ISO 



THE INDIA RUBBER WORLD 



[Junk 1, 1915. 



ment of destruction. The almost uncanny working of the 

 depth regulating apparatus relies largelj upon a diaphragm of 

 rubber, and this is the part of the torpedo that makes certain 

 hi" the weapon hitting the dreadnought below the armor belt. 

 But the tube must be reloaded, and to that end another t • >r 

 pedo is run on a rubber-tired truck right up to the rear of 

 the recentl} emptied cylinder. The water is drained from 

 the tube into a tank provided for the purpose, that weight 

 taking the place aboard of the submarine of the torpedo just 

 lired — in this waj preserving the nice equilibrium demanded 

 in craii ... this sort. With the watei nil oi the cylinder then 

 the rear door can be opened and the second torpedo inserted. 

 With this done, the door is swung to and. like its companion 

 at the outer end. is seated against a thick cushion or gasket 

 of soft rubber. 



As we have already said, the motive power when running 

 at the surface is provided by internal combustion engines 

 The exhaust gases from these motors are heavily charged 

 with carbon dioxide and would soon sicken, if they did 

 not asphyxiate, the crew inside of the boat it there were 

 leakage within the engine room. Therefore, the openings 

 int.. the crankpit, the air intakes exposed to back explosions, 

 etc.. must be rendered gas tight, and, as a rule, manhole 

 plates, cheek valves and certain of the joints in the exhaust 

 system are secured by rubber packing. But it is in the elec- 

 trical installation of a submarine that india rubber figures 

 most, and there is the amplest reason for this. Take, for 

 instance, a German submarine of 300 tons submerged dis- 

 placement. A craft of this sort was the LF-9 that sent the 

 three British cruisers, the "llogue." "Aboukir" and "Cressy," 

 to the bottom. To drive such a boat submerged there are 

 two electric motors, each oi 320 horse-power, and the pro- 

 pulsive energj tor these motors is supplied by two extensive 



ments of this insulation for electric circuits, the rubber coat- 

 ing is obliged to show a dielectric strength sufficient to resist 

 rupture when exposed to an alternating current of 1.5111) volts 

 applied continuously for a minute. To guard against physical 

 injury, these heavy-power cables are covered with lead These 



llou Things Are Crowded in the Engine Rohm of a Submarine. The Storage 

 Battf.r\ Si icj Is Under hie Place Where the Camera Stood. 



groups of storage batteries. 



It should 1" perfectly clear thai currenl of this capacity 

 Mowing from accumulators to motors in thi narrow confines 

 of the steel body of ;i submarine musl be extremely well in- 

 sulated in order to guard againsi leakage and the dire con- 

 sequences "i ,i shorl circuit. Here is where rubber serves 

 as nothing, els can fo givi some idea id' the broad require- 



A Russian Submarine. Three Open Hatches Are Shown, 



and in two ("vers the dark llne ot tlieir thick 



Rubber Gaskets Can Be Seen. 



precautions are very necessary, because the conductors must 

 be both water -tight as well as secure against electrical 

 leakage. 



A submarine is a veritable magazine, and the men aboard 

 face explosive perils of various sorts. Aside from the gun- 

 cotton in the warheads of the torpedoes, compressed air for 

 various operative purposes is stored in metal flasks at the 

 explosive pressure of more than 

 2.000 pounds per square inch. 

 Should one of these tanks rupture 

 it would constitute a formidable 

 destructive agent. Next, the gases 

 given off by the fuel, when mixed 

 with sufficient air, are highly in- 

 flammable and explosive. Further, 

 the hydrogen, emanating from the 

 storage batteries when the accumu- 

 lators are nearly charged, or at 

 certain periods during their dis- 

 charge, will ignite in the presence 

 of a spark and exert a violent 

 rending force. Therefore, there 

 must be no fuel leaks nor a chance 

 for battery gas to gather in any 

 quantity within the boat, and. 

 equally vital, electric sparks due to 

 faulty insulation, switch contacts. 

 etc.. must be sedulously prevented. 

 (in more than one occasion lives 

 have been sacrificed or serious in- 

 juries incurred by the explosion of 

 battery gas. In order, therefore, to 

 kei p fins dangerous hydrogen from 

 getting into the body of a sub- 

 marine from the accumulator com 

 partments, until lately the deck 

 immediately over these spaces was made tight by means oi 

 a rubberized cloth; but this has been very much improved 

 upon in the batterj installations id' the newest of submarines 

 There are two things which are to be avoided, the escape 

 ,,f the hydrogen into the living space anil also the presence 

 of minute particles of sulphuric acid carried off with tin 

 bursting bubbles of the electrolyte. These tiny drops of acid 



