THE TERRORS IN THE DARK ROOM OF AN UNDERSEA BOAT
Imagine yourself locked in a compartment, barely large enough to stretch
yourself out straight, in a ship under the sea, in total darkness,
knowing that should any one of the hundreds of things within that ship
go wrong, it would mean a plunge to the bottom of the sea, beyond the
help of all human aid.
The danger to them was just as great while on the surface of the water,
for the guns mounted on most vessels at this time, would make the
submarine a legitimate prey. One shot would be sufficient, for ingenuity
has not yet found a way to quickly stop a leak in a submarine. Such a
vessel, when once struck, dare not dive, for that would quickly fill the
interior of the vessel with water.
It must, in that case, remain afloat, subject to the hail of shot which
must follow, their only salvation in that event would be to hoist the
white flag. Few, if any submarine commanders have done so, and even
should that occur, it would not prevent the hull from being riddled
before the fact could be made known. The three-inch guns mounted on
most of the merchantmen, with an effective range of three miles, could
tear the weak hull of a submarine to pieces at a single shot, and all
would be sure to go down before help could arrive from the attacking
steamer.
"The machinery seems to go very slow now," remarked Ralph.
"They may be cautiously coming to the top," replied the captain.
"Did you hear that peculiar noise?" said Alfred, as he laid his hand on
the captain's arm.
"That was plainly a shot from a ship," said the captain.
"Do you think we could hear firing through all this metal?" asked Ralph.
"Much easier than if we were on deck," answered the captain.
"Why do you think so?" asked Alfred.
"Because water is a better conductor of sound than air," was the reply.
"Do you mean that we can hear it better than if the sound came through
the air?" queried Alfred.
"The sound can be heard not only much plainer, but also much sooner than
through the air," answered the captain.
"I think we are going down again," remarked Ralph.
"No doubt of it," answered the captain quietly.
"Do you think they have hit us?" eagerly inquired Ralph.
The captain did not reply. Alfred reached his hand forward and grasped
the captain's hand. "You needn't fear to tell us if you think we are
going down for the last time."
"You are a brave boy!" said the captain. "I do not know what to answer.
I have never been on a submarine when it was struck by a bullet; but it
seemed to me as though something struck our shell, and if it did there
is no help for us, for the devils would gloat on our misery, and would
not think of liberating us, to give us a chance for our lives."
Fifteen minutes elapsed before the captain continued: "This gives me
some hope."
"What is it?" quickly inquired Ralph.
"We are still on an even keel," was the answer.
"Does that mean that we are safe?" asked Alfred.
"Yes, if the shell of the submarine had been pierced, and we were really
going down it would not be long before the hull would lose its equipoise
and turn around, or it might stand on end, due to the distribution of
water throughout the interior," was the reply.
"I understand now," said Alfred. "You think we are still floating, but
do you think we are on the surface?"
"We are, undoubtedly, submerged, for it is evident that the smooth
motion of the propeller comes from the electric motors and not from the
internal combustion engines, which are used solely while running on the
surface," remarked the captain.
After hours more of interminable waiting, they heard a noise close at
hand. With something like a snap the door opened and a flood of light
streamed into their compartment from the electric bulbs without, and,
looking up, they saw, at the ceiling of their room, a small electric
bulb.
"Why is it we didn't hunt for that?" whispered Ralph, looking up.
"But I can't see any way to turn it on," said Alfred.
"That lights only from the outside," said the attendant. "Here is
something to eat," he continued in English.
"What time is it?" asked the captain.
"Half past one o'clock," was the reply.
They had been in that cramped prison pen five hours.
"Did you torpedo another ship?" queried the captain.
"We tried to; but a torpedo boat destroyer came up too close," he
answered.
"How many shots did it fire?" asked Ralph.
"Two," was the laconic reply.
"How long have we been submerged?"
"Two hours," answered the man. "As I came down the report from the
periscope showed a clear sea, and we are now about to resume surface
travel and repair one of the periscopes."
The boys glanced at each other and at the captain.
"Yes," remarked the captain, "that was a pretty close call."
The attendant left them without closing the door, and as the prisoners
glanced about, nothing was to be seen of the stairway which led to the
conning tower. Men were noticed at work, each being stationed at some
particular machine or set of machinery. Then, with a bang, something
like a trap door swung aside and the stairway was revealed, and a
peculiar light streamed in through the hatch opening.
"It's the sun," said Ralph, in ecstacy.
"I never thought we'd see that again," said Alfred, almost overcome.
"May we walk around?" asked the captain, as he approached an under
officer.
"There isn't much chance for exercising here," was the reply, "but I
think you will be given top liberty after awhile," replied the man.
"Will they let us go?" asked Ralph eagerly.
"No; he didn't say that; he meant they would give us liberty to walk on
the top deck for a short time," replied the captain.
Shortly thereafter the lieutenant in command of the submarine appeared
at the foot of the hatchway and informed the captain that they were at
liberty to ascend. Never did the sun appear to be more beautiful or
inviting, although there was a perceptible chill in the atmosphere. The
submarine was moving along at a speed of twelve knots an hour. Four men
were engaged in taking down a bent and partially ruptured periscope
tube.
The captain glanced at it and drew the attention of the boys to its
structure. It was the tall periscope that received the shot, which
struck it about four feet from the top.
"It must have been hit on the water line," said the captain, addressing
the lieutenant.
The latter merely nodded, but made no remarks in response.
They were permitted to walk to and fro for an hour, when the order came
to descend, and they again entered their prison. As before, they were
subjected to total darkness, but there was no necessity for this
deprivation, and it is not clear why an enemy should treat prisoners in
this manner, for such actions necessarily leave only resentments and do
no good whatever.
It was a long, long, dreary afternoon and night, which they tried to
while away in sleeping, for conversation, under the circumstances, soon
became irksome. When they awoke, or, rather, when all were again alert
and felt as though the night must have passed, the captain was the first
to break the silence, as he said:
"We have been resting quietly for more than an hour, I should say,
probably lying in wait in one of the steamer lanes for new victims."
"Isn't it likely we are on the bottom of the ocean? Don't they go down
sometimes and wait there?" asked Ralph.
"Yes; but not in deep water, such as is found in this bay. At no place
is it less than 150 fathoms, and in the central portion, where our ship
went down it is more than 2,000 fathoms."
"Why, that's two miles deep, or more," said Alfred.
"Yes, the Bay of Biscay is one of the deep holes in the Atlantic coast
line of Europe. The average depth of the Irish Sea, St. George Channel,
the English Channel and the North Sea is only about 250 feet, and there
are thousands of places in the North Sea, particularly, like the Dogger
Banks, where the water is not more than a hundred feet deep," remarked
the captain.
"Then the submarines could easily rest on the bottom if the depth is not
more than one hundred feet?" asked Alfred.
"Submarines have, in several cases, gone down as far as 200 feet below
the surface, but it is at a great risk," said the captain.
"You mean risk from the pressure of the water?" said Ralph.
"Yes," was the reply.
"What would be the pressure of the water on a submarine at that depth?"
asked Alfred.
"Pressure is calculated on the square inch of surface; for every
twenty-eight inches the pressure is equal to one pound. If, therefore,
200 is multiplied by 12 and then divided by 28, the quotient will
represent the number of pounds on each square inch," answered the
captain.
"Why multiply 200 by twelve?" asked Ralph.
"Because there are twelve inches in a foot," said the captain.
"Oh, yes; I didn't happen to think of it; well, 200 by 12,--that's
2,400, and divided by 28, is----"
"Eighty-five," interrupted Alfred. "Well, that's not very much."
"Quite true," rejoined the captain; "but how many square inches are
there in a square foot?"
"One hundred and forty-four," replied Alfred.
"Then, eighty-five times one hundred and forty-four makes quite a sum,"
continued the captain.
"Whew,----" said Ralph with a half whistle in his tone, "why, if I have
made it out right, it's over 12,000 pounds. No wonder it isn't safe to
stay down very long, if at all, at that depth."
"I have often wondered how it is that the submarine could rest on the
bottom or come up at will," said Alfred.
"All submarines are lighter than the water in which they float,"
answered the captain. "They are provided with tanks holding compressed
air. Now, in order to submerge, the only thing necessary is to permit
enough water to flow into special tanks within the submarine, until the
combined weight of the water, hull and mechanism, is the same as the
amount of water that the ship displaces. If an added quantity of water
is now added, it will go down, and remain under water until the air in
the compressed tanks is used to force out a quantity of water from the
special tanks."
"But is that the only way they can go down?" asked Ralph.
"Oh, no; a submarine can submerge without doing that, but in such a case
power must be used," answered the captain.
"What! push it down by power?" asked Alfred.
"Exactly; these vessels have fins, the same as fish, so arranged that if
they are properly turned and the ship moves forward, it will dive, and
continue to go down at an angle as long as the fins are properly set. If
the vessel should stop moving the submarine would come to the top,
because it is lighter than the water," responded the captain.