OCR Text |
Show EXAMINE WORKS I OF GERNUM SUBS Some Details of Construction J On Captured Ships Are Found Excellent WASHINGTON Sept 25 Detailed examination of surrendered Onmnn t'-boots built during the war has pro duced nothing to forecast important i ehanvsi in American submarine officers offi-cers at the navy department saeert. I After a careful study of the Gernu-n craft and u thorougb test in the Ions cruises acrosi the Atlantic American experts found only i few unlmport- Bnl .i'tnlls worihy of incorporating In j new American undersea craft In periscopes and opllcal fitting" ; tho German boats iesr superior to i pre-war American submerslhles. It was admitted. Periscopes on new i navy submarines, howevtr, are superl-1 OF to the he.xt similar fittings found on the captured vessels. It was Bald The engine equipment of the German Ger-man boats was praised by, Ajnsrlc in oif leers, but It was declared that the mechnnlr.il plants of the enemy craft were In no respect superior to those already in use In the United SI it" navy in many point?, particularly that of mechanical simplicity, roominess roomi-ness dnd comfort for the crew, tho American boats are regarded as u- perlor to ihe Qerman craft. EXAMINE BIG Ml ITS. Examination of the surface vessels surrendered I y Germany and brought to the l'nited States recently Is now In progress. i ther German vessels of .jll cl.if;.es had licen previousd Carefully Inspected by American officers offi-cers abroad aiuI officials at the department de-partment declared that tliev did not I expect the Inspection of the cruiser OefrleslS.no' and the destroyers allocated allo-cated to this country to develop any Important new construction methods In the American navv In one respect the German ships won the praise ol many officers at the di p;i i t ment. This was the use of solid watertight bulkheads between ' BUb-divlaloni of the hulls below uccks ino ooors ryr communication below nrSre found In the Germain ships, the mem hers of the crew being forced to go "up and over" to move from one J compartment to another. It was this construction that kept German vessels In the fight at the bat-i bat-i tie of Jutland after they had been se-I se-I vcrclv punished by British fire officers offi-cers said. The Idea has been advocated advo-cated by a school of American naval I officers for years and has been adopt-' adopt-' ed in the newer vessels to the extent of placing solid bulkheads between I fire rooms ni.l AM .: :s ( 'pponenta of the solid bulkhead theory declare ease and rapidity of communication below decks to be i more valuable than elaborate prccau-I prccau-I tlons to prevent the passage of water from one compartment to another In the event of hits below the waterllne. A featuic of the German ships that somewhat surprised American officers offi-cers was the lack of provisions for the comfort of the crews. Officers' quarters were found to be about on t a par with those in the American navy, 1 but little attention has been paid to I the enlisted men The larger ships . had cooking accommodations for but .i small part of the battle crew; it was said, and il was believed that th-a ships were constructed on the theory hat any engagement they participated in would be within a short distance of the homo port, probahly in the j North sea. af the bunk capacities were very limited. During periods of Inaction the men j were housed ashore in barracks and I during periods at sea of any duration ' they were poorly supplied with het j food. Contrasted with ih elaborate , galleys and bakeries on American ship, with provisions for long cruises at sea away from supply bases, the German craft were primitive, It was said. The final disposition to le mud-of mud-of the German vessels has not been .icclded. They will either be broken l up at navy yards or used as targets for the fleets. oo |