WAR OF THE FUTURE.

Taranaki Daily News, 22 December 1923, Page 5

WAR OF THE FUTURE.

FORMIDABLE SUBMARINES. UNDER-WATER WARSHIPS. A GERMAN'S INVENTION. By Telegraph.—Press Assn.—Copyright London, Dec. 20. “I have at last succeeded in solving the niost baffling of all problems in naval warfare, namely, stabilising submarines,” said Professor Oswald Flamm. of the Technical University, Charlottenburg, to the Berlin correspondent of the Daily News. Professor Flamm has a world-wide reputation as an eminent naval constructor. He said: “During the war we found that when we built submarines above the normal size, or armoured against aerial attack, or equipped with long range guns, we destroyed the stability. The larger submarines we built towards the end of the war often took a list of 35 degrees when submerging, which played havoc with the nerves of the crews and sometimes led to disaster. “Daily and nightly I pondered over the problem of stability and suddenly, during the summer of 1918. the solution presented itself like a flash of light. If I had possessed this knowledge a year earlier Germany would undoubtedly have won the war. The Versailles Treaty forbids Germany to build submarines, but it cannot prohibit naval designing. My invention will be able to stabilise a submarine of the largest dimensions. SUBMARINES OF 10,000 TONS. “I could construct a perfectly sea-worthy submarine cruiser of 10,000 tons. Here are designs for a 7067 ton submarine, length 404 feet, beam 49 feet. Never before has there been a ship of such highly offensive or defensive character. Owing to its stability it is possible to give the deck, sides and conning tower 5-inch steel arjnour, without the slightest danger of listing. Armour totalling 614 tons renders it invulnerable to aerial attack. The submarine carries two 7|-inch guns, four smaller ones, 5800 rounds of ammunition, and 45 torpedoes, compared with a maximum of six or seven so far, and is able to fire torpedoes in any direction by means of swivelled tubes without manoeuvring for position. “The maximum surface speed is 22 to 23 knots. It has a radius of 23,000 miles, with an under water speed of 10 to 11 knots. It carries a crew of 100 and takes a minute to submerge.” Professor Flamm showed the correspondent the design of a giant submarine minelayer carrying a thousand mines, each weighing a ton, whereas ten mines had been the maximum so far. The vessel can lay mines at any required interval while proceeding on her course. She has a radius of 23,000 miles, can circumnavigate the world without touching a port, and can sow mines in any part of the world. Professor Fiamm told the correspondent that his minelayer would revolutionise naval warfare. A belligerent could in a single night mine the Thames estuary, the Panama and Suez Canals, and the Straits of Gibralter. SOME DISADVANTAGES. The Daily News naval correspondent pays a tribute to Professor Flamm as the doyen of German ship architects, and contends that British constructors are capable of designing a 10,000 ton submarine if ordered. “There is,” he adds, “no technical limit to size; the difficulty is in running submerged. A submarine with thick armour and powerful guns would be a formidable opponent against smaller patrol ships, but it would be unable successfully to engage any large surface warship. The inherent and irremediable weakness of all submarines is that they dare not fight at close quarters because one hit might destroy their power of diving. “Professor Flamm’s submarine might do extensive damage to commerce in a few months, but its success would be shortlived. It would be almost as vulnerable to depth charges and heavy aerial bombs as a smaller submarine. A cruising radius of 23,000 miles is illusory. A vessel might be able to carry sufficient fuel and stores to circle the world, but the crew would not keep fit throughout. Six weeks is the outside period a submarine can remain at sea in war time. “The giant mine-layer would be more dangerous to shipping than the fighting submarine, but such large vessels are useless in narrow seas, owing to their enormous draught and limited powers of manoeuvring. “It can be confidently stated that British constructors are ahead of all others in technical knowledge and experience in all features of submarine designs.