The Wonder Book of Knowledge: The Marvels of Modern Industry and Invention, the Interesting Stories of Common Things, the Mysterious Processes of Nature Simply Explained — John Shaqi
The Wonder Book of Knowledge: The Marvels of Modern Industry and Invention, the Interesting Stories of Common Things, the Mysterious Processes of Nature Simply Explained
History
The Wonder Book of Knowledge: The Marvels of Modern Industry and Invention, the Interesting Stories of Common Things, the Mysterious Processes of Nature Simply Explained
Industrial arts -- History
The periscope is the one part of the submarine scout equipment that is
open to vision from the surface. But while the outlook of the undersea
captain, aided by his telescopic sights, has a radius of several miles,
the periscope tube, of only four or five-inch diameter and painted of a
neutral tint, is not easily seen. If the sea is a little choppy it is
difficult to discover it with the naked eye at about 300 or 400 yards
away, or in a smooth sea at over 500 yards.
The idea that a submarine may be located by an aeroplane is looked upon
by Mr. Lake as a fallacy, except in water of crystal-like clearness,
like that of the Mediterranean or the Caribbean, and periscopes are now
being made to scour the heavens as well as the horizon, so that the
presence of an enemy aeroplane can easily be seen. An attack by an
aeroplane bomb, therefore, can readily be avoided, in view of the
difficulty of hitting such an object from the upper air.
The submarine is the guerrilla of the sea. Its tactics are like those of
the Indian who fights under cover or lies in ambush for his enemy. It is
the weaker party and can hope for success only through strategy. The old
adage that “all is fair in love and war” applies to this new weapon of
destruction as to every warlike instrument. It is its invisibility that
makes the submarine the terror of the seas. This has been well proved
during the European war. The North Sea and the English Channel have been
invaded by German submarines which have made great havoc among merchant
ships. And it is well to draw attention to the fact that submarines are
safe from each other. In no case has a battle taken place between two of
these armed sharks except in the one instance reported of an Austrian
sinking an Italian submarine. But in this case the Italian boat was on
the surface and was at the time practically a surface ship.
During the war the Germans were especially active in the use of the
submarine, and did much in making them an effective terror of the seas.
With no mercantile marine of their own to guard, they had a free field
for attack in the abundant shipping of their foes. The loss of ships was
so numerous and became such a common occurrence that little attention
was finally paid to them except when great loss of life took place, as
in the signal instance of the “Lusitania.”
[Illustration: TYPE OF HIGH SPEED OCEAN-GOING SUBMARINE]
The Voyage of the “Deutschland.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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