Show PE OF GERMAN SUBMARINE T r DESCRIBED BY A NAVAL OFFICER Report of a Cruise tuIse by an Engineer Lieutenant Engineer t nant Tells Tens of Grim Work in the North Sea Sea How How the Deadly Craft Slipped Out of oJ the Kiel Kielb if b Canal and Torpedoed a Destroyer and Crept Back to Friendly t r 1 Waters Waters Tense Tense Moments When the Enemy Is Sighted s If D By ByH H H. R. R BEYER DEYER i Lieutenant of the German s.- s. jt Naval Reserve I r Correspondence nce of the Chicago News 1 I Kiel Germany At At the beginning I last September I 1 had returned from a patrol trip In inthe the Baltic sea After having a days day's rest I walked through the streets of Kiel at six I clock In the morning crossed the harbor on on one of the ferries and then thena a o short walk alk of five minutes brought me me to the m main in gate of or the Imperial wharf The sentries es saluted at the double gate but nevertheless I had to show my card ard of Identification to toan tonn I In an nn n officer officer of the wharf at t the Inner gate Twenty thousand skilled work work- I. I r n en en n were working there In two shifts day and night building and repairing I I- I had I-had had to walk to one of the outer basins basins' ba ba- sins sins' where sins where boat w was Nos m my s lying We had orders orders' to leave at 9 30 a a. a m. m fL As AsI I passed some of the first class battle baffle b battleships tt ships h ps I l looked ok d with pride at the t little dark gray bodies of the submarines submarines rines lying side sid by side along the pier r. r One might comp compare r them to turned f k up By the bf ack letter Xon X on the bow of f the sec second nd one r I recognized f r my boat Sev Seventy five f feet t in len length th and twelve feet In width are aretha L L LL tha th the overall dimensions of the he cr craft tt The The- body of the boat extended two f M t feet feet- et above water level and and and- ten tim feet feet w below is is built of five millimeters milli milli- 7 mei meters rs approximately i three three six six six- tee of an inch Krupp steel S Some me of of the new style boats lying i f no not not far far- from ours are considerably larger And more powerful The bridge i on each ach boat Is almost in the center I of the upper deck ten feet In height t five and feet square Besides the two f maits masts supporting the wireless the exHaust of the gas engines and the thet t peri periscope cope there is only a rudder to tobe tobe it I Ibe be seen on the upper deck and nd two lev on leach sach side Just above the water lev- lev el The rudder on the rear of the up up- per deck serves as a help In steering unc under r water r and it is connected with l the main rudder In other words It ItIs a Is an additional device for changing i the course coure and is of great help when the vessel Is submerged for then turn turn- is ingis naturally much more difficult r to accomplish The side rudders L'- L' serve the purpose of allowing minor and d. d movements w y Getting Ready for the Start A Afew few steps down the pier ladder me to the upper deck of the theU U U- There the crew is busy getting her her ready Teady T l-dY l for the trip Twenty four meri m men men- form tire i r w f c our battleship bat bat- b Twelve are reg regular lar sailors Including noncommissioned officers and the rest are are the engineering force forcee e under my command All of my men are skilled mechanics II in gas engines to R and electrical work German submarines submarines rines are driven by gas eng engines nes when the they at af running above the water wafer line Une and by electric motors when under water I 1 receive from my assistant engineer engineer en en- r the report that everything is clear for action There are hundreds hun hun- of t things to be looked after I Ir r Inspect carefully every mechanical part of the upper deck then descend t. t through the gh l e manhole thirty six inches in diameter which is the sole entrance entrance en en- trance and exit of the boat I convince convince con con- vince myself that everything is right G here as each piece of mechanism Is lof the greatest importance for good results of our trip All gaso gasoline ine t tanks i iare I F 1 are at the lower part of the boat and andall I all have been filled the electric batteries bat bat- bat j teries have been charged and drinking water and food tood supplies have been taken on The deadly torpedoes are are in place C and vand and the gas engines and motors mo mo- mo 1 tors are in excellent condition Every piece of apparatus has been tested and found s satisfactory c ory IJ I t tIt J It Is nine o'clock and our captain t V in charge bearing t the e rank of captain t lieutenant arrives on board I 1 report the engineering division clear for acV ac ac- ac I V tion We are talking about important important J tant orders for our trip At V V sharp we are on the bridge the signal goes through ev every ry man manis aD Is at his place The mechanical telegraph rings and gives speed orders to the engine room Clear for maneuver half halt speed forward we are moving salutes are exchanged with our comrades comrades' comrades comrades' com com- rades' rades while mobile p passing their boats Will they see us return Through Klel Canal to the Sea I IF 1 I We ar are able to o make fourteen knots F above water ana nine when sub sub sub- merged The newest type of af German German Germant t submarine lids has 1 s been been- brought to a speed of t twenty enty knots above water Vater t and eleven knots below We are heading heading head head- t. t ing ing for the Kaiser Wilhelm canal the the Baltic and Kiel canal connecting the North sea Within three miles mUes of our starting place and yet within the safest part of the harbor harbo of Kiel we enter the canal and go through Its locks loeks We Weare are going full speed forward for for- I ward ward Our ton boat is vibrating 1 with the motion of the engines After Atter four hours we leave the canal which has a length of approximately forty forty- i j five miles and we enter the lower end of ot the Elbe river at Being Be Be- Be 1 r ing in the the- the vicinity of of Cuxhaven we weare I are now meeting cruisers and torpedo buat boat destroyers A short salute and j I VV V signal and we are heading for tor the Nor J h. h a- a wr I We begin to feel the famous motion of that body of water Waves rush overboard and so we descend through the manhole and take tako our places In In- side The steady vibration and the noise of th the exhaust and of the engines engines en en- gines and the the not at all appetizing smell of oil oll and gasoline and also the rocking of the boat make the Interior by no means a pleasant place for anyone any any- anyone one who is not accustomed to it The only exit our manhole Is being screwed down and made air and water tight Since men have to do their utmost utmost utmost ut ut- ut- ut most under s such ch conditions you can canwell canwell canwell well Imagine that it takes will power and energy And the men have it ft Our air pump for the rear ballast tank begins to show a little trouble and immediately one of the mechanics Is underneath it to make repairs He Heis Heis is is working hard In a space space- where there Is no room to turn around lying between moving engine p parts soak soaked d with oil and gasoline but It is done willingly at a moments moment's notice The capt captain in has hal taken his place in the chart room the most important part of the sUD submarine arin He is intently studying studying study study- ing the planes of the periscope the only eye of the submarine I Mechanism of the Torpedoes There are different styles style of peri peri- scope In use Ours extends approximately approximately sixteen feet above the upper deck and nd gives a very clear picture of the surroundings Speaking tubes levers and push buttons are on all sides of the room From Prom here the captain cap cap- tam tain o directs the movements of the boat and also the firing of the deadly torpedoes We have three torpedo tubes on board one In the front one In the rear and one In the starboard side Smaller boats have two and the newer newer type has four The The various sizes of the torpedo Itself range from approximately ten inches to twenty- twenty four Inches In diameter We are equipped with a sixteen Inch torpedo arrangement The length of the torpedoes torpedoes torpedoes tor tor- tor- tor also varies on on n an average often otten of ot- often ten feet The torpedo the most splendidly worked out weapon but also the most dreadful may be called a small boat boatIn boatin boatin In Itself Of a shape the outer outer- shell built of steel and bronze conceals the finest and most accurate mechanical k ry and l' l chambers besides the deadly save sive one of the most important se crets There are at the rear of the torpedo two propellers driven by com com- pressed and irand a dial to to- tobe be used used for for setting the range the range the torpedo has to travel For Instance if we fire the torpedo at at a target 1000 yards away we set dial at 1500 yards Then If the torpedo has traveled 1500 yards and mid has n not t hit the target by that time a flood valve opens thus allowing allowing allow allow- ing the water to enter the torpedo and sink It removing all danger for fOl shipping and preventing the enemy irom from making studies of the most secret secret se se- se- se cret weapon of every very navy The complicated complicated complicated com com- mechanism of torpedoes may mayy be realized by their cost The prices range from to apiece When the torpedo Is fired it is forced out of the tube under water by compressed air of to atmospheres atmospheres atmospheres atmos atmos- approximately pounds to the square Inch I will mention that on en torpedo boats we carry a small small- sized torpedo which Is fired from a tube above the water level and which drops under water water after leaving the tube Up to the present time we ha have e enot not been able to make use use use-of of this type on submarines for the reason that we must keep the gravity point of the boat as low as possible This disadvantage Is noticed when reloading reloading reload reload- ing t the e torpedo tube on submarines It requires the work of ot an excellently trained crew to bring an pound torpedo into the tube co correctly on a a moving boat and within as small space as Is available for the torpedo room Getting Ready to Attack the Foe After traveling for hours we are approaching approaching approaching ap ap- ap- ap the line of torpedo boats of the enemy on guard against us and now every precaution must be taken The order Clear for tor action Is going goIng going go- go Ing through the boat Everybody at athis athis athis his place has done his duty for thelast thelast the thelast last twelve hours without rest and everybody knows that chances for forrest forrest forrest rest are not very frequent And yet our captain takes takes' that he has studied his maps and knows the depth of of the water Orders go through and arid within fifteen seconds our boat is slowly going down The ballast tanks have be been n opened water Is pressed in inand n nand and nd produces our our downward movement move move- ment Our instrument shows a depth of forty-five forty feet when we come to a a stop All machinery is investigated some somo members of th the crew stay on watch the others are ready for a warm meal and anda and a rest All this Is at atthe atthe the tho bottom of the ocean the only safe place for the submarine The food that Is served consists of canned goods Pork and beans pork chops with gravy heated on an electric elec elec- electric trio stove and peas are serving as a awain wain nain food and also tea with lemon to quench thirst After fter six hours of rest now orders come everybody takes his place and s soon soon on we notice on our instrument that i 1 we are moving upward The rhe same i noise and the he same Sime smell of oil all and rind I gasoline and the same vibration By pressing the water out of ot the ballast tanks our slow upward movement has b been en ac accomplished We are aro speeding ahead Just jus below the surface The gas engines have been stopped since we began our first diving movement We are running with motors driven by our storage batteries At present we weare weare weare are traveling at a depth of twenty five feet We know that we are in the mine region of the enemy Destruction of the Destroyer After running at this depth at very low speed for six miles we begin to realize reaUze that the timo Is near for encountering encountering encountering en en- countering one of the enemy's battleships battle battle- ships Carefully we are moving up to get a glimpse through the peri peri- scope At a distance of five miles we spy three torpedo boat destroyers of the enemy The moment has come when our captain has to show his skill as master of the submarine He is calculating the distance the speed and the course of the enemy's boats His plans are made We are going down thirty feet within the next twenty minutes It will be shown whether his figures are correct Everybody Is ready for action every nerve every muscle Is strained for that which is coming It may be a su successful fulfillment ful tul fulfillment of our orders or It may be death for all of us No sign of emotion emotion emotion emo emo- tion is to be seen in the earnest faces of the fellows Every Everyone one is at his place Orders are repeated so that all may y understand them Levers are pulled and pushed suddenly we are moving upwards the periscope is reaching the surface and one look convinces the captain that his his calculations lations were correct We are arc within yards of the nearest nearest nearest near near- est destroyer Our boat swings around under water to a certain angle signal a-signal goes through the boat and the torpedo Is fired After thir thirty y seconds seconds sec see a terrible thunder sounds across the ocean roaring and dying out at atthe atthe atthe the horizon We turn the periscope and observe thick bl black ck smoke where the destroyer has disappeared some wreckage being blown within fifty yards of us The vessel had been hit at Its center and destroyed almost In in- At the same moment shells strike the water In our Immediate neighborhood We have been seen by bythe bythe bythe the two other destroyers Ope Olae shell well aimed would make us pay with our lives for what we have Just ac ac- ac- ac Almost too long we tried to watch the results The Return to Friendly Waters Within a few sec seconds our periscope has disappeared and we are below the surface in a depth of thirty feet We have fulfilled our Instructions and are turning back Once more we have to av avoid id mines and also the torpedo boats which may try to pursue us on our return We are heading according according accord accord- ing to orders for t the e naval base at W W- W to report the results of our trip Arriving in safe wat waters rs we speed ahead above the water level The collapsible masts of our wireless apparatus apparatus appa appa- ratus are set up and a message Is flashed that we are safe and returning returning return return- ing with good results Once more the crew has escaped the Iron grip of death th and the candidates for heaven en the nickname given them In naval circles will spend a restful night in inthe inthe inthe the harbor after very little sleep for forthe forthe forthe the last two fifty-two hours We enter the harbor with smiling salutes to our comrades passing by A cheerful Hurrah Is given to us by an outgoing submarine We are glad we are turning in even even iff if It ItIs Is Is only for a short time Tomorrow we expect new orders and we shall be ready again for our hazardous game |