Reading Observer 11-1920

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THE READING OBSERVER, SATURDAX, - NOVEMBER 13,

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Subtnrrine In Beihg "

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" HEROES

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BY

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J. A. BLACKBURN:, ~nd
KENNETH WATI(I~S.
secontls;

Gieves Publishing Co, : John

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It will perl}'lps never be realised b~w .nea.r to "
defeat. a.nd disaster the EngliSh na.t.ion came when·

from the too obswervant enquiries of tier enemies.
As the authors felicitously phrase it, a. submarine

the U-boat campa.ign was at the height of its
It. i~ even now hardly credited how
large a. pa.rt the submarine arm prayed In the

can penetrate unobserved and"la.y her lethal eggs
in places where a surface mine-layer would stan d
rut good a. chance" ~f survival as the! proverbial

G rent. ,Va.r, how decisive tha.t ·part. WR.S, or how
much it revolutionised previously Rcce~ted vieWB
of strategy a.nd ta.ctics. Now
-rhe veil of
secr~cy is lifted, it is possible to ~ak of the
deeds of the submarine b:n mch, to convey some-

celluloid ca.t in

acth·ities.

tfa.t

thing of the romance of their calling, ~he neverending vigila.nce at sea., and the long t:lrawn out

t~e persev~ra.noe

11 crvous tension ,
U1;
1er
pointment, the thrill Qf ultimate su ess.

di~.~p­

In

the freezing Baltic, icicle-hung, with he enemy
baTTing their homeward path, and the \maJignant
word·drunk Bobhevik mob nAhan, in the Sea.
of Marmora, courting dea.th among . ~he minefields. or in the grey mists of t he North gu, .
U -l.K}II.t,
"-1 bmannes
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s ta lking ' the. .cre&p.lllg
-our su

hav~

mnde their mark; and it is 1ritb them , their
work and .limitations , th~.t this book \\t~Uld , deal.
with their weapons nnd ~ow they were ,sed, and,
a\'50ve all,. with. the lives and feelings of ' these
officers and men who, facing n. creeping dea.th in
an its m06t. unpleasant. forms, accomplished 80
much towa.rds that final squaring of I Qccount6,
when, ~t sun.. £ artnclikeiih, the G<nn~rl'·1l~v.1
. fl~g WUi.' haul~d down for the last time' l and,.~ith
t·h e sun, set the st.a.r of Impe6al G~~any . " .
Moderutely. studiou.ely, and pleasantly. the
authors tell their tale. There is ~~cb J a.bout t~e .
habits and anatomy of the subma.nne, Jts propulsion ... its tricks, and its accommodation l
It' is not, perhaps, '- generally know' that a.1)
submarin~ nre fitted w.ith two forpla _pro~u1 . .
!IoiOIl Cor use, the one when on the ,rfa.ce, the .
other when submerged. ' T he first of tliese va.ri~
betw~n the petrol mQtQ1', the Dieeelor heavyoil motor, and the steam turbine. The ,.!ternativ:e
form. is by eleCtri~ mo~ors \ ~un l o~ .·storp.ge:
batteries, the .a.nna.ture 'beIng fitted, on1 the propeller ' shaft. Once the. electrical energy of the
batteries has t:>een expended, the sullma.rine iA
IIlmost disarmed. She can Tio 10l).ger move sub.
merged, and is therefore not only unable' to make
an attack, but almost. defenceless Ilgainst her
ene-miea. The pr,.inciple on which tbefoa.ting a.t
the s urfn.oe or -+ submersion of t.~e submarin e

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depends is one which dawned upon rehimedea
in his bath BOrne twenty-t~o centuriesl llgO-.:that
1\ body immened
in w.a ter is upheld by a
force equal ' to the weight of i.be wa.ter "
which the' body 'displaces,
ThuB,
order to

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persuade th~ IlUbmarine ' to sink, it is inecessary,
since her Aba.pe, and, therefore, the r mount of
water she displaces. when awash, is flied, to . increase her weight until ' it exceeds t&e uptrard
force of buoyAnc:y.
Logica.!1.y t~~,. f.ben it' is
de6ired that she shan rise, this ad~ed weight
must be . djscnrded. It is a.dmitted into " wa.ter
ball ast tanks," generally by valves;' it ,~8 expelled
by means of compressed air.
A MOBILE CRAFT, -~
The

p~\11ia.r

merit. of t.he .

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subm~.ine

must
nlways 00__ its capadty for 8010 Iwor1;c:JI· ~eDce its
original uses !lave been largely eXtended, .' Tak.
mine-la.ying, for imnance: The inll'ta.ce 'mine-'. layel" mtist be suppotted by iightinJ wptJ to
• protect her in her work. The .ubm.~e can play -

• Jone hand and retir~ ., conv.nie~ I_interval~

Had~!I.

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The book contains 8. very interesting ch~pter
on the weapons of the submarine-torpedo, gun,
mine and d.epth.charge The tarpe'do, ' or as it is
jocularly called, the " tin-fish," i!!l the oldest; it
is ~lill regarded a8 the most efficieut. It is pract ica.lI y.'a self-conlained submarine, having its own
motive ' power, its own steering geal" and. at ib
lIose, the ., war-head," 'or explosive ch~rge .
A
charge of high-pressure air ejecta it into the
water, . where it immediately sets ofi"under its
own power towards its target, reml\ining entirely
submerged and travell ing at a depth previously
al·ranged.1 At 1f¥LSt., that is ~hat it does if it is a
real dra.wing room torpedo, but sometimes one
strikes a baser feilow l who, 8fte~areering about
with an abandon , human almo8t. in. its glee, Ie.t ul'ns to bite t.he hand thQ.t.. fed it. ' But t"l'e
subsequent "po!;t-mortem" usually reveals TL
fau :t which i.<! easily corrected.

' E7'S ODDYSSEY, -

Some of . the' mOB!- exciting adveJ.Iiures were· en. countered' in ~he ~ of ·Marmo~,· J-he tearing a~d
grind ing through t1!.e ~urkis1r nets ~ndJ the jolting
aboH~ by the ': fancy" currents off · Cb.anuk.
Take, f~ instance, the Odyssey of E7, ' whiCh.
spent a. happy mon~h In that sea, breaking t"hrough
the protestiog b8.·rrage 'qr nets, dodgjog ' through
the minefieJds, and~ pln.ying the deuce and fill with
th~ Tllrktl 8Oa-borne traffic, lplOcking out an
ammunition~ ]aden train ana devastating 11.. pow-d'e r

factory ,~~ 8fipping' 0. to~ed() into a fat unsuspecting . transport and sliding away aIld out of sight
and' ro~nd. ' A 'destroyer was lying olr"theArsenal
taki_
from a.
(in ' the ' BOsphorus)
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, ng in anlllrUnition
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conple;,of l~. ght.en al~ ng~id;:,. ~~~ 1\.. ~~rrdo ~ wa~
loosed · upon her. . tt rant In be~een the two
lighters, liit the t~b.d. an'd t ouched off hoQ,l' open
ma~ioet? Then in turn the' amm;mition in ,t he
ligil:ters detona.ted, fol1 owe4 by ... that lIijho r~.
. Pandemonium reigned in COlistantin 9ple that
da.y, and never . in all her thousands ?f years of
hi~tol'y 'did the golden city ~cei\'e such a i~'ight
as f.:7 gs.,:e her on Ithflt occa.sion~
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This did not exhaust her. t!-nerg ies.

After {i ark

The wnr submarine used mounted guns, a.nd
she came to the surface UIJd made off !:Iouth .. Off
did n9t;,~ litthr wor!< Wit,he tbem:- ' '1'h'6'E7; 'in- ilfe- -, _- Sall' Stefatt6"Bh;r p.mee<rnna tl>ok"ca:;.~fUJ- tieliring5,

S~a. of ·Marmora. ioulld them useful. There is a.
delightEul tale of gunnery experience in home
Watere told by tJle-'J so~&-time nn.vi~a.t-or ·of the
0130, in a. low-beamed, .smoke· w~a.thed ward1 room of the First Battle . Squad~n over the nuUl
and wine. AJJ a. record of " Zepp-stranng" it :9
just too gOOd for the re<:&iver to q~~. •
. .The ltandling of
submarine is ~~ ~~~ 1Jla.t
callR for n. steady nerve and an a.~in06t.· moroenta.ry
·decisioIL Even.. when a.U is II plain-sailing" the
mind mmt be alert ~nd ttN, senses quickened.
There is no margin of.. safety for ,. forgetful.[]~s !J
_ in a.n underlOOo boat. Many are ~he '"bo;at.l;l i~

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have gone nut never to retmn, 'I'heir fate .r&mains -& ..• mystery, a.nd we ahaU l' never kT,low
whether they fell to 3. mine or an enemy torpedo,
Or w:hether it 'was ~rile faih1~ ~?fo~~~6~· ~.F-?'~
element which proved their un~.ojl;lg. From
thirty to 8J}.ty livea, dEij>end -qpo\1 ·rtllet absOlute
prec~ion and - uncel\;ing watchfulness of every
member of ths"ship·s lcompnny. Ori e:.error, . sma.1I
in itself, may make impossible that return to the
sun a.rid .fLir and all the joys. of. life' that exist
above the green - engulfing fathoinl'!' ao~n into.
which the boat boa' sunk. The m~terial l.may be
of the finest, the workmanship of the best, but a
. submarine ·is: not foo!-proof. niHi while the boat
h~rself is eaeily replaced , nothing f.an.; g.h" us back
the brave
souls who perish in thei.r quest.
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Perha.p" t.he mos t absorbing part .of this book
deals with the ., .hair·breadth "sca~ " of those
IgNlant omcees and mep who . took their
mecha.nical leviathans of the daep to the utter·
most ends of the seven seas. The crews of submarines are piCked: Resource; imagination, uncea.8ing .... igila.nce are lltleded, i.n " "add1tion to
~rtneslt and couJ:nge. The itrah'l' was Continu.
o us, the reward problematical.
work does
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not conduce to the wearing of fine . . clpth l a~d gold

The

lace; it i. ,anything but a kid-f!:l?,';~. f%.i."; , But
: the SQb~ 8erViIJe OM bou:t ~ ~!kUe 1a. disci.
pline, in ~pite of f~wer restrain"ti!.1ts· the. parent
gervice, and it ia their .pride that ever:;, mbber is
• volunteer and" man of

unblemi~~Od '1'er

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: a.nd by way of PYl'ote.clinic ~ciisplay; lo~d off
tell rounds rapid irito the gloom. 'fhe powdel'
factory Mh~re wae the ol!ject· _Df lheir p'o lite'
a.ttent ions, and pr~umably t·he a.im was good, for
an exp loijion followed; flames leaped up. and by
the tiine the ht\~ ~a.tro]8 had dat<hed up the
submarine ,w as baCk on the boU-oID for the .night:
Bow, event-ua:lly, tliis ·boat. and her intrepid crew- ·
ca~e throt!gb. -.. the obstructing neis~ ' driftil~ g~
slowly at . twenty-two feet, through the N ..~ws
and, off Ca.pe Bellas, came up for a. IOQk. ro~nd.
is n. grand finnle to a voyafWl
C> ~ ullpa_ralle~ed in 'h~ _

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story of the romance of the sea.

The authors ha.ve something to say of 'th~
eerie and d.eath-like silence ' which reigns ·
rlight in a. .submarin e resting 'On the bottom.
Cut off from the world by eighty (oot of sear
water, there is not [l, sound but the faint hum'"of
the gen~tors driving the gyro-compass, ana.~D~~ ·
·occa.sionni ~ djlijointed ~ntence as so'me ma~ ' talk;
in hia sleep, n:r a snOl'e, followed , by a. significant
thump. 1t· must be ~'eird indeed.
'i'here is .'!Omething, too, of those brave souls
who went down in~ the sea. and ' ne~er can;.c
up a.gain-~s witness the case of (\. "C J' hQat, .
which went out fro'm Dover on al patro] and never
returned. When located, the di'v'er f~und a
lette.r written by the comman~ing officer, j~st ,
before he lapsed into uIIconsciouB ness and death,
expla.ining what had. . ha.ppened . . The ,,,alva ' to
the air ·~·histle had b~ri inadvertently left ollen,
and all th~ high pressure air supply hd been
wast.ed through the whistle, leaving nothing with
\vhich to blow the tanks.
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This i$ .n. book which it is a plea.sure to read',
fqr not only' dOf's ..one become int.imately acqu aint.

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with one of the, newer" arms" ' of WD·r, but
one learps: not a. ' ,litt'l~ of those fine ' spirits of ~e .• _
silent se~\" ic~ who counted . not the cost when ·
advent!lrin~ for the secnritr and honour of the '
flag . th.it, rules the sea.e. ~' ·

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