Submarine Warfare of To-day - How the Submarine Menace was Met and Vanquished, With - Descriptions of the Inventions and Devices Used, Fast - Boats, Mystery Ships
Project Gutenberg's Submarine Warfare of To-day, by Charles W. Domville-FifeThis eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and withalmost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away orre-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License includedwith this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.orgTitle: Submarine Warfare of To-dayHow the Submarine Menace was Met and Vanquished, WithDescriptions of the Inventions and Devices Used, FastBoats, Mystery ShipsAuthor: Charles W. Domville-FifeRelease Date: August 13, 2009 [EBook #29685]Language: English*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SUBMARINE WARFARE OF TO-DAY ***Produced by Emmy, Dave Morgan and the Online DistributedProofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file wasproduced from images generously made available by TheInternet Archive)CoverLinks to larger editions of some of the images were included to allow for seeing betterdetail. Clicking on the image will allow the reader access to these larger images.SUBMARINE WARFARE OF TO-DAYThe Surrender of the German Submarine FleetBritish Official PhotographTHE SURRENDER OF THE GERMAN SUBMARINE FLEETThe White Ensign is hoisted over the GermanEagle.SUBMARINE WARFAREOF TO-DAYHOW THE SUBMARINE MENACE WAS MET AND VANQUISHED,WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTIONS AND DEVICESUSED, FAST BOATS, MYSTERY SHIPS, NETS, AIRCRAFT,&c. &c., ALSO DESCRIBING THE SELECTIONAND TRAINING OF THE ENORMOUSPERSONNEL USED IN THIS NEWBRANCH OF ...
Project Gutenberg's Submarine Warfare of To-day, by Charles W. Domville-Fife
This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or
re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
Title: Submarine Warfare of To-day
How the Submarine Menace was Met and Vanquished, With
Descriptions of the Inventions and Devices Used, Fast
Boats, Mystery Ships
Author: Charles W. Domville-Fife
Release Date: August 13, 2009 [EBook #29685]
Language: English
*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK SUBMARINE WARFARE OF TO-DAY ***
Produced by Emmy, Dave Morgan and the Online Distributed
Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
produced from images generously made available by The
Internet Archive)
Cover
Links to larger editions of some of the images were included to allow for seeing better
detail. Clicking on the image will allow the reader access to these larger images.
SUBMARINE WARFARE OF TO-DAY
The Surrender of the German Submarine Fleet
British Official Photograph
THE SURRENDER OF THE GERMAN SUBMARINE FLEET
The White Ensign is hoisted over the German
Eagle.
SUBMARINE WARFARE
OF TO-DAY
HOW THE SUBMARINE MENACE WAS MET AND VANQUISHED,
WITH DESCRIPTIONS OF THE INVENTIONS AND DEVICES
USED, FAST BOATS, MYSTERY SHIPS, NETS, AIRCRAFT,
&c. &c., ALSO DESCRIBING THE SELECTION
AND TRAINING OF THE ENORMOUS
PERSONNEL USED IN THIS NEW
BRANCH OF THE NAVY
BYCHARLES W. DOMVILLE-FIFE
Lieut. R.N.V.R., late of the Staff of H.M. School of Submarine Mining
AUTHOR OF
"SUBMARINES & SEA POWER" "SUBMARINES OF THE WORLD'S NAVIES"
"SUBMARINE ENGINEERING OF TO-DAY" &c. &c. &c.
WITH 53 ILLUSTRATIONS
LONDON
SEELEY, SERVICE & CO. LIMITED
38 Great Russell Street
1920Science of To-Day
Series
NEW VOLUME
13. Submarine Warfare of To-Day.
B y C. W. Domville-Fife, Lieut., R.N.V.R., late of the Staff of H.M. School of Submarine Mining. Author of
"Submarines and Sea Power," "Submarines of the World's Navies," "Submarine Engineering of To-Day," &c.
&c. With many Illustrations and Diagrams. Extra Crown 8vo. 7s. 6d. nett.
ALREADY PUBLISHED
1. Electricity of To-Day.
By C. R. Gibson, f.r.s.e.
2. Astronomy of To-Day.
By Cecil G. Dolmage, m.a., d.c.l., ll.d., f.r.a.s.
3. Scientific Ideas of To-Day.
By C. R. Gibson.
4. Botany of To-Day.
By Professor G. F. Scott Elliot, m.a., b.sc.
6. Engineering of To-Day.
By T. W. Corbin.
7. Medical Science of To-Day.
By Willmott Evans, m.d.
8. Mechanical Inventions of To-Day.
By T. W. Corbin.
9. Photography of To-Day.
By H. Chapman Jones, f.i.c., f.c.s., f.r.p.s.
10. Submarine Engineering of To-Day.
By C. W. Domville-Fife.
11. Geology of To-Day.
By Professor J. W. Gregory, f.r.s.
12. Aircraft of To-Day.
By Charles C. Turner, Lieut., R.N.V.R.
Seeley, Service & Co., Ltd., 38 Great Russell St.
Dedicated
TO THE MEMORY OF
The late Lieut. WALTER PRICE, R.N.V.R.
A TRUE FRIEND AND A
GALLANT OFFICERAUTHOR'S NOTE
I desire simply to say that I commenced taking an active interest in submarines in 1904. I wrote my first book on the
subject, Submarines of the World's Navies, in 1910, and I have watched and written of the rise of these and kindred
weapons for the past fifteen years of rapid development in peace and war, finally taking a humble part in the defeat
of the great German submarine armada during the years 1914-1918.
C. D.-F.
1919.INTRODUCTION
While Great Britain remains an island, with dominion over palm and pine, it is to the sea that her four hundred
millions of people must look for the key to all that has been achieved in the past and all that the future promises in the
quickening dawn of a new era.
Not only over Great Britain alone, however, does the ocean cast its spell, for it is the free highway of the world,
sailed by the ships of all nations, without other hindrances than those of stormy nature, and navigated without
restriction from pole to pole by the seamen of all races. It was the international meeting-place, where ensigns were
"dipped" in friendly greeting, and since the dawn of history there has been a freemasonry of the sea which knew no
distinction of nation or creed.
When the call of humanity boomed across the dark, storm-tossed waters the answer came readily from beneath
whatever flag the sound was heard. But in August, 1914, there came a change, so dramatic, so sudden, that
maritime nations were stunned. Germany, in an excess of war fever, broke the sea laws, and laughed while women
and children drowned. Crime followed crime, and the great voice of the Republican West protested in unison with
that of the Imperial East. Still the Black Eagle laughed as it flew far and wide, carrying death to whomsoever came
within its shadow, regardless of race and sex.
But there was an avenger upon the seas, one who had been rocked in its cradle from time immemorial, and to
whom the world appealed to save the lives of their seamen. It sailed beneath the White Ensign and the Blue, and with
aid from France, Italy and Japan it fought by day and by night, in winter gale and snow, and in summer heat and fog,
in torrid zone and regions of perpetual ice to free the seas of the traitorous monster who had, in the twentieth century,
hoisted the black flag of piracy and murder. For three years this ceaseless war was waged, and then, with her
wonderful patience exhausted, the great sister nation of the mother tongue joined her fleets and armies with those of
the battle-worn Allies and peace came to a long-suffering world.
In that abyss of war there was romance sufficient for many generations of novelists and historians. Many were the
epic fights, unimportant in themselves, but which need only a Kingsley or a Stevenson to make them famous for all
time. So with the happenings to be described in this book, many of them historically unimportant compared with the
epoch-making events of which they formed a decimal part, but told in plain words; just records of romance on
England's sea frontier in the years 1914-1918.
Although jealous of any encroachment on the space available for the description of guerrilla war at sea, there are
many things which must first be said regarding the organisation and training of what may appropriately be termed the
"New Navy," which took the sea to combat the submarine and the mine; also of the novel weapons devised amid the
whirl of war for their use, protection and offensive power. Into this brief recital of the events leading to the real thing an
endeavour will be made to infuse the life and local colour, which, however, would be more appropriate in a personal
narrative than in a general description of anti-submarine warfare of to-day, but without which much that is essential
could not be written without dire risk of tiring the reader before the first few chapters had been passed.
The names of places and ships have necessarily been changed to avoid anything of a personal character, and all
references to existing or dead officers and men have been rigidly excluded as objectionable and unnecessary in a
book dealing entirely with events.
Many of the incidents described—written while the events stood out in clear, mental perspective—could no doubt
be duplicated and easily surpassed by many whose fortunes took them into zones of sea war during the historic
years just past. If such is found to be the case, then the object of this book has been accomplished, for it sets out to
tell, not of great epoch-making events, but of the organisation, men, ships, weapons and ordinary incidents of life in
what, for lack of a better term, has been called the "New Navy"—a production of the World War.
It may be that an apology is due for placing yet another war book before a war-weary public, but an effort has been
made to make of the following chapters a record of British maritime achievement, more than a narrative of sea
fighting, although to do this without introducing the human element, the arduous nature of the work, the monotony, the
danger and, finally, the compensating moments of excitement would have been to falsify the account and belittle the
achievement.
There are many books available, full of exciting stories of sea and land war, but no other, so far as the Author
knows, which describes in detail and in plain phraseology those important "little things"—liable to be overlooked
amid the whirl of war—which go to make an anti-submarine personnel, fleet and base, together with an account of
"how it was done."CONTENTS
CHAPTER PAGE
I. The Task of the Allied Navies 17
II. The New Navy—Training an Anti-Submarine Force 36
III. A Naval University in Time of War 47
IV. The New Fleets in Being 50
V. The Hydrophone and the Depth Charge 70
VI. Some Curious Weapons of Anti-Submarine Warfare 85
VII. Mystery Ships 96
VIII. A Typical War Base 102
IX. The Convoy System 116
X. The Mysteries of Submarine Hunting Explained 126
XI. The Mysteries of German Mine-Laying Explained 143
XII. The Mysteries of Minesweeping Explained 157
XIII. The Mine Barrage 179
XIV. Off to the Zones of War 187
XV. A Memorable Christmas 192
XVI. The Derelict 202
XVII. Mined-in 209
XVIII. The Casualty 220
XIX. How H.M. Trawler No. 6 Lost Her Refit 226
XX. The Raider 233
XXI. The S.O.S. 238
XXII. In the Shadow of a Big Sea Fight 248
XXIII. A Night Attack 258
XXIV. Mysteries of the Great Sea Wastes 264
XXV. From out the Clouds and the Under-seas 273
XXVI. On the Sea Flank of the Allied Armies 286
Index 301List of Illustrations
Surrender of the German Submarine Fleet Frontispiece
FACING
PAGE
Plan of a 55 feet Coastal Motor Boat 16
Large Heavily Armed German Submarine 32
Motor Launch Hulls being Constructed 56
A 40 feet Coastal Motor Boat at Full Speed 64
Another view of the same Boat at Full Speed 64
Dropping Depth Charges 80
Innocent-looking but Deadly 96
96Hidden Torpedo Tubes of H.M.S. Hyderabad
After-deck of the Hyderabad (before action) 104
104After-deck of the Hyderabad (prepared for action)
Mock Wheel and Compa