SUBMARINE LIFE.

Star (Christchurch), Issue 11716, 5 June 1916, Page 4

SUBMARINE LIFE.

A DAY UNDER WATER.

Many people are under the impre** sion that the craw of a British submarine is composed of a certain number of sailors and a cage of white mice. Such used to be the case, but the mice wore, "struck off the books" long ago. In the early days of submarines mice were carried in -J:cm as a kind of danger gang.' 1 . Their duty—and they performed' it faithfully— whs to begin squeaking a.s 501::: .-is poisonous fumes escaped im.ide the boat. Being move sensitive to these than men are. the mice could detect the furors much sooner than the other members of the crew could. Therefore, a close watch' upon the little animals u&ed to be kept. As soon as they showed sigus of distress up shot the boat and open '.vent, her conning-to-xer. Now the skill of designers ha?, given us submarines that require neither white mice nor "'potted air " to insure the safety of their crews. It. ha? also given us und'er-water craft eapabU of doing things undreamed of a* few years back, but it has not yet succeeded in making these pleasant to live in. Ask a "submariner" what "life aboard'' is like, and ho will answer nonchalantly, "Oh. it's all right." But it yen were- able to try it for yourself..you would soon fall to wondering what he would deem "all wrong ''' if he feu ivy th« sort of life "all right." As a matter of fact, the "submariner'' b-f----about tho most; uncomfortable time of any sailor, .though the second nature which comes with uso has eo acclimatised him to it that be thinks lightly o: its hardships. During their infemoy submarines on-, joyed the fostering caro of a " mother ship" when they went cruising. She used to look after the material v.p?th of the boats and the personal comfort of their crews with kindly solicitude, rw a good mother should. Having new "" grown up." the submarine gets but little "mothering,-' and ha& to look after itself. , In these days submarines make Ion?:, independent trips, and for the whole duration of these their crews are "boxed up," in the literal meaning of the expression. Even the relaxation of going on deck to stretch their legs is denied them, because there 'is no deck worth calling such for the purpose. GOING UNDER. '

A submarine lying snugly alongside a dockyard jetty gives one no adequate idea of what the same boat looks Bke when scudding through the waves. Watch her setting off on a. trip and you will see only a few hands on deck. There will be, perhaps, a couple of officers on the conning-tower and one or two men at its base. All are clad in thick clothing and wear heavy sea boots. Possibly some of 1 them may have donned " lammy" suits, and you wonder why they adopt such an Arcticlike rig. A view of the boat after she has reached the open sea will make the reason apparent to you. Probably all you may be able to see will be a rapidly moving heap of white water, amid which one or two heads appear indistinctly. If you could peer down from an aeroplane upon this travelling geyser you would find the submarine's conning-tower sticking up in the middle of it, and would recognise how necessary warm, waterproof clothing was to the men on the top of that structure. Although you can discern but little of her, the boat is awash—that is, travelling as high out of the water as she can. Presently she gives a heave forward and every part except her conning-tower disappears from sight. By partly filling her tanks the boat has trimmed for diving. The men who were "on deck'' have dropped through the conning-tower, closing the cupola after them, end every member of the crew is now at his post below. And as long as the boat remain? " down " he must stay there. In thes3 underwater craft there' is little room for moving about. A man may be at the tanks, he .may be at the tubes, or he may be at any other of the stations, but wherever he be there he must stop with' his whole mind concentrated upon the task allotted to him. Some boats have a tiny cabin for the officers, but if the men want a nap they | must take it on the floor. This, .how 1 - ; ever, _is no hardship to a bluejacket, [ who is able to sleep comfortably anywhere. For sleeping there is no time in a submarine when she is on the move.

Bemember, they cannot; smoke, they cannot cook anything, and consequently must lire upon "tinned tack," -while if they wanted to talk the noise made by the machinery would, prevent them from doing so. Enclosed in this steel shell, they are shut away in the depths of the see, and only the officer at'tho periscope knows aught of what may be happening on the surface.

THE "FEELING."

The air in the boat h warm Andheavy, and grows more vitiated and " sleepifying" the longer she stays "down." As for the "feeling,'' 'it resembles somewhat that of being stuck in a " tube " lift for a long period—and one can imagine what an unpleasant sensation that would be.

An eerie feature of this underwater voyaging is that although .a submarine's crew can. see nothing outside their boat, aad do not know irorn one moment to another what peril they many be running into, they can feel a great deal. Every knock, every bump, every scrape outside the hull :s audible to them.. And they do not know at what momrat any one of these knocks, bumps or scrapes may mean tho end of all tilings for them.' . War holds many perils for the sailer who dares the depths in a submarine. Death stands ever at his elbow and frequently stares him fuli in the . face. But the stout fellow never quails nor falters, never turns aside from his 300. nor shows the slightest symptom g; fear;; .indeed* he feels none. All the officers and men who man cur. submarine flotillas are volunteers. They know that for them there is no escape should mishar> befall their boat, ye-

despite, its hardships and dsng-'rs thorn }.- v.r'»r unv lack of men willing to tr.'io

It ot'te-' happens '.hot- a submarine lias i- ":■'"• ::n;>r : ' ;f:fo;zether. poriscoof* an:' .">':'. V.) lie r.y. t''o bottom :::t:! ■n-Jii". !.b!:-ii;£ "vhatuvo;- nay con:<: Vi> her ::i \h' proofs*. _\r such limus the crew are cut, <>£" from ilie worW. r.iu! tliey can never fee! any certainty of breathing the froo air o? the open M-a tig.'iiii. Very orrc-n thers ,nro odcl : them doing so. All thev ca:i flo is to wait pa-rieiitly until it i-» deemed 33fc- to take tho risk of blowing o;:: the tank;; and iroing to the surface a^;."in. Tn fact, eonn.-cted with the submarine serrico tr-.-ro is ;:o such thine: as plea sir.-? cruisir.c;. At the best it io comfortless, nerve-iryin::. wearing work, full or peri!, of joy, except such as comes at the thrilling ir.orr.ent when a successful shot has been. raa<ie at the oncrnv—and that compensates for ail d'vnculti?< and dancers tin-', dergone. D.-.ring the war our submarines hare braved many risks .and. done wor.dsrfr.l work, tho story. otfwb.Tch mnv ret y-i bo'tcld nor barely: hinted at. Mrrc's tho vitv. —J.J.. & tho "Dailv Mail." * '