Great Britain. Royal Navy; World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations
Although I was deeply interested in everything that went on under the
sea in that craft, my eyes were continually on the captain, who looked
like a photographer about to take the picture of a wilful baby. The
skipper's face was concealed behind two black canvas wings of the
reflector, which keep the many electric lights aboard from interfering
with his view through the glass. I then noticed a door in the stern of
the craft--about amid-ships--a door which is closed on the sight of
danger. To me it looked like a reflection, but you soon find out that
you are looking at the engines of the submarine. There, four or five
men, ignoring whether they were under the water or on the surface, were
concentrated on their work. One mistake, and the submarine and its crew
are lost. Hence there is no inattention to duty. Finally, this door was
slammed to.
The air below is not much different to what it is when the vessel is on
the surface--or not noticeably different until the craft has been
submerged for several hours. It is then that the "bottles" or air tanks
are brought into play. I walked to the bows of the boat, where a giant
torpedo was greased and ready for the shutting of its compartment. The
air-tight tube was then locked down, and the missile was ready for its
victim. But, as I said, lured as you may be to gaze at the other parts
of the wonderful craft, you will find that your gaze comes back to the
captain--always at the periscope, hands on those brass bars that turn
the periscope, and eyes glued to the reflector.
"Lower periscope!" he orders. And then: "Raise periscope!" He gives
these orders with clearness; not surprising, as no command must be
misunderstood when you are 25 or 30 feet under the water.
"Lower periscope!"
A man in a corner, next to one who has charge of the gyroscopic compass,
turns a handle, and the greased steel cylinder sinks until the captain,
who had been stretched with toes tipped, now is on bended knees, his
hands extended to stop the periscope man from taking the "eye" further
down. The captain turns the periscope around, scanning the waters. At
his right, when the skipper is facing the bows, is another officer, with
his hand on the trigger of what looks like an upward-pointed pistol of
brass and steel. This officer waits for the command to send off the
torpedo.
"Lower foremost periscope into the well," ordered the captain. This
periscope was not in use and had not been above the surface. It is the
duplicate "eye," in case the other is out of order.
"Yes," said the captain, not looking at me, "she's mostly guts below.
Have a look at that destroyer. We are going to send a practice torpedo
at her, and she will pick it up and return it when we get back home."
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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