Richmond times-dispatch. [volume], October 31, 1915, Image 46

About Richmond times-dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1914-current

Image provided by: Library of Virginia; Richmond, VA

                
1?1CLI MONO TI M KS-DISPATCH: SUNDAY, OCTOBER 31. 1915.
Can Hear and Locate a Submarine
way; the Nets That Catch It, Like a Fish
Bombs of the Submersible?
?6
?An I p-to-lhe-Minute French Soldier, Who Looks Very
Different Indeed from Any Other Soldier of Any
Other War. On Mis Head Is the Skull Cap of
Steel Which Protects Him from Glancing Shrapnel
And Bullets. Across His Chest, Protecting His
itnl Organ?, Is a Fairly Serviceable "Bullet
Proof" Cuirass. He Carries in His Hands Gren
ades, and Grenades of Another Type Are Fastened
About His Waist. His Revolver Is Siting from
Hip Left Wrist. Hanging Down His Back, Slung
from His Neck. Is His Respirator Mask, Which
Protects Him Against Poisonous Gases.
WIIK'MKVKIt side wins or whichever side loses
in 'ho groat war now being fought in the battle
(if'ds of Kurope, generals, admirals, wise gen
rirl stalls and even the fighting men will not l>" respon
sible for either victory or defeat. Victory or defeat
v. ill come from the laboratories of the scientists ot the
nations now struggling with e.tch other.
From tiie first It was apparent th:it tills war was to
be not only the greatest the world has ever known, but
thai it was to be fought on entirely different lines than
any other war. During the lorty year, of peace which
preceded the great conflict science had developed with
astonishing rapidity and ruled the world When peace
ended science stepped naturally m as the genius of
av;ir as it had been of peace.
Men became secondary?agents only to wield the de
? rueiivr forces that science put into their hands, or
"iiiiits" 10 Ijp destroyed hy otlu i destructive forces
w|ii.-h tlie science of their opponents directed against
1 tiejj,
Science put into the field poisonous gases, liquid fire.
r::-pliy\iai;ng bombs and shells, electrically charged do
ff uses which slay like lightning, new engine:, of war?
tlx gun-bearing, bomb-dropping, scouting aeroplanes
?nd the venomous submarines.
Moving done this, science necessarily iad to devise
imv.ns of combating Pie deadly things sin );;.<! invented
Vir* : o we now have the ;?:.:oni.>!ri,^ >?;,< < ta< I. of
M'icicf continually fighting science in the most cruelly
' ientjfjc war the world has ever known.
And therefore it is that for the hrst time, perhaps,
history generals, admirals and. as has been said,
' ?n the fighting men themselves arc .subordinate in
war they are waging. Not even Nelson standing
is bridge could have devised way?- to combat the
? rine. But a little palefaced, spectacled man who
not know onn naval gun from another, working
quiet of his laboratory, is the one to be called
devise ways to destroy the submarine,
en Napoleon could have gained vi. icy in the
ic poisonous gases, liquid fire and the asphyxi
ts. Put a .sioopcd-.shouldercd, weak-eyed little
' v ho would collapse at the first sound of the
he one to be called upon to devise defenses
nd liquid flames, and perhaps invent far
r ''' ' * in retaliation.
x : war on land and 30a are not ihe ones that
lli?? nations call now lo dptcnd (Item or to destroy their
pnemles. It Is the expert who Is consulted. and of
whose discoveries and inventions the men of war are
equally the servants and the prey.
And at any moment, from one laboratory or another,
may come a discovery or invention which will he so far
in advance of anything now being employed in the way
of offensive or defensive equipment that the war will
bp hroupht to a speedy conclusion.
Certainly ar. sensationally scientific as anything the
?ar has brought forth has been the submarine as it
has been used by Germany in her warfare against Eng
land. Germany's avowed intention was to cut off Eng
land from the rest of the world by a ring of lmder
b"r boats thrown around the islands, sinking every
\essel that they could, and. if possible, starving out
the entire population of Great Britain.
At first it*seemed as though Germany had a fair
chance to succeed. The battleships, the destroyers and
nil the complex assortment of Sighting ships that go lo
make up a navy were more or less helpless.
Then science, which hail created the submarine to
destroy, began to seek means to destroy the submarine.
II Is certain that within the last six months front
seventy to eighty of Germany's I-boats as these under
sea rovers are called, have been destroyed by means
of various devices which the scientists of the allies
have found and put into practise. These devices are
many- the steel nets which catch the submarines like
fish, the final inn obstructions, the mines, but the most
scientific of all and the most efficient is a little elec
trical device which can be carried in one's hand and
which has been described for t'tis newspaper by Pr.
William Dubillier. an American electrical engineer. who
has attained great scientific distinction through his
achievements in wi relets research, whose aid v.as
sought by the allies to perfect the instrument in ques
tion and who has just returned to America after in
stalling the device along ihe coasts of France and of
England.
This device is known as the "submarine detector."
lis object i.s to discover the approach of a submarine
and to locate it definitely. 11 i.<, in fact, a mechanical
ear which catches and magnifies sounds cr vibratiojis
that the human ear cannot catch. In its present state of
development it can "hear" over an area of twenty-five
miles, but it is quite probable that before long the
approach of a submarine one hundred miles away may
be definitely revealed and Us exact location fixed by
this mechanism.
What Makes the "Detector" Possible
The submarine detector Is made possible by the fact
that every onjeel in motion sends forth, by its vibra
tions, a definite and dominant note. This note is the
sum total of all the factors which contribute to the
vibrations. An instance will make this clear. If you
li\o near a railroad you will notice that every train
has its distinctive "rush and roar" as it approaches
and passes the head of your street. Tills roar or note
is made up of every particle o? the train?the lo
comotive. the cars, the wheels?while it is ener
gized and in motion. This sound is developed and
modified by the rai's, the character of the roadbed, tho
character of the country, and even the structure and
height of the buildings which are proximate to the
moving train. The express has one sound, the local
another, the first milk train another and the second
milk train still another. Every trolley car has its own
distinctive, dominant note.
Objects? such as vessels moving in water each has
its own dominant note. Among the vessels the. sub
marine's compound of vibrations lias a very dis
tinctive note and these vibrations ex tat even when the
submarine is deeply submerged. They are carried by
the water, which carries sound far more clearly and
easier than air, to a great distance.
These sounds the submarine detector gathers In,
magnifies and transmits to the ear of the listener
How the submarine is located after it Is heard will be
told later.
As has been snld. the principle upon which the
"detector" works is very simple and is merely that a
ve:-sel in motion transmits sound waves through the
water which circulate in all directions.
Ear more sensitive than the human ear drum, how
ever. is the ordinary microphone which is used in the
transmitter of a telephone and which constitutes the
basis of (he detector. A noise which would be inaudible
to the human ear because too far away would readily
set up vibrations in a microphone much further away
than the human ear.
in connexion wiih the microphone as used In the
detector, however, is another remarkable electrical de
vice. known as the !>e Forest audion. which amplifies
the sound waves communicated (o the microphone no
less than 10,000 times!
The mechanism oi the detector consists primarily of
a microphone enclosed in a cylindrical cast-steel casing
about twelve inches Ions, which it-- attached to a sta
tionary steel rod twenty feet below (he surface of the
water.
The front of this casing consists of a diaphragm of
steel about ono-thlrty-second of an inch thick, which
vibrates ar. a result of .sound waves transmitted at any
poin( within a radius of twenty-five miles. The vibra
tlon of this diaphragm sets up a vibration In another
and parallel diaphragm fronting a resonance tube, and
that vibrating diaphragm In turn transmits the Bound
wave to a third diaphragm, which cun-les It to the
diaphragm of the microphone. The microphone con
verts the vibration Into electrical energy and transmits
It through elcctrlcal wires to the audlon located In the
station above, which amplifies It 10.000 times and repro
duces It. In the form of sound. In the diaphragm of the
receiving instrument held constantly to the ear of the
operator lu charge.
These "listening stations," for that Is what thev
amount to. are about five miles apart. As soon as a
submarine comes within twenty-five mile? of the first
station. Its approach Is at once revealed to the operator
In charge through a receiver which he holds constantly
to his ear like a teHephone operator.
By experiments conducted by Dr. Duhelller and his
associates, the characteristic vibrations we note of
every type of vessel has been standardized. To the
operator on watch, w ho has "tuned in" and picked up a
submarine, for instance, the sound is that of n shrill
whistle. The sound wave of a torpedo-boat destroyer,
again. Is longer and. therefore. Its musical note is much
lower in the scale. The sound-wave of an ordinary
steamship is longer still, and the noise produced In the
detector is that of a deep bass note.
Having "picked up" a vessel in the offing nnd defin
itely ascertained by its characteristic note that it is a
submarine, the next thing tor the operator to do Is tn
locate it so that one or more of the various means oX
submarine attack may be put In motion.
The first sten is to notify the operator tn charge of
the next station to try to "pick up" the oncoming sub
marine. or, in other words, to "tune in'' or listen most
attentively for the first faint notes of its characteristic
whistle.
As soon as two stations have definitely "picked up"
the submarine, the problem of ascertaining the sub
marine's exact location, its direction and its rate of
speed becomes a very simple mathematical problem.
The "detector" can be turned in any direction by the
operator. As soon as he "picks up" a submarine, there
fore. he turns the detector in variuun directions until
he gets the loudest noise, an indication that the sub
marine is then in direct line. Having obtained that
angle of direction, and the operator at the next station
having in a similar way obtained the ans;le of direction
from his station, the known distance between the two
stations makes it a simple matter to complete and
measure the triangle, the apex of which represents the
submarine.
In less time than It takes to tell, an aeroplane is
dispatched to the point indicated and a bomb, dropped
on the submerged submarine, or, if this is not feasible,
a flotilla of speedy motor boats, armed with two-Inch
guns. is.sent after the submarine to trail it and either
destroy it when It comes to the surface or drive it into
the specially-devised nets which have been installed in
the English Channel and whu h will hereafter be
described.
So far It has been possible to use the detector only
at land stations. Its maximum of usefulness will not
be attained, of course, until it can be carried and ope
rated from every battleship as well, but so far the scien
tists have been unable to overcome the obstacle pre
sented on vessels by the noise and vibration of the
vessels themselves.
How the "Mechanical Ear"
Has Crashed Submarine War
As It Is, however, the "detector" has accomplished
wonders. A glance at the map of Europe will show
that there are only two ways by wftich German sub
marines can reach the Atlantic Ocean and the sea lanes
traversed by the bulk of England's maritime commerce.
One is to the south of England by way of the English
Channel and the other Is to the north of Scotland
through tlie-North Sea. either between the Orkney and
Shetland Islands or north of the latter.
The most direct route, of course, is the former. That
avenue has now been absolutely closed to Germany by
means of the "submarine detector." The passageway
to the north still remains open, but here too the won
derful little instrument has been used to good purpose.
It has been installed on the Orkney and Shetland Islands
and no hostile submarine can now safely pass between
them, and It has so narrowed the passageway between
the Shetland Islands and the Danish coast that the al
lies' patrol boats have now but a very restricted area to
cover.
It has been asked how an aeroplane can destroy a
submerged ?.submarine, the point being made that a
bomb dropped from the air would strike the water with
such force that the impact would be sufficient to ex
plode the bomb on the surface before it ever reached
the submarine, perhaps thirty or forty feet below.
"There Is little difficulty in that direction." Dr. Du
billt. r explained. "In the first place, the explosion of a
powerful bomb on the surface of the water would prob
ably be sufficient in itself to crush a submarine as if
it were an eggshell, even though It were submerged
thirty or forty feet below the surface.
"Hut, as <e matter of fact, they are using In Europe
a specially constructed bomb, which is designed to over
come the very condition referred to, and It works
splendidly. This bomb If pear-shaped. and falls with
the more bulky end downward. The lower end of th<?
bomb is provided with a cap or nose, which unscrews
when It strikes the water and exposoe a needle or per
cussion pin. The bomb cannot explode utiiil that per
cussion pin Is struck a heavy blow such as follows
from contact with ? heavy object The bomb Is
equipped with fins, which carry It downward through
the water at n greut speed and cause It to strike what ^
ever It encounters with great force.
"The principal reliance of the allies In guarding thp
English Channel against hostile submarines, after they ^
have been located. Is a fleet of speedy motor boats armed
with 2-Inch guns. Ab soon as a submerged submarine
has been located by means of the "detector" a flotilla of
the-je boats Is sent out to trail the intruder until it
comes up for air or to generate energy for lt? storage
battery, or is driven Into one of the nets which have
been strung across the Channel at various points.
"Jt might be explained here that a submarine Is pro
pelled while on ?lie surface by an internal combustlou
engine, hut while submerged it receives its power from
a storage battery, which is charged by the combustion
engine when the boat is above the water.
"When a submarine's storage battery runs out. there
fore, tlie vessel must eith? r remain motion! : s he
neath the water or come up to replenish the battery
by means of its internal combustion ?ngfne In the
(its' event the motor boats have only to wait, and in the.
second event ihev can tnak." short work of the sub
marine with I heir 2-inch projectiles.
How Submarines Are "Netted" Like Fish
"The nets which have been referred to as guarding
the Channel are attached to floating buoys, which pre
more or less stationary. While they do no* completely
close the Channel to submarine navigation, the open
ings or passageways in the net? are known only to the
Admiralty otfieinls. and it is impossible for a submarine
to navigate the Channel -.afeiv without the aid of an
Admiralty pilot, who knows just where the openings .ire.
"Capturing a submarine which has become en-narcd
in one of the Channel nets is a very simple matter. The
nets are made of s'eel and ah.o of rope abo it one and a
hall inches thick. If a piece of this rope gets around
a submarine's propeller, the submarine Is doomed, even
though the vessel succeed in extricating itself from the
net.
"As a matter of fact, howpfer. the vessel usually re
mains in the net like a fly in a spider's web. the fact be
ing made known.to 'he Allies' petrol boats by the con
sequent disarrangement of the surface-buoys from
which the netting is suspended."
Another way of netting ?he submarine, quite different
from that practiced in the channel. Is being carried on in
the open sea. The submarine's great weakness is its
dependence for sight upon its periscope. The greatest
range of the periscope when it is running flush with the
surface Is about eleven miles. There are all about the
submarine ^one a number of swift destroyers. As these
boats ride higher In the water, the lookout can see a suh
marine much further ofT than the submarine can see the
boats. It would be impossible, however, for the de
stroyers to creep up on the submarine into effective
firing distance without being seen.
The destroyers, do not try tc. instead, they carry
strong steel nets with meshes about twenty feet apart.
These nets are attached to buoys, and when the sub
marine Is sighted its course is at once charted. The de
stroyers, working in pairs, then carefully steam around
the submarine toward the point where it is bound, being
careful to keep out of range of the periscope eye. When
they reach a certain distance ahead of the course the.
undersea boat is plainly following, the nets, which have
been suspended from special booms between the two
vessels, are dropped.
By the time the undersea hoat gets to the place where
the nets have been dropped the weight of the wire has
carried the nets down to about the depth that the sub
marine Is travelling. The undersea boat runs Into them,
and. Inextricably tangled, turns turtle and sinks. Of
course, the submarine .will somelimes change Its course,
and In that case the destroyers patiently chart the new
course and throw over still other nets.
Diagram
Illustrating the
Mechanism
of the
Microphone
Portion of the
"Submarine
Detector.'*
PiEEC T i ^
P-OD
iHI.Of SONUNCf
, lusr
v.; s i
:a- t.tcr.t.o
WIT" t.'F
?rcf ivinc,
>PASfc 1 US
How Color and Optical Effects Are Used to Lure, to
Ambush and to Protect
T ATURE uses many ruses 'o protect its creatureG.
" protective roloralion A large number of ani
mals whleh?infest 'ho jungle, for instance, arc colored
and patterned in sifbh a way that !.h??y naturally blend
with the landscape and thus escape the observation of
their enemies. This is true also of many birds, flsh,
reptiles and insert ?.
.Science lias taken !'.s cue from nature in thin re
spect in many of the ruvrs which it has introduced into
the present war in Europe. A* has been explained
elsewhere on this nage, science is playing an important,
although Inconspicuous?, part in the conduct 01' the great
conflict. and one of the directions in which u has proved
most valuable is in devising new color and optical ef
fects to confound the enemy.
Both on sfa and land, the employment of such ruses
has proven very effective on both sides. Obsolete mer
chant vessels have, been rigged up and painted to re
semble war vessels with varying purposes. In the first
One of the most common among wild animals is
place, (hoy have boon used as decoys (o invite attack
from enemy submarines in the event of which a supe
rior naval force in immediately notified by wireless and
rapidly brought to the scene, and, in the second place,
these vessels have been used as "scare crows" to
frighten off approaching enemy vessels.
Karly In the war, for instance, the German cruiser
Emden accomplished a most spectacular feat by adding
an extra funnel and making various other changes In
its general appearance so that it very closely resembled
a Japanese war vessel. Under this guise, it calmly
sailed into an Asiatic port and before the deception
was noticed destroyed a French and a Russian war
vessel and made its escape unscathed.
The English navy has used similar ruses with great
effect against German submarines. The principal ob
stacle in the way of meetiiv# the submarine menace, of
course, lies in locating these vessels, and to induce
them to come to the surface England has tried various
plan$.
One of the. cleverest was suggested by an English
scientist who has made a particular study of color and
optical efforts. A British battleship was so painted and
its sky line so disguised that at a distance of severnl
miles it would readily be mistaken for a merchant ves
sel. In this way enemy submarines were lured Into
coming within range of Its big guns long before they
discovered the trap into which they were headed.
On land, tho effects of color and form have proveu
of even greater value. The Germans gave us the first
indications of their reliance upon this phase of modern
warfare by clothing their men In a light-green uniform,
whoso color easily blended with the prevailing land
scape, and tho French soon followed their adversary's
example by abandoning their traditional red trousers
and dark blue tunics for a uniform of sky blue.
These things are of particular importance, in view
of the vitally important part which tho aeroplane scout
is playing in the war. To keep out of range of tho
-ntl-aircraft guns, these scouts, who besides spying upon
A Diagram Must
an Un
the enemy's movemei
the gun-fire during er
paratively great hefg'
To confuse the ei
of the country, and t*
munitions and the lot
portance, and the scl
been repeatedly call
these lines.
To render valuele
enemy, whole forests
localities, and famon
and reconstructed on
covered so that to t
above they resemble
and streams his map
Flylrtg at a comp
very distorted