SUBMARINES IN GENERAL— GERMAN SUBMARINES IN 



PARTICULAR. 



By Commander E. S. Land, Construction Corps, U. S. N., Member. 



[Read at the twenty-seventh general meeting of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers, held 



in New York, November 13 and 14, 1919.] 



I. SUBMARINES IN GENERAL. 



The world is quite "fed up" with submarines, thanks to the recent four and 

 one-half years of terrestrial disturbance. While I hold no brief for the vessel as 

 she was generally used by the Huns, this type of craft has proven beyond a doubt 

 her value as an essential part of a navy. This being true, there are a few matters 

 of interest that may bear repetition. 



Primarily, there has been and still is a remarkable amount of misinformation 

 about vessels that operate both on the surface and submerged. The veil of secrecy 

 that has enshrouded submarines from the time of Von Drebbel in 1624 to recent 

 times is in the main responsible for this state of affairs. This has been augmented 

 by the veil of mystery in connection with their operations and further augmented by 

 numerous writers with a vivid imagination and a prolific pen. 



Facts being stranger than fiction, also rarer, it is rather a pity that the facts 

 with regard to those most interesting and most complicated men-of-war have not 

 been placed before the public. It appears likely that they will be in due course ; in 

 fact, many of the most interesting and remarkable stories of the war pertain to the 

 operation of allied submarines, some accounts of which have recently appeared in 

 British periodicals. 



In the second place, there exists at the present time a public prejudice against 

 the submarine which is unjust, for the reason that this prejudice should be against 

 the operators who defiled the laws of war, but not against the vessel. 



Any implement of war and many implements of peace can be improperly and 

 illegally used. As a matter of fact, most implements of war were improperly and 

 illegally used by the Huns. Therefore, condemn all instruments of war, Q. E. D. 

 Agreed, provided there is to be no more war — otherwise, no man with a logical 

 mind can agree. The history of the world teaches us the impracticability of elimi- 

 nating any efhcient method of conducting warfare. Any doubting Thomas should 

 look up the history of gunpowder, especially its early use by the French and the 

 British. It is equally impracticable to eliminate the construction of submarines. If 

 there is ever another great war (which God forbid), you will find the naval needs 

 of the belligerents well supplied with submarines. 



Owing to the secrecy that has always to a great extent surrounded the design 



