Evening Republican, Volume 22, Number 229, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 September 1919 — Detector That Doomed the Hun U-Boat [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Detector That Doomed the Hun U-Boat

by Brewster S. Beach

Thaking for the “next war,” if in truth IIM/ I site is or ever will be capable of'carI I rying them out, it is certain that the ITT I submarine will play no part In her J schemes. The submarine Ts dead. The UXtfef boat peril has vanished forever, never — W to resurrected. T®HI HIJJ The collapse of submarine warfare IlMlftJl] during the closing months of the European conflict and the prediction that its resumption may never be seriously feared again, was the result of the invention In the United States of a wonderful listening device, tor submarine detector, which came very close to (driving the Hun submersible “from the ocean, and would have done so, in the opinion of naval experts, had the war continued through another grimmer. _ , ——— As soon as the United States entered the war the navy department formed a special board to ■develop ways and means for combuting -the U-boat peril, then growing to alarming proportions. This hoard consisted largely of officers from the trareau of steam engineering, of which Rear Admiral It, S. Griffin is chief. It ca»e<j te its assist»nw iiT=^m=s#vlsfU‘r'canacttwlimTtwnoted englfleets <tnd scientists from industrial concerns, including the General Electric company, represented by Dr. W. R. \Vhltney, director of that company's research laboratories. Commander C. S. McDowell, U. S. served as «xecutive secretary of the board, while the other advisory members were Col. F. B. Jewett of the "Western Electric company, and Prof. R. A. MUlitmn of the University of Chicago. Development headquarters were established at (New London. Cq.nn. The General Electric company in conjunction with the Submarine Signal company of Boston started an experimental field station at Nahant, Mass„. and were later joined by Out of the activities of these two groups of scientists there was developed the American listening device, an instrument which proved to be able successfully to detect submarines while submerged within range of anywhere between 3 and. 12 miles. Even with the signing of the peace treaty little can yet be known of the details of this device. It Is, however, an instrument using the principle of eound-wave transmission through water in a new and start iltg way and it depends for its di-rection-getting qualities on the peculiar and littleunderstood faculty of the human ear to detect the direction of sound by the shifting of sound from one ear to the other as the Instrument was revolved. As soon as the device was considered practical the General Electric company undertook its manufacture on a large scale la Lynn, Mass., developing three kinds of listeners: One which was hung overboard from, the deck of submarine chasers, another which could be trailed off the stern and a third which protruded through the hull of the vessel. American destroyers, chasers and submarines were at once equipped with the instrument. When the~ submarine detector had been turned out in sufficient quantity, the navy department beflieved that the allies should get the benefit of the llnvention at once. A special service party, in charge of Capt. R. 11. Leigh of the bureau of steam —(engineering, was formed to take samples of the ■Apparatus abroad and test it under actual conditions before the British admiralty. The instrument was likewise demonstrated to the French (and Italian navies. The party consisted, besides (Captain Leigh, of Lieutenant Carter, U. S. N.. Entslgn Welch, U." S. N. R. F., six enlisted men, C. E. Eveleth. a F. Scott, and T. P. Collins of the Genial Bleetric— company, rep resenting the Nahant group, and W. L. Nelson of the Western Electric icompany, who was connected with wireless development They sailed November 22, 1917, and Joined the British grand fleet at Scapa Flow in the Orkney Islands during the first week of the following i month. The admiralty and the supreme war council jshortly afterward adopted the American device 'and from that time on submarine patrol work was Defensive tactics which had been employed ;since 1914 were now no longer the sole reliance. ;The war was carried Into the enemy’s territory. ’Fighting ships, Instead of patrolling the steam(ship lanes looking for a stray “sub” to poke Its

periscope above the waves, were augmented by submarine chasers equipped with devices, and hunted the submarine in its underwater lair. Up to this time the British had been frankly disappointed in results. It had been a rare thing J for a submarine chaser to actually see a submarine. Days would go by without sight of one. ~ Ve» li In ,l " l1ll r ilv tbUHUBO creased' alarmingly and the rates of destruction and construction constantly approached the danger point., It was apparent that if an improvement in this situation could not he effected the allies faced privation, if not actual starvation, and any material help from America either in the form of men or supplies would be impossible. The success of the device is well illhstrated by the chart shown herewith which gives a vivid picture of the chase of an enemy U-boat in the English channel and demonstrated the ability of the listeners to keep hot on the trail of the submarine, doubling and crossing in an effort to escape. This dramatic incident —one of many—is vividly described in the following report of the engagement in question: “At 1:25 o’clock unit No. 6 •fixed’- (located by—triangulation) a submarine directly ahead at a distance of KK) yards) immediately carried out threeboat barrage attack, each boat letting go three stern charges and ‘Y’ gun. Pattern laid symmetrically, thoroughly covering any possible maneuver of the submarine. —Stopped and listened. No hearing for about 20 minutes. Then got contact. Distinct sound of submarine making noise as if shafts were badly bent. Also giving out squeaking sound. Submarine sounded as if having great difficulty in keeping propeller going. She’ stopped frequently. We followed. . . . Heard submarine hammering, squeaking, straining, running intermittently, apparently with great difficulty and for short periods. “The second depth charge of this attack threw Into the air a 50-foot to 60-foot cylindrical’black object about the size of a depth charge. , . . Another depth charge attack carried out. Submarine had gradtfelly been making shorter turns for some time.- ——. . Fi on this polnt on herieve submarine bottomed and was never able to move except to and scrape along the bottom a short distance. Noises indicated this.’* Word was then sent to Penzance for additional depth charges and a radio dispatched to the base for a destroyer post haste. “Subsequent events," continues the report, 4 “show that submarine never moved- from this spot Noises indicated repair. Occasional unsuccessful attempts to start motor . . . sounds rapidly becoming less frequent.” When morning came the submarine chasers and the destroyer which had been sent to their assistance gathered near the spot where the crippled submarine was resting at the bottom, 'fioupds of

feverish activity within the submarine’s hull were distinctly heard. Suddenly there was a dead silence. Then 25 rqyolver shots rang out —three first, followed by 22. “Taking into consideration all circumstances and events,” continues the account^ “conclude submarine damaged externally, unable to start motor after repeated attempts. Unable to rise to surface and is on bottom in the vicinity. Reports of listeners substantiate this conclusion.” ■ x £. As a matter of fact, the British naval intelligence department loarned later that the crew of a German submarine had been lost in the English channqj about this very time. The report, as they obtained it, indicated that the Hun boat had been trapped on the bottom and so seriously damaged she was unable to rise. C. S. Scott, engineer of the General Electric company" and member of the special party sent abroad, contributes this incidepLJwhicli happened IntheAdrtatic sea *. “We had 36 chasers based in a little bay on the island of Corfu and the barrage of boats extended across the Straits of Otranto, a distance of about 40 miles. The chasers were operated in units of thro" which on patrol kept about one mile units Conditions in the Adriatic were ideal for hunting submarines. The water was very deep, ranging from 400 to 600 fathoms, which meant that the submarines when hard pressed could not seek shallow water as was’their custom in the English channel and the North sea. Due to less shijtping traffic in these waters there was practically no sound interference, which made for very good listening. “Many successful attacks were made in these waters, one in particular being quite exciting. “One of the ships in a unit heard what sounded like a submarine. In a few minutes all three listeners had picked him up and the bearing of his course was being plotted. The middle chaser, the flagship, was getting readings showing that the submarine was in a direct line astern and steaming toward her. “The sound was very loud, as if the sub mlust be verjr close. Suddenly the water began to slap the bottom of the boat, so that everyone could feel it; and the next moment the observer reported that his bearing on the submarine had changed from 180 degrees, which was dead astern, to three degrees, which was on our bows. The submerged')' submarine had passed directly under the center boat. All three boats were immediately got under way and the attack was delivered. After all the depth charges had been dropped, the ships were' stopped and observations again taken. A propeller was heard to start up and ran for about 30 seconds; and then n crunching noise was heard. It was quite evident that the sub, having been put out of control, sank to the bottom and had collapsed due to the tremendous pressure at these depths. We went hack to the spot next morning and found an oil slick two miles long by 800 yards wide on the surface of ihe water."” The development of the submarine detector was the result of the foresighted vision of the navy department and the generous co-operation extended bjr private manufacturers who had placed their entire organizations at the disposal of the gov/emment for the period of the >wa*. Large electrical manufacturers with exceptional facilities for research and experimental work were able to render invaluable assistance In cracking the submarine “nut.” In fact, it may be said that “big business” In the commonly accepted meaning of the term, will be found to have contributed a very large share toward winning the war when the whole record of this war’s Inventions comes to be written. I.’’*”’ • *