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THE HONGKONG TELEGRAPH.......... MONDAY,
NOVEMBER 29, 1937.
To-day's Drama of the
High Seas
S
UBMARINE warfare- allent, invisible slaughter, piracy....
True enough, but pity the mon who carry out the piratical alaughter. For all we know, forty or fifty are slowly suño- cating hundreds of feet down on the bed of the Mediter- ranean after having attacked the British destroyer, Basilisk. Even the officers of Basilisk and the other destroyers called to the sceno to shatter the pirate do not know for certain whether their attack on the under-water craft has coeded.
SUC-
Bubmarines, their peril to ship- ping, the inhuman, cowardly form of attack that gives no little time and chance for reprisals, are one
the
main problems of all navies
of
of to-day.
This is what happens, when a submarine attacks A destroyer
carry the equipment installed
in
Basilisk.
on
First sign of the attack is gener- ally the wake of the torpedo, or the sight very dimeult to locate-oi. a periscope tip in the water.
Immediately,
operators rounding gear begin to laten for sounds of the submarine carried through the water. The hydro- phone of the last war was effective, but the new apparatus is infinitely more accumte.
It can obtain the direction of the submarine, Its approximate dis- tance and its direction of travel. Like direction-fading wireless, or the nose of a pointing dog, it can And immediately the accurate direction of the submarine.
Normally, two or perhaps three destroyers search for the under- water foe. As soon as 11s motors are heard, nil three "focus" their direction-finding equipment
her.
on
Rapid signals between the ships are exchanged, and the three separate direction lines are laid on
a chart, which give the precise position of the enemy.
Then,
while
the centre ship of the three destroyers stays in post- tion, the two outside ships steam in towards the direction of the sound. As they reach the point, a signal is given and depth charges -3001b. drams of high explosive-
To-day's Thought------ PROGRESSING even-more rapidly than civilisation itself are the implements for breaking up civilisation.
---MERRICK.
A British destroyer in the Mediterranean racing to help in the search for a submarino,
Chasing Submarines
are dropped over the sides, timed to explode at different depths.
Serious damage to the submarine is always obvious-patches of oll on the water or nir bubbles rising from her torn sides. This, though, is never conclusive.
It is not necessary for the depth charge actually to strike the vessel to sink her. As the charge ex- plodes. It sets up terrific pressure waves, in the nea, and these, striking the submarine. may do minor damage which will be just as effective as ripping open her sides.
One hundred feet below the surface of the ocean, the pressure on the sides of the submarine is terrific, and, if the explosion of a depth charge starts rivels slightly buckles her plates. the water is going to pour into the hull nt tremendous pressure.
or
Greatest danger and most dreadful death--comes from the sea water reaching the submarine's batteries. Under-water power for the ship is electrical, and an enor- of the hall space is mous part taken up with huge accumulators. Once the salt water reaches the sulphuric acid of the accumulators. It gives off chlorine, which means dreadful death to
to the crew. The effectiveness of the now depth charges used is another of "the"Admiralty's secrets:~~Damage: though, is almost sure to result if the submarine is within between
50 and 100 yards of the explosion.
ล
This article takes you aboard H.M.S. Basilisk, tells you how she would chase the mystery sub- marine which attacked her off the Spanish Coast.
Whether that damage will be sufficient to disable the craft is largely a matter of luck.
Apart from dropping the charge In the correct position, it must be Limed to explode at the correct depth.
is no cast-iron So far, there
aub- method of estimating the marine's depths: that depends on the intelligence and obserrance of the oicers.
First of all, when the submarine is sighted, or when it fires its tor- pedo, It must nécessairly be prac- ically on the surface-at periscope level, at least,
From that one known fact and a knowledge of the rough speed at which the craft can submerge, the officer commanding the destroyer can estimate the depths the sub- marine will have reached by the time he lets go his depth charges.
In certain waters--not the Mediterranean he is helped by a knowledge of the depth of the sen bed. The Mediterranean is so deep -that--ft-hardly-helps.-
A fuse at the end of the depth charge-a henvy tank affair. similar in appearance to a 10-
Between her work at the studio, Carole Lombard, Lin Sen, President of the Chinese Republic, is not screen star, is living a healthy life at her ranch in
where sho takes keen interest in ofien mentioned during the war. but he reinalns au im-
portant figure in the affairs of the country,
South Callfornia, horses, cows, chickens, pigs and geese. The ploture shows the cleess making preparations for a ride,
to
gallon oll-drum-can be set
lode the 300lb. of TN.T. at the required depth.
The usual ́altack” from a de-
troyer is five depth charges dropped to form a neat "pattern" round the submarine.
Generally five charges in all are dropped, three.from the ship it- nell and two which are thrown out some distance on either side by a small trench-mortar affair.
Only defence the submarine has is silence. She is completely in- visible to the searching destroyers.
their and they must rely on sclentine ears. If she can keep absolute allence, she may not be located.
But her dangers are still tre- mendous. If she shuts of her motora she can be sure that the destroyers already have some good idea of her position.
Besides, even with her engines cut out, there are still counds from the submerged "prison" that can be picked up by the sensitive sound detectors on the destroyers.
The hydroplanes which control her angle in the water can seldom be kept absolutely still, and, when they move they almost always squeak!
Engineers have worked for years to make the controls of a sub- marine absolutely silent so that "she can," when necessary,"le"quiet,
but they have not yet succeeded.
Even the volces of the crew can be heard under good conditions by the modern equipment; and the slightest sound may mean certain death to the crew of fifty.
The submarines are helped in their escape by their own hydro- phones. If they hear the search-. ing destroyers moving away from them, they will krep stationary. and then, quietly and gently, turn on their motors and creep away.
Should the sound of their move- ments result in any change of direction of the destroyera they will again attempt to lle allent until the search again moves away from them.
This system of escape, which needs the finest degree of judg- ment from the submarine officers, has been used by British sub- marines in recent practice man- œuvres and on occasion has re- sulted in the quarry escaping her hunters.
Once an attack has started. though, the chances are heavily agalant the Invisible ship. In the recent Mediterranean attack, the submarine, after firing the torpedu
nt
at destroyer Basilisk hind, however,
a good chance of escape.
Basilisk was operating on her own, which put her at an im- mediate disadvantage in securing 'Ax" on the submarine's position.
a
Not until the other destroyers arrived was it possible for them to securo a cross line bearing of any kind,
This open sea piracy is one of the most unpleasant, inhuman and treacherous forms of warfare; but spate & thought for the poor souls who, in cramped discomfort, can expect, hour by hour, the worst form of death.
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ARLY last month Briga- dier-General Lewin and his wife set out to fly over the African jungle from Khar- toum to Malakal,
One hundred and fifty miles from the nearest white settlement, in the heart of the Sud country, their single engine failed.
There was a sudden silence ex- cept for the throbbing of taut wires; the patchwork of pale and dark green came nearer and nearer, show- ing rushes, virli mosses, and swamp; "quick choice of landing ground; sound again--a breaking, tenring cound.
Then silence: Complete sllence. And a desolate country unknown to man.
The next nine days show
the efficiency and the Impotency of our civilisation. General Lewin and his wife were discovered by airplanes within a few hours; food was drop- ped from day to day; even i message was pleked up ruspended a yard or two from the ground,
How tantalising R must have been to have seen so clearly the pilot's encouraging but futile smile! Then to be alone agıln-quite along, ex- cept for encircling vultures high in a gunmetal sky.
THAT was the most that civilisation could do. They were rescued nine days later, thanks to the Dinkas, the most primi- tive of all tribes-one of the few pre- historic races existing to-day. A race of giants who sill walk naked. odles whitened with wood ash and their hair dyed golden: men whe pay for their wives with cattle, and keep tame snakes in their huts- the embodied souls of their onces- tors; men who can kill a Hon single- hunded their only weapon a home- made spear. T
For ages they have peacefully eattle in those watched over their endless marshes of the Sud. There you can see them-standing on one leg-silhouettes on the horizon, tall and still as the barren trees. Such, is this primitive race-kindly, brave. and benutiful-that for the first time in our history became front page news.
·66%AƑË·~· are dying-of-hunger
W
we have reaches the worst . scarcely does some one die thin he is devoured during the night by the survivors."
These despairing words are from the diary of Gessi-explorer, soldier of Gordon. They were writ- ten in 1880.
To-day you can make this journey up the Bahr-el-Chazal river in safe- ty, though after the first day you will probably wish you had never started.
For even now the discomfort is almost intolerable: the heat is of un over, but damp. At night, if you wish to avoid malarin, you must wear long boots and gloves, and sleep in what looks like a meat safe on the upper deck.
Not that you will get much sleep. for so narrow is this channel that grass brushes constantly papyrus against the mosquito netting and at ench hairpin corner the cockleshell steamer shudders from bank to bank.
D
URING four days you are enclosed by green walls which overhang the deck. During four days you creep through floating islands of papyrus, sheets of pale blue lotus flowers. and a tangled mass of rotting weeds,
"
Frequently further progress be- comes impossible; the boat seems hopelessly stranded. Then the crew must wade through the tepid water dive beneath the keel to tear away with their hands an accumulation of the godden vegetation.
beyond these high walls, of Dut green lie five hundred miles of un- explored country-Islands of weed that float in a swamp. This is the country which is known as the Sud.
THOUGH still unexplored t
is no longer undiscovered; you! can look down on it from the secure comfort of an Imperial Air- ways liner,
But howover excellent your lunch, however baffling the clues in your detective novel, you can but be con- aclous of the thinness of this parti- tion (it is about an eighth of an inch of corrugated steel) which separates your banal comforts from a life that has hardly changed since the world began.
Richard
Wyndham
EMPRESS OF ASIA leaves Hongkong EMPRESS OF RUSSIA leaves Hong Kong
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Air-conditioned equipment carried on Trans-Continental Train8. Frequent Canadian Pacife Atlantly saltings from Montreal and Quebec, down the smooth 81, Lawrence Seaway, te Europe.
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【助】
ACROSB
1 Suitable dwelling for Australian
cricket fans?
5 This helps sailor to weigh.
Just round about.
10 On this the orator speaks over
the heads of his audience.
11 This in a ring is splitting.
12 Imitating a sharp sound.
13 The end of this famous vessel is
not Imai,
16 One of the possible connections
between a sullor and the sea, 17.This animal heartless means a
TOW.
18 Warm material, for a girì to bọ
In.
20 A wordy tome.
23 Something to talk about.
20 Only half a rescue.
27 Able with favourite heart, 31 The kingdom of an actual num-
ber. 32 A bit of dinner. 33 Stamp.
34 Correct stort of 12 across from
the Zoo.
35 Very much. 36 Genuine.
ACROSS
1 Everything in the gardener's
friend makes for stability.
2 Moving me for the monarch
of extinct birds?
3" call ogre." (anag)
4 A'small barrel.
5 Should a sick porker
this?
cver
be
6 Dld this Turk once have a heart
of fire?
135
7 Trunk.
8 "Lame run" (anag.)
14 Tradesmen are trained to sing
about this,
25 Vebleke.
18 Crosa.
10 The period following the biggest
strike.
20 Self-inilleted feline defeat,
21 This act is rather a blow.
22 This had to be put in, although
it fan'll 24 Soothe.
25 A Joint affair with teeth in its
head.
28 Tree.
29 Ten is the middle of what is to
be,
30 Going In ends with a try. Baturday's Solution KURSAAL SHOTGUN NOTIES HARO ORDEREDE INGRA USOMEMO1NHAW TREADLE TENANCY
ULE ARROWE WILLOWHUE E S ORT
NGELAPELE MORGUERES A GETI
USRES TEAM2
E SPOUSE EBET DEMFANORBUS. IMPOSED-ILL NEN B (C DUR ER EN AR KO AN A TRACTORS LOYALTY
EVERYONE
WAIT
FOR-
Rober
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