World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations -- Submarine
There is not much cooking done while diving. Cooking is done in
electric ovens and boilers, but it is usual to do what work is
necessary with these when the boats are charging batteries on the
surface. Cooking when submerged uses oxygen, makes smells, and expends
battery power, and is discouraged. Cold meals are the rule, and
submarine people cannot complain of being underfed, as there is a
special supply for them of bottled fruits and other extras to obviate
the dangers of illness to men living without exercise or fresh air in
such confined quarters. On the whole, the crews keep healthy and fit,
but there has been a good deal of illness and also eye-strain among the
officers during the war.
I have said that while one officer is on watch at the periscope the
others sleep or read. It is remarkable, however, how awake they are to
certain sounds or happenings. An officer may take some minutes to rouse
when called for his spell on watch, but if instead of the gentle
shaking of the messenger he felt a change of inclination of the boat,
or a new vibratory note from the motors, or if he felt by the cessation
of rolling that the boat was sinking, he would be awake in a flash. The
human brain seems to keep one technical department always on watch, and
it misses nothing. A boat patrolling in a slight swell keeps up a
gentle roll at periscope depth, and all the time one hears the rattle
and click of the shafting as the fore and aft hydroplanes are worked to
keep her at her depth-line. If, for instance, she meets a stratum of
fresh water, she will begin to sink; the hydroplanes will be worked up
to "hard-a-rise" and left there, with the boat inclined up and trying
to climb. The officer at the periscope will order a tank to be
partially emptied and will increase speed on the motors to help her
climb up again. As she goes down the rolling will cease, and the
silence of the hydroplane shafts, the hum of the motors, and the angle
of the boat will tell every sleeper at once exactly what is happening;
some of them could probably tell the actual depth the boat had got down
to without looking at the gauge. In the same way when on passage on the
surface a change of note in the roar of the Diesel engines will wake
all hands--it might mean something important. When on the surface,
there is one sound which wakes everybody without any exception--and
that is the electric alarm horn. It makes a dry blaring noise which is
unmistakable, and in view of the fact that it may be the preliminary to
the loss of the boat, it interests all hands very intimately. There is
always the feeling, especially if it is dark, that the officer on watch
may have rung it too late, and that before the boat can be forced under
a destroyer stem may come crashing through the pressure hull. A
submarine hates being on the surface--at least, a patrol submarine
does. She has to come up to recharge her batteries or to "make a
passage." It must be reiterated that a submarine is fairly fast and of
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account