feet above the water's edge. Even in a light swell, considerable damage will be wrought to upperworks and the side will be dished by fenders. It was found during the war that fuel oil is of doubtful value in smoothing out the crests, it being too heavy; and for rescuing persons in the water it should not be used, as it seems to stupify those already weakened from exposure. Storm oil as sold commercially is very light but is not furnished destroyers. One destroyer commander tried out the commercial oil and reported that it was very effective, ten gallons being sufficient to ride out a severe storm. CHAPTER XXII. THE SUBMARINE CHASERS. Plate 168. One of the earliest naval projects of large scope undertaken by the United States following the declaration of war in 1917 was the laying down of a fleet of armed motor launches, known as Submarine Chasers. Four hundred and fifty of this class, all of a single design, were built, of which fifty were purchased and operated by the French Government. From any point of view, whether that of the marine architect, the naval officer, or the seaman, these boats represented a novel type of craft; and the history of their operations is one of the most interesting records of seamanship in maritime annals. The Chasers were originally conceived as "patrol boats." At the time the United States entered the World War the submarine menace had become the issue upon which the final outcome of the struggle appeared to balance. Anti-submarine tactics were essentially defensive in character, and depended upon the principle of establishing so close a surface patrol in selected areas that no submarine could expose itself without being subjected to immediate attack; or, at least, to having the information of its whereabouts immediately broadcasted by radio. By the time the chasers were beginning to be delivered such progress had been made in the development of submarine detection apparatus and in weapons for attacking submerged submarines that a solution to the problem of direct offensive action against submarines appeared to be in sight. All chasers that operated in the war zone were equipped and specially trained as submarine-hunting units, and the original conception as to their mission and manner of employment became radically changed. Instead of patrol launches, operating merely as lookouts and with no offensive power except under conditions in which the initiative rested with the submarine, they became an agent for the detection, chase and destruction of submarines in a wide area. The matter of present interest is not, however, the military effectiveness of the chaser, but the fact that these small vessels, conceived as launches, were called upon to fulfil the role of cruising ships. To the limit of their cruising radius they operated as seagoing vessels. All the problems of seamanship, of navigation, of interior organization and routine, to which the largest vessels are heir fell in their full weight to the lot of these ships in miniature. The weather was not tempered to their small size, nor was there any other class of vessel which showed a greater independence of it. A study of the material characteristics of the chasers discloses many features of interest, but an understanding of the personnel factor is necessary to a proper appreciation of the performance of these vessels. Broadly speaking, the chasers were manned by naval reserves with little or no seafaring experience. A few experienced regular officers were assigned as commanders of large detachments and for the most important staff duties. There were also a number of experienced seamen in the persons of yachtsmen, warrant officers, and enlisted men of the regular navy holding temporary commissions, scattered throughout the force, but the mass of the 9,000 or 10,000 personnel involved, both commissioned and enlisted, were raw recruits clerks, tradesmen, mechanics, professional men, college students, and men of leisure. Some of the boats leaving for the war zone faced a trip across the Atlantic in winter weather with not a man in the ship's company, from commanding officer to lowest enlisted rating, that had ever been off soundings. It would be not unworthy of remark had such a class of personnel succeeded only in maintaining operative seagoing vessels and in meeting the problems of existence through all the strange vicissitudes of a life at sea under conditions so severe. But this was only the beginning of their accomplishment. Their task included the operation of entirely novel and highly intricate apparatus in every department of ship activity, especially as regards the communication, ordnance, and main propelling equipment, and the conduct of a new system of tactical movements in which skilful efficiency represented the acme of professional naval seamanship. Material Features. The hull design of the chasers is generally regarded as involving radical departures from accepted principles heretofore applied in any type of power driven craft, whereas it is in fact one of the oldest designs in existence. It has been well described as that of a whaleboat with the stern cut off square at a point slightly forward of the overhang. The general appearance and arrangement of the boats are shown in Plate 168. Dimensions and Characteristics. Length over all, 110 ft. Breadth, extreme 14 ft. 8 in. Designed draft, forward, 4 ft. 4 in. Designed draft, aft, 5 ft. 10 in. Propelling machinery, 660 h.p., triple screws; 3 "Standard" Propelling Machinery. The original design contemplated twin screws with one 300 h.p. engine for each shaft. In order to obtain the large number of engines necessary within the time allowable it was necessary to adopt a commercial stock model, and the "Standard," 220 h.p., six cylinder, air starting and reversing type was decided upon as the most acceptable. This forced the use of triple screws. Although this arrangement was originally regarded rather as a choice of undesirables it proved on the whole to be a very advantageous feature, considering the special nature of the service performed by these vessels. The outstanding qualities of readiness and reliability exhibited by the chasers were due in large measure to the third engine installation. With the inexperienced character of personnel in charge of these complicated mechanisms and the difficulty in obtaining spare parts, the matter of repair and overhaul became of more than ordinary importance. As the boats could carry out all their principal functions under any two engines the third engine gave opportunity for overhaul of one engine at a time without leaving station. One of these vessels, while drifting, having lost her rudder, steamed to her base at full speed on various courses, using all engines, entered harbor, went alongside a wharf, cast off and went alongside a tender before a new rudder was obtained. The commanding officer reported that he "did not miss the rudder much." Towing Gear. The matter of towing arrangements was of peculiar importance in the chasers. The only practicable manner of transporting a large number of chasers across the Atlantic was to have them cross on their own bottoms; and in view of their cruising radius of 800 miles, a considerable period of towing for the purpose of fueling alone and irrespective of breakdown, was a necessity. It was also the expectation that the chasers, operating in groups of three boats under peculiarly hazardous conditions, would have frequent occasion to take each other in tow. The first gear devised for the purpose appeared reasonably adequate, but it was found so seriously defective that it was abandoned and replaced by a new design which proved very efficient. This consisted of a strap-iron bridle, of 2-inch x 1/2-inch iron, passed entirely around the boat, but spiked securely to the upper guard rail and secured at the bow by heavy through bolts passing through both parts. The ends at the bow terminated in heavy forged eyes of sufficient strength to be practically an integral part of the stem. A wire pendant of about 8 feet in length with an eye splice in outboard end was attached to these eyes by means of a swivel pelican hook. The pendant was very convenient in making fast the tow rope; when casting off by means of the pelican hook it of course remained attached to the tow rope and the chaser was obliged to retrieve it from the towing vessel. On each quarter, projecting aft beyond the sharp knuckle formed by the square stern, a solid eye was worked into the strap iron bridle. When the chaser became the towing vessel the tow line was secured to the bight of a chain bridle which hooked to these eyes. The feature of passing the strap iron bridle entirely around the chaser was required in order to protect the vessel's longitudinal strength, as it was frequently necessary to tow several chasers in tandem. The only serious defect in this arrangement was the destructive action of the iron strap, spiked to the guard rail, on fenders and mooring lines and the sides of other chasers lying alongside. Ventilation. One of the severest trials to which the crews of these boats were subjected was the gasoline fumes which permeated all living spaces to the extent, in a few instances, of causing serious cases of asphyxiation. The question of ventilation in vessels of this type has a serious aspect aside from its relation to the health and comfort of the personnel. The most serious danger to which the chasers were exposed was fire, originating in the ignition of gasoline vapor, or liquid gasoline floating in the engine room bilges. More chasers have been lost from this cause than from all other causes combined. A thorough study |