temporary farewell, we made another good catch. We sighted a
broad-bottomed, four-masted steamer, also coming from America, laden
down, as we soon ascertained, with 5,000 tons of oats, and making its
way to Havre. We started after it, and as usual it tried to escape,
but a well-directed shot through the bridge and chart house brought it
to a stop, and it signaled that the engines were being reversed. The
boats were lowered, and on drawing near we perceived the captain with
others on the bridge holding up their hands as a token of surrender.
As soon as those on board had taken their places in the lifeboats they
rowed towards us and showed the liveliest interest in the final
torpedoing of their steamer. They looked upon it as a new kind of
sport, and under the present conditions they could watch the
performance in the most comfortable way. The sea was like a mirror,
and reflected the smiling spring sunshine whose warming rays were most
agreeably felt.
The English captain had scarcely been on board my submarine a moment
when he begged that we might go together and verify the excellent aim
of our first shot through the forward part of his ship, which he told
me had nearly grazed his ear. I consented to go on his lifeboat and
admire with him, to our mutual enjoyment, the irreproachable
marksmanship of my gunner, although I did not accept a drink of
whisky one of the English officers offered me.
On seeing the gaping hole in the forecastle, the captain and his men
clapped their hands and cried out, "A very good shot!" The captain
congratulated me for securing, as he asserted, the richest prize I had
ever made, but I assured him we had sunk even more valuable cargoes
than the present one. I decided, as the sea was calm and no ship was
in sight, to spare our torpedoes and shells and to put an end to the
steamer with little hand grenades. The Englishmen took a sportsmanlike
interest in the proceedings, and one of the officers even volunteered
to show me the most effective position for the explosive. I naturally
did not gratify his wish to place it there himself, for I knew myself
very accurately the most vulnerable spot in the ship. In a very few
moments a big hole was torn in the side of the "Crown of Castille" and
with a gurgling sound the waters rushed in. At the same time long,
yellow threads of the finest oats floated far out on the sea and,
glistening with a golden shimmer, gave proof long after the steamer
had sunk of the precious cargo which had lain within its flanks. You
poor French army horses, I fear your rations were cut short for a
while!
I had made an interesting study of the manner in which the English
crews of the present day were composed. Apart from the British
officers there were but few experienced seamen on board. This was made
evident by the awkward way the men usually handled the lifeboats. Even
with the enormous increase of wages, sailors could not be found to
risk their lives in the danger zone, and a lot of untrained fellows,
negroes and Chinamen, revealed by their clumsy rowing that they had
only recently been pressed into service.
Various other interesting incidents occurred on our return trip, which
I shall not mention now, but having safely reached our newly conquered
port of Ostend, we read to our amusement in a French paper that our
U-boat had been sunk in the Channel by a fleet of six fishing
steamers.
We were again warmly welcomed by our comrades from the Army and Navy,
all anxious to hear the news we had to tell, and we had the special
honor of a visit from H.R.H. the Crown Prince Rupprecht of Bavaria,
who, after inspecting our boat, permitted me to give him a detailed
account of our recent splendid cruise.
We had many other experiences during the quiet, warm, summer months,
with their long, clear nights, which enabled us to achieve the further
destruction of a large number of steamers. It was glorious to work in
fine weather on our U-boat on the waters of the Atlantic Ocean, so
peaceful at this season of the year, and so doing we indulged in much
friendly intercourse with the various fishermen we met.
Fishing steamers have replaced the old sailboats to a great extent,
and they represent an enormous fishing industry. Our larder was daily
replenished with fresh fish, which was a greatly appreciated item on
our monotonous bill of fare.
One windy evening in August, we captured a Belgian steamer bringing
home coal from Cardiff; the crew having left the ship, the latter was
rapidly sinking, when to our astonishment a man sprang on deck from
below. He had evidently been forgotten and our shot going through the
steamer had warned him of his danger. He hesitated to obey my repeated
orders to jump overboard, until finally encased in two life belts he
plunged into the water and began to swim; but the screw was still
slowly revolving, and he was drawn deep down by the suction of the
water. We had given him up as lost, when we were amazed to see him
reappear on the other side of the ship. The screw, which had slowly
pulled him down, had thrown him up again, and he swam towards us. A
big wave having tossed him onto our low deck, we were glad to find he
was unhurt, and we gave him the best of care. He was a Dutchman, and
after a fortnight spent in our midst, he was so happy he no longer
wished to leave us.
When it came to our sinking of the "Midland Queen" a similar incident
occurred. A negro had been forgotten by his white fellow-countrymen,
and on finding himself abandoned and alone he was so greatly scared
that he did not dare to leave the sinking ship; we watched him, and
beckoned to him to come to us; but he refused, and swore at us
furiously. Presently the "Midland Queen" pitched violently forward,
and stood nearly erect with her nose in the water; then with a shrill
whistling sound she dived below the surface of the waves. The negro's
black head vanished in the turmoil of the waters; then suddenly a
loud detonation occurred; an explosion of compressed air within the
ship threw up, sky-high, barrels and boards, and among them, to our
unbelieving eyes, we saw the wriggling body of the negro. He was
projected into the sea, and swam towards us, apparently none the worse
after this strange and violent experience. We rescued him and handed
him over to his mates, who had rowed back to his assistance.
On our return voyage through the North Sea we met a large sailboat,
with the Swedish flag flying from the topmast. She lay completely
becalmed, and signaled for us to draw near. We saw a large crowd
gathered on her deck, and we approached cautiously, fearing some trap;
when to our joyful surprise we found she had 150 German officers and
sailors on board. They belonged to one of our auxiliary cruisers, the
"Meteor." Her captain after many exploits had been pursued by several
English cruisers, and to save his little vessel from being captured he
had deliberately sent her to the bottom of the sea, and the Swedish
sailboat had picked up the crew. Our shipwrecked comrades told us they
were desperately hungry, but our own provisions were exhausted; so we
took them in tow, for not a breath of wind stirred the sails.
By clear sunshine we merrily covered the short distance to our nearest
port, and towards midday the sailing ship and ourselves let down our
anchors once more off the German coast.
VIII
THE METHOD OF SINKING AND RAISING SHIPS
During the present naval warfare we have had the opportunity to watch
the sinking of ships of every type and size; shortly after receiving
their death wound the vessels usually disappear totally beneath the
surface. It takes even big steamers only between four and ten minutes
to sink, after being hit by a torpedo or shell beneath the water line,
and yet occasionally a ship may float several hours before going down
to the bottom of the sea.
It is clearly evident that the slow or rapid sinking of a ship depends
on the distribution of its bulkheads and water-tight compartments. A
man-of-war, built on the latest models, has a great many small
water-tight compartments, for she is meant to be able to continue
fighting even after several of these compartments have been destroyed;
whereas, an ocean steamer is so constructed that she will remain
afloat only a short time after a collision with another ship, or if
she runs into an iceberg or a derelict, she can endure a certain
intake of water, and lists at a moderate angle far more readily than a
warship, whose guns are rendered nearly useless if the ship is heavily
canting. A warship must be built so as to withstand, without sinking,
the injury caused by a number of gun holes even beneath the water
line, where the inner part of the ship must necessarily be subdivided
into many parts. A warship is built at great cost, but so is an ocean
steamer. The sunken "Lusitania" was worth 35,000,000 marks (nearly
$9,000,000) and the mammoth steamers of the Hamburg-American Line, the
"Imperator," the "Vaterland," were still more expensive to build.
The ordinary commercial steamer often has in her inner construction
only athwartship bulkheads through the double bottom that run from one
side to another and form large partitions; and in proportion to her
height a steamer is again subdivided horizontally into several decks.
But these are not usually water-tight, and the cross bulkheads already
mentioned form the only water-tight divisions in the hold. In the big
cargo spaces, these divisions practically do not exist, and the ship,
throughout almost its whole interior, is open from keel to deck. This
arrangement, of course, facilitates the rapid loading and unloading of
the cargo; therefore, in this type of ship the engine rooms and
boilers, surrounded and protected by coal bunkers, are the only really
water-tight portions of the ship. Whoever has gazed down into the
capacious hold of such a steamer will readily understand that if the
water should pour into one of these spaces, at either end of the ship,
the other end of the vessel would rise steadily upwards. In nearly
every case, even the largest steamer, just before sinking, tilts
abruptly its bow or stern straight up out of the sea, until the water
rushing into the hold draws the vessel downwards, and with a mighty
roar it plunges forever into the deep. We have repeatedly noticed at
this moment that the air within the boat escapes with a shrill whistle
from every possible aperture, and the sound resembles the shriek of a
steam siren. This is a wonderful spectacle to behold!
The velocity with which a ship sinks depends on the size of the hold,
and its distance from the ship's center of gravity, for the suction
occurs more rapidly if the ship is struck at either end than if the
blow is delivered amidships.
We are seldom concerned with ships having empty holds; those we pursue
usually carry heavy cargoes, and therefore the water can only
penetrate within, where space and air exist; whatever air is left
around loosely packed bales and boxes must be driven out before the
water can stream in; certain exceptional cargoes, like wool and
cereals, absorb a given amount of water, but these can be discounted.
[Illustration: _Copyright by Underwood & Underwood, N.Y._
BRITISH HOSPITAL SHIP GLOUCESTER CASTLE, SHOWING RED CROSS ON
BOW, SUNK IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL BY A GERMAN SUBMARINE]
Accordingly the air must escape through existing holes, as the water
pouring in drives the air into the hold; the pressure with which the
water comes in is equal to the air pressure in the hold. It is quite
conceivable that a cargo may be so closely packed that there will be
no space left for air to escape, but this is hardly ever the case;
frequently, however, the cross-sections of the air vents are so small
that the air escapes only very slowly, and the water enters very
slowly in the same ratio; under these conditions it would take a long
time for a ship to sink. This undoubtedly is very desirable in peace
time, but in time of war this is not at all agreeable to our purpose;
first, if the foundering of the vessel is prolonged we are prevented
from accomplishing other work, and secondly, warships may come to the
assistance of a sinking steamer.
Whenever possible we found it expedient to break open with an axe big
holes in the lockers in case the hatch could not be quickly enough
removed; or, if circumstances did not permit of our doing this, we
shot holes with our cannon into the upper part of the steamer, above
the hold, so that the air might conveniently escape and the water rush
in. We employed, with excellent results, this method in the sinking of
many steamers which otherwise would have settled too slowly.
It happens sometimes that a ship may carry a cargo that floats and
that is not porous, such as wood. It is impossible to sink a vessel
with such a cargo by admitting water into the hold. Shots therefore
must be fired at the engine and boiler rooms to force this kind of a
steamer to sink. In general this is a safe rule to follow, for these
are always the most vulnerable portions of every heavily laden vessel,
and this mode of attack is nearly invariably successful.
A warship is usually equipped with cross or lateral bulkheads, in
addition to the longitudinal bulkhead that runs from stem to stern
through the middle of the ship, dividing it into halves, and other
bulkheads separate these two longitudinal sections into further
subdivisions. With the exception of the great fast passenger steamers,
these divisions by means of longitudinal bulkheads seldom exist on
vessels of commerce, although exceptions are to be found.
The sinking of a steamer with a multitude of partitions is effected by
its gradually listing more and more on the side in which the water is
penetrating, until it capsizes completely and founders with the keel
uppermost. A ship can also roll over on its side as it plunges
downwards with stem or stern erect.
Theoretically a vessel might sink on a parallel keel, descending
horizontally deeper and deeper into the sea; but it never occurs in
reality. This hypothesis assumes that a ship has taken in at the bow
exactly the same amount of water as at the stern, at exactly the same
distance from the center of gravity; this, of course, is impossible;
besides the holes through which the water is pouring in must also be
at precisely the same level, or else the water pressure would be
greater at one end than at the other, and the slightest alteration of
level would occasion a greater intake of water and upset the
equilibrium of the boat.
There is one other point I will touch upon; it has often been
asserted, especially in romances of the ocean, that as a ship sinks
the suction creates a tremendous whirlpool which engulfs all things in
its vicinity. This statement is naturally very much exaggerated.
People swimming about may be drawn down by the suction of the
foundering ship, but in my opinion no lifeboat which is well manned is
in danger of this whirlpool. Even old sailors, deluded by this
superstition, have rowed away in haste from a sinking ship, when they
might have stood by and saved many lives.
The question is now often being put, whether it will be possible to
raise the vessels that have been sunk during the war. The raising of a
ship depends above all upon whether the depth at which it lies is so
great that it precludes the work of a diver.
I have already stated that the water pressure augments at the rate of
one atmosphere (one kilogram to the square centimeter) to ten meters'
increase of depth. If a diver working at ten meters' depth is under a
pressure of one atmosphere, at fifty meters he will be under the
tremendous pressure of five atmospheres. This is the greatest depth to
which a diver can attain, and if by chance a diver has gone a few
meters beyond fifty meters, no man to my knowledge has attained sixty
meters. The work of divers at a depth of forty or fifty meters is even
then not very effective, as they are unable to perform heavy tasks,
nor can they remain more than half an hour at a time under such a
pressure, and I am speaking now only of experts; therefore only light
and easy work can be performed by most divers at a great depth and the
appliance of ponderous chains for lifting purposes can only be
accomplished under unusually favorable conditions. To raise any ship
at a depth above thirty meters must be considered as a very efficient
job, whereas if this is attempted at a depth below thirty meters it
can be done only by salvage companies where neither unfavorable bottom
obstacles nor currents intervene. A strong current renders a diver's
work impossible, for it carries him off his feet.
On the high seas the currents change with the ebb and flood. At the
precise moment of the turn of the tide the undercurrent is supposed to
be nil, and the diver must take advantage of this moment to perform
his task. Another difficulty arises from the sand being shifted by the
currents, and settling on the prominent parts of a wreck; it often
envelops them to such a degree that the ship becomes so deeply
embedded in the sand that it is no longer salvable.
According to my estimation eighty per cent of our enemy's sunken ships
lie from fifty to a hundred meters below the surface of the sea, so
that all possibility of their being raised is excluded. The largest
ships nowadays have a draft of less than ten meters, and as the
vessels sunk lie at far greater depths they are no source of danger to
shipping in time of peace. Of the remaining twenty per cent of sunken
ships half of them are unreclaimable, either owing to their position,
or owing to the high cost of salvage, or because it is not even known
where they lie. The other half or last ten per cent have probably for
the greater part been sunk in channels where the currents are so swift
that they are covered with sand, and diving enterprises are out of the
question. In time of war such work cannot be thought of; after the war
the ships will long since have been completely buried by the sand.
Maybe off the east coast of England one or two ships may be raised,
for they lie at a lesser depth and are exposed to slighter currents
than on the south coast of England, but in that district only the
smaller and more insignificant vessels have been sunk, and it would
hardly pay to raise them, especially as they are so damaged by
torpedoes and mines that they would probably fall apart on being
raised to the surface.
Therefore hardly a single ship will be salvaged, and the sea will
retain all those ships it has swallowed in the course of this war
carried on by all the nations of the earth.
THE END
The Riverside Press
CAMBRIDGE . MASSACHUSETTS
U . S . A
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ERRATUM
In Introduction, page xxi, line 6 from the bottom, for "1915" read
"1916."
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