The Unsinkable Submarine 



When struck, it simply discards the 

 injured section and proceeds on its way 



THE submarine may strike you as' a 

 very deadly thing. But the most 

 formidable U-boat in the German 

 Navy is as nothing compared with the sub- 

 marine as Alphonse Fernandez of Spain 

 would have it. Mr. Fernandez has patent- 

 ed some im- 

 provements on 

 the submarine 

 which render 

 these terrors of 

 the sea far 

 more deadly 

 than they are 

 at present. 



His inven- 

 tion provides 

 the submarine 

 with a detach- 

 able upper sec- 

 tion. This sec- 

 tion contains 

 all the arma- 

 ment except 

 the torpedo 

 tubes. When a 

 submarine is 

 attacked and injured it capsizes because of 

 the weight of the water which enters the 

 injured part. If the Fernandez submarine 

 is attacked by gun fire, is hit by a bomb 

 dropped by an aviator or strikes, a mine, the 

 injured section may be cast off. The crew 

 enters the remaining section and the enemy 

 is deprived of victory. 



The two sections are fastened together by 

 screws which have bevel gears on their 

 lower ends. In the main body there will be 

 a longitudinal shaft having bevel gears 

 which mesh with the gears on the ends of 

 the screws and will release all of the screws 



/Detachable upper section 



If the upper part of the submarine is struck, it may be 

 detached and discarded without affecting the boat's safety 



when the shaft is turned. This construc- 

 tion makes it only the work of a moment 

 to separate the main body of the vessel 

 from the upper section. 



Another invention of Mr. Fernandez pro- 

 vides a deep-sea boat which carries a small 

 vessel just as a 

 kangaroo car- 

 ries its young 

 in its pouch. 



Suppose, for 

 example, that 

 the large sub- 

 marine reaches 

 the mouth of a 

 river up which 

 it cannot pass 

 because the 

 water is too 

 shallow. The 

 enemy has a 

 number of ships 

 resting at an- 

 chor on that riv- 

 er. The mother 

 ship submerges 

 and opens the 

 doors of the compartment in which the 

 small vessel is carried. This is done very 

 easily as the miniature submarine has a 

 hatchway by means of which it may be 

 entered from the compartment. The tor- 

 pedoes which it requires on its journey of 

 destruction are loaded on it from the 

 mother ship. When the crew which is to 

 man it enter and all is in readiness the small 

 vessel is set free by opening the doors of 

 the compartment and releasing the minia- 

 ture ship from its coupling. 



Its mission accomplished, the baby re- 

 turns to the mother submarine. 



Detachable upper, section 



* I Shoulder to 

 Releasi nq screw 1 prevent 

 M ipping 



The two sections of the submarine will be fastened together by screws which have bevel gears on 

 their lower ends meshing with a longitudinal shaft in the body of the vessel which releases them 



840 



