The Terror of the Sea 



How submarines are driven and submerged; the difficulty of 

 building them very big; the folly of the one-man submarine 



A SUBMARINE is a maze of machin- 

 ery. Unlike any other ship she has 

 two sets of driving engines — one oil 

 and the other electric — and she is built with 

 the nicest regard for weight. 



First let us say something about the 

 engines. They are the most important 

 part of the boat. 



At first gasoline engines, like those used 

 on automobiles and motor-boats, were in- 

 stalled in submarines. The Germans had 

 them in some of the submarines that they 

 used in the beginning of the war. We, too, 

 used them. But as the gasoline engine was 

 made bigger to meet the demand for in- 

 creased power and speed it literally broke 

 down. The Diesel engine must be used. 

 It was invented by Rudolf Diesel, a 

 German engineer, while he was still a 

 student. 



In the Diesel engine air is sucked into the 

 cylinder and subjected to such pressure by 

 the piston that it becomes intensely hot. 

 Then a little oil is squirted in. At once the 

 oil-vapor ignites and the mixture of oil- 

 vapor and highly compressed air expands 

 with explosive suddenness. The Diesel is 

 the most efificient type of engine ever in- 

 vented, utilizing as it does about thirty 

 per cent of the energy in the fuel as con- 

 trasted with only thirteen per cent in the 

 best steam-engines. But it also uses air. 

 In other words it breathes. When a sub- 

 marine is under water the crew must keep 

 alive by breathing what air they can obtain 

 from tanks. They have enough for not 

 more than thirty-six hours. 



So, it becomes necessary to equip a sub- 

 marine with electric motors, fed by storage 

 batteries. As soon as a submarine dives, 

 the breathing Diesel engine is cut out and 

 the electric motor switched in. 



Down in a Submarine 



Like the policeman's in Gilbert's song, 

 the life of a submarine sailorman is not a 

 happy one. The quarters are necessarily 

 so cramped that it is difficult to provide 

 ordinary ship comforts. The officers have 

 cots and the crew hammocks for sleeping. 

 In our new boats ice-boxes are provided, so 

 that fresh meat and vegetables can be 



served. In addition there is a dry food 

 supply sufficient for five days. At sea the 

 crew is put on a daily fresh water allowance. 

 To bathe, the men must jump over the 

 side. 



Even when the boat is running on the 

 surface the ventilation is poor. The pro- 

 prietor of a New York sweatshop who did 

 not provide his workmen with any more 

 air than the men in a submarine breathe 

 would be arrested. When the boat is sub- 

 merged, the' nauseating oil odor, the battery 

 fumes, the vitiated air exhaled from a score 

 of lungs make one wonder why everyone is 

 not sick. As a matter of fact seasickness, 

 produced by these conditions, is common 

 enough. 



What is the scene within a submarine 

 when an attack is made? A German officer 

 of the U-26 gave this account of an attack 

 on an unnamed British warship: 



"The boat Is cleared for action. The flagpole is 

 taken down. Part of the bridge Is folded up and 

 lashed. The periscope Is elevated. The hatch 

 through the combined bridge and conning tower Is 

 tightly closed. The motors cease their endless song. 

 From now on electricity will drive us until we rise to 

 the surface again. 



"A young lieutenant Is posted at the periscope and 

 looks for the enemy. The sailors take thei*' position 

 near the torpedoes. The Interior of the boat is 

 lighted with two small electric bulbs. They do not 

 clear the gloom. Everywhere is the smell of stale 

 oil. It is impossible to speak with the din of the 

 machinery and of the inrushing water. 



"From time to time the officer In command of the 

 torpedoes looks at his watch, which he wears on his 

 wrist, or at his compass. Intently the men all 

 watch a signal board in front of them on the side of 

 the boat. . . . Suddenly we start and forget the 

 heat, the foul air, the discomfort. In small luminous 

 letters the word 'Attention' flashes up on the board. 

 The commanding officer grasps the lever which will 

 release the first torpedo. The men prepare to 

 launch the second as soon as the first Is discharged. 

 Half a second later and the red letters on the board 

 say 'Fire!' The lever is jerked, and the torpedo 

 leaps out. There Is a short metallic click and the 

 noise of the water rushing Into the empty tube. The 

 second torpedo Is at once Inserted. A few seconds 

 later and the Interior of the submarine looks as 

 before the attack began. 



"But what of the first torpedo? We hear only the 

 noise of the motors. We wait. Nothing happens. 

 Then suddenly we are all thrown In a heap by the 

 shaking of the boat. Then the boat rolls as before. 

 The regular purring of the motors is heard. We are 

 on our way home. The attack succeeded." 



546 



