244 SUBMARINE NAVIGATION. 



risks of foundering rapidly, and little more than a crevice may prac- 

 tically fill the interior with water in a very short time when the vessel 

 is submerged even to a moderate depth. On the other hand, reports 

 which have appeared of the maneuvers in France and elsewhere, 

 when attacks have been made by submarines on vessels at anchor or 

 underway, show a considerable percentage of successes. Such 

 exercises are A^aluable, no doubt, for purposes of training, but under 

 peace conditions it is necessary to avoid the risks of damage to 

 submarines, which might easily become serious if the defense were 

 pressed home, as it would be in war. AMien the officers and crews of 

 suV)marines know that they will be- treated more considerately than 

 in real warfare they will naturally take chances, and make attacks 

 involving possible destruction under the conditions of a real action. 

 In short, naval maneuvers in this department, while they may be 

 useful in increasing the skill and confidence of officers and men in 

 the management of submarines, can be no real test of fighting 

 efficiency. 



Submarines and air ships have certain points of resemblance, and 

 proposals have been made repeatedly to associate the two types or to 

 use air ships as a means of protection from submarine attacks. One 

 French inventor seriously suggested that a captive balloon attached 

 to a submarine should be the j^ost of observation from which informa- 

 tion should be telephoned to the submarine as to the position of an 

 enemy. He evidently had little trust in periscopes and overlooked the 

 dangers to which the observers in the car of the balloon would be 

 exposed from an enemy's gun fire. Quite recently a proposal has been 

 made by M. Santos Dumont to use air ships as a defense against 

 submarines, his idea being that a dirigible air ship of large dimen- 

 sions, and moving at a considerable height al)ove the surface of the 

 sea could discover the whereabouts of a submarine, even at some depth 

 below the surface, and could effect its destruction Ijy dropping high 

 explosive charges upon the helpless vessel. Here, again, the inventor, 

 in his eagerness to do mischief, has not appreciated adequately the 

 risks which the air shij) would run if emj^loyed in the manner pro- 

 posed, as submarines are not likely to be used without sup})orting ves- 

 sels. Hitherto submarines themselves have been armed only with 

 torpedoes; but it has been proposed recently to add guns, and this can 

 be done, if desired, in vessels possessing relatively large freeboard. 

 No doubt if gun armaments are introduced, the tendency will be to 

 further increase dimensions and cost, and the decision will be gov- 

 erned by the consideration of the gain in fighting power as compared 

 with increased cost. As matters stand, submarines are practically 

 helpless at the surface when attacked by small swift vessels, and it is 

 natural that advocates of the type should desire to remedy this condi- 

 tion. Surface boats, if built, will undoubtedly carry guns as well as 



