The Submarine Torpedo Boat
Its Characteristics And Modern Development

30 THE SUBMARINE TORPEDO BOAT made with any certainty of scoring a hit is well within 1500 yards and probably not more than 800 yards. Many of the submarine experts take the stand that the submarine should be designed essentially as a surface boat, but one having the ability to navigate under water, and, therefore that the matter of submerged speed is of secondary impor- tance. This assumption is far from the trutli and has been conclusively shown to be so by the results of the German submarine attacks in the present European conflict, for the only successful attacks have been those made upon ships of slow speed or when cruising at from seven to eight knots an hour. While a submarine will probably never be able to attain the speed of a destroyer, it should be able to protect itself from this craft, its arch enemy, by superior maneuvering ability and quickness of action when submerged. A required speed would therefore be, for submerged running, at least that of the normal cruising speed of the battleship, say sixteen knots an hour, and for surface work a probable speed of from eighteen to twenty knots an hour to allow it to travel with the fleet as an auxiliary and component part. To submerge quickly, by that I mean to change from the normal surface running condition to the totally sub- merged condition, is extremely important, not only to get out of sight before being seen by an approaching ship, for should an enemy’s ship catch sight of a submarine it would immediately take warning and run away, but to afford protection to itself. It is quite probable that a destroyer cruising along at a normal speed and not smoking heavily will sight a submarine as soon if not before it is itself sighted, on account of the much more elevated station of the lookout and consequent increased range of vision.