by their young men so magnificently in the present World War. ITS FUNCTIONS Professor Low not only tells his story but makes clear that the submarine has come to stay—even in the post-war world—because it has legitimate functions which the prevailing distorted popular views—due to German’s indiscriminate attacks on helpless merchant vessels—have obscured. While the original idea of the submarine as a vessel able to approach warships of far greater power unseen, and torpedo them from beneath the surface remains, the other uses of the submarine arc manifold. “Submarines,” the professor reminds us, “may act as scouts, lying unobserved off harbours and making no attempt" to attack the enemy when lie comes out in force, but signalling his movements to the fleet with which they are co-operating. They may act as minelayers, stealing into waters from which surface vessels would be’" blasted by shore batteries. They may eVen act aS monitors, and, in special circumstances, as cargo or passenger carrying vessels. .- In the present conflict they have -not only sunk or: severely damaged many units of the j enemy’s weaker' fleet, but they have kept a constant watch and ward upon his shores, giving news of coastal traffic or playing their part in thwarting surprise invasion plans. It would be wrong to judge the success or failure of submarine commanders by the tonnage sunk; such a mistake would not, of course, be made in the service. The task of the scout may be harder, more tedious and more dangerous than that of the submarine seeking clear victims for its tor--pedoes.” The brains of over 200 separate inVentors made their contribution to the submarine as we know it to-day, and its record is as splendid within its own field as that of the noblest battleship that ever flew in admiral’s flag. All these things are relative in a Vast world War to the purposes of a mighty far-'flUng naval campaign. In that campaign in 1942 the submarine is as vital as the aeroplane screen and a swift cruiser squadron. EARLY INVENTOR One of the early pioneers was Admiral Sir William Monson, one of Queen Elizabeth’s sea lords, who wrote on the subject and encouraged one of 'his gunners ( William Bourne) in 1578 to sketch a submarine boat which was to approach the enemy secretly and blow him up. Though Bourne did not get beyond the blueprint stage, he was the first to appreciate that submersibility could be achieved by using the weight of sea water. The first man actually to have descended below the surface in a closed vessel is Cornelius van Drebbel, a Dutchman; who is said to have built a submarine in England, in the reign of King James I, submerging and navigating it in the Thames. Drebbel’s claims are.. challenged,, though - Ben Jonson mentions the submarine in one of his plays. Strangely enough the Clergy, have had a remarkable share in the development of the vessel. Rev. John Wilkins, whom Prof. Low describes as “a veritable, seventeenth century Jules Verne,” wrote extensively on the subject, and nearly a century later a Rev. W. Garrett collaborated with .the great Thorsteri Nordenfelt —of I gun-fame—in experunents-.whicli produced the Nordenfelt I in 1885, which succeeded Garrett’s own submersible boat ReSUrgam of a few years earlier. ■ It is generally agreed, the professor says, that The Turtle- of- David Bushnell, built in 1795, was the first practicable submarine. So crude was it that Bushnell made no provision for light, but relied upon having his instruments and controls painted with phosphorus! Still, it was a work of genius; and when electricity came into its own, and the work of Robert Fulton was completed, the Governments and mankind were convinced that a revolution in naval warfare had been accomplished. Fulton records that in one experiment with the Nautilus he stayed submerged for six hours, breathing through a small tube

carried tb the surface. Some inventors underwent much -privation; and the men who worked- their yet immature submarine's ihcurried amazing risks as they hung beneath their quarry and actually “screwed” early torpedoes to the bottom of “enemy”: warships.

It is claimed for Alstill, of the United States, that an experimental submarine which he built in 1863 was the first to have separate motive powers for submerged and surface navigation. The Porpoise, built in 1886, .is thought to be the first submarine driven by a motor from a storage battery. The Diesel engine in 1905 solved the propulsion problem for submarines when on the surface; "electric motors driven from storage batteries. propel them when under Water. SAFETY OF THE GREW Much attention is given in Prof.Low’s narrative to the conditions under which submarine crews- live and ‘work find the progress made in recent years in promoting their safety and rescue from, a damaged, vessel. The members of the crew are, of -course, engaged in one of the most dangerous careers in the world; their fellows in surface naval vessels call the submarine service “the trade.” The problem Of providing air when the vessel is submerged is not so acute as in the early days of submarines, but after a submarine has been submergedfor. about twelve hours-i the oxygenreaches such a low concentration that the breath of the men comes in gasps. It is not painful, but any great physical movement is an effort. In the matter of comfort, Prof. Low writes: -“lt‘ie true that sailors in submarines, like soldiers- on active service, soon become accustomed to ‘doing without,’ and that the standard of comfort in submarines has improved a hundredfold with their increase in size.” Nevertheless, he shows, mental and physical exhaustion has still to be guarded and officers and men alike are often unshaved for Tack of water-. . Yet the submarines never lack for volunteers, and the comradeship of all ranks, without loss of dignity or self-respect and courtesy, -is " just ope glorious page bf. wonderful .human' history. The only real relief from strain conies with a visit to a “depot ship.” ' THE NONCHALANT SERVICE As with all of us, Prof. Low is filled with admiration of and- deep gratitude for the work bf the British, Australian and Allied submarine commanders and crews in the present war. His' stories include several which make one understand why this service is known to some of us as the nonchalant service. Even when firing a torpedo at a monstrous enemy which may rain them or depth charge them to the other world in a few seconds-Of time, the commanders and crew exhibit little or no excitement. They may not know whether, they have got their quarry or not' for some time. The detachment of the crew is illustrated by a story of a commander about to sink an enemy ship: The commander was suddenly called to the periscope by his junior when attempting to drink a quiet cup of coffee. He attacked and sank the ship in the space of about ten minutesand turned round to find an aggrieved cook :with the coffee, saying, “It’s got cold, sir. Shall I warm it up again?” We are told of a sweepstake being run on the total number of depth charges dropped; of sweepstakes on the depth at which the submarine will Hit the bottom when “going to ground.” These latter are quite common; indeed, sweepstakes are a favourite way With British submarine' crews of relieving the. monotony bf their dangerous, but only occasionally exciting, life. Russia, on paper, has the most powerful submarine fleet in the world, but many are only coastal vessels of 200 tons. The more modern submarines are mostly of the type ranging from 900 to 1200 tons. The Russian “Malodki” small submarines carry only two tubes with one machine gun; but they are portable, and can be carried by rail. Some even smaller types were being made by Russia, Japan and Germany just before the war began in September, 1939. One of the chosen types of vessel was to carry only a crew of three, and was to cost only £llOO. , Japan is credited by Prof. Low with a submarine fleet of about 80 vessels. Some have a great cruising range, reported to be 16,000 miles, at good speeds. One Japanese experimental " StfEffiarffie” "carried a seaplane in a novel "fashion. The seaplane, was made with detachable wings, and these were carried behind the conning tower, the rest of the plane being carried' in front. In his concluding survey Prof. Lbw is encouraging. Improvements jii. safetyin silence of engines, anti in methods of detecting —an " internal escape of gas are all taking place. There are plans for instruments Which employ a catalytic system of hydrogen upon platinum to detect danger long before fuel leakages could be sensed by the old plan; of watching mice in a cage. Writing of the human element, he says: “It is high time, that the extraordinary bravery and resource of each and every submarine crew was assessed at its proper value—for it is probable that this class of warfare will long outlast the days of battleships and crqisers of any kind.”