If there ever had been any fancied security from their submarines, it was removed that Sunday, July 9, 1916, when the _Deutschland_ bobbed up in Chesapeake Bay, and a few hours later reached her dock in Baltimore. Coming from Bremen via Heligoland, it had made its way through the North Sea and around Scotland, crossed the ocean and entered Hampton Roads under the very noses of the British cruisers just outside. Two hundred and thirteen feet long, with a displacement, submerged, of 2,200 tons, it had a surface speed of 12 to 14 knots an hour, and could run under water at 7-1/2 knots. Though unarmed, and called a "mercantile submarine," by the placing of guns and torpedo tubes aboard, she could be quickly converted into a man-of-war. The _Deutschland_ came again to America in November, going to New London, Conn., reaching Germany, on her return, December 10. This was her last trip as a merchantman, for she was soon afterwards converted into a warship, and was one of the submarines sent to sink shipping in American waters in 1918. Even more startling was the visit of the U-53. This German submarine, almost as large as the _Deutschland_, suddenly appeared off Point Judith and calmly steamed into Newport, R. I., the afternoon of October 7th. Flying the German man-of-war ensign, she carried two guns conspicuously placed. The cruiser _Birmingham_, Rear Admiral Albert Gleaves commanding, was near by, and the U-53 asked to be assigned a berth. Kapitän Leutnant Hans Rose, her commander, in full uniform, called on the commandant of the Naval Station, stating that his object in entering the port was to "pay his respects," and that he intended to sail at 6 o'clock. He invited our officers to visit his ship, saying he would be glad to "show them around." The crew seemed anxious to impress the Americans with the boat and its mechanism. While in port, the U-53 was careful not to violate neutrality regulations, but the day after leaving Newport she began a slaughter of vessels. On October 8th, she sank the British steamships _Stephano_, _Strathdine_ and _West Point_, the Dutch steamer _Blommersdijk_, and the Norwegian _Chr. Knudsen._ The first two were attacked within sight of Nantucket Lightship, just outside the three-mile limit. The others sunk were farther away, but all were near our coast. The first news we had of this raid was that the American steamer _Kansan_ had been stopped early in the morning by a German submarine, which, after examining her papers, had allowed her to proceed. A short time later a radio message was received stating that the British steamer _West Point_ was being gunned. After that, distress signals came thick and fast. Rear Admiral Gleaves immediately ordered our destroyers to the relief of the vessels attacked, and they rescued crews and passengers, bringing them safely to port.