Salt Lake Herald-Republican | 1919-03-02 | Page 34 | Blister Saved English Ships from U-Boats

S SA SAVED VED ENGLISH SHIPS FR BOATS M BOATS U-BOATS I Experts Experts' New Nev Device Enabled Ena- Ena bled Monitor j to Survive t Three Torpedoes London March Ofle Marchl-Ofle 1 One I.-One Ono of oC the most successful devices invented by British naval experts Jn Sn wartime was one ODe which served to knoWn as a blister protect ships against torpedoes It Is 15 IsHan Han an n outer steel teel casing fitted to the All of or Its technical det details de- de sides s of ot ships not be boon on rcy reV re- re t tails ns of or construction ha have 0 but naval experts assert that y V aled caled ships equipped with blisters run no creator risk from undersea attacks l' l In Inthe than from surface fighting dangers the Germans torpedoed torpedo d several J. J the war blister ships but in every case it Is asserted the vessels were able to reach 1 T ort and be repaired 4 Sir E. E II IL T. T D' D director of oC Invented the blis- blis naval na construction ter It was first attached to four old oltI Patiently the na navy waited S for Zor a n. test for tor two years then In June 1017 1917 the cruiser Grafton while steam steam- ing tn at ten knots was struck amidships y a torpedo fired from a German sub- sub ft I. I Vi i- i iw w S' S distant rho rhe rb blister i which hi J h stuck t k out i irO from the cruls- cruls ers side about fifteen feet exploded ho torpedo and the Grafton steamed to port with only a slight ht list Improvements were made on the i blisters and the they were fitted to the I sister monitors Erebus and Terro Both these t-these these vessels mounting 15 Inch guns bombarded the Belgian coast for form months m Both were torpedoed within week n a and but for lor the protecting bits bits- t rs th they y would have la been sunk torpedoes struck the rebus Erebus two hit hit- tho forepart of or the monitor v. v where here herer r filic lic blister bUster tapers off orr As a precaution f lithe IC Erebus was beached d. but it was aft found that sho Iho was less severe ere than had hatI been thought and hc was as subsequently repaired i No Xo ship before survived torpedoes Britain linn FlU Fifty r ShIps 55 The navy now has about fifty blister ships In commission Including some oCth of oC th the first battle cruiser squadron The he 1 new dreadnoughts Rodney Howe and H Hood od also are aro being fitted with busters bUs bUs- A self propelling projectile charged chars with pounds of or T. T N. N T. T was perfected per per- by the naval experts only a short time before the armistice was signed It Is Ss believed to have strengthened materially ma mn- tonally the power and effectiveness of or orth S the th British fleet neet The projectile can be discharged without concussion from small boats or a a. light platform ex exploding exploding ox- ox on th the contact or when fitted S with a special device de below the tho water I thus serving the tho purpose of ot a depth l I charge chars An apparatus for tor throwing a a. flame fiame r for a distance of ot 20 feet teet as water Is Isi i thrown from a hose was rigged ged on one of ot the vessels that took part In the theraid therald raid on Zeebrugge But before it could be used a shell from tho the en enemy y batteries batter batter- Ies les put it out of or action Submerged Fire Fin Signal Another invention I Is a a. gun to fire Ire signals from submerged ed submarines It sends a 1 star shell feet teet into the air Several kinds of ot smoke screens were 1 S Invented most of oC them for the purpose ot of baffling battling U A powerful flaro laro S equal to a million candlepower was 5 another achievement of ot the naval In Inventors Inventors Inventors In- In which was waa used with great grant effect against enemy submarines waiting wait- wait 1 Ing on the surface at night to attack T merchant ships These flares suddenly sudden- sudden ly y i ignited nl ed turned night into da day and j I'm in Inc Straits of Dover alone seventeen boats U were caught b by their aid and sunk unk The Tho work of developing developing- these ions was carried on by the royal roal naval S experimental station near London Its staff comprised twenty five officers 1 and 1050 men all experts either In rei research re- re i search or constructional work most of ot i them being chemists or engineers U S