World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations -- Submarine; World War, 1914-1918 -- United States
It is not improbable that I have given a false impression concerning the
relative merits of the several methods which were developed for fighting
the submarine. Destroyers, patrol boats, subchasers, and mystery ships
all accomplished great things in solving the most baffling problem
presented by the war. The belief is general that the most successful
hunter of the submarine was the destroyer, and, so far as absolute
figures are concerned, this is true. Destroyers, with their depth
charges and their gunfire, sank more U-boats than any other agency. One
type of craft, however, proved a more destructive enemy of the submarine
than even the destroyer. That was a warship of whose achievements in
this direction little has so far been heard. The activities of the
German submarine have completely occupied public attention; and this is
perhaps the reason why few newspaper readers have suspected that there
were other than German and Austrian submarines constantly operating at
sea. Everyone has heard of the U-boats, yet how many have heard anything
of the H-boats, the E-boats, the K-boats, and the L-boats? The H-, E-,
and K-boats were British submarines, and the L-boats were American
submarines. In the destruction of the German under-water craft these
Allied submarines proved more successful than any kind of surface ship.
The Allied destroyers, about 500 in number, sank 34 German submarines
with gunfire and depth charges; auxiliary patrol craft, such as
trawlers, yachts, and the like, about 3,000 in number, sank 31; while
the Allied submarines, which were only about 100 in number, sank 20.
Since, therefore, the Allies had about five times as many destroyers as
submarines at work, it is evident that the record of the latter vessels
surpasses that of the most formidable surface anti-submarine craft.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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