not come back. The submarines that were engaged in
mine-laying also had an occasional successful fight with enemy ships.
Thus E34, while returning from a mine-laying expedition, made a clever
attack on an enemy submarine. The two ships were on the surface,
coming towards each other. The British submarine was the first to
sight the other. She dived and fired a torpedo, which struck the
German in the conning-tower. A violent explosion followed, and
afterwards there was nothing to be seen on the water save two objects,
one of which proved to be the German captain, who was saved, and the
other to be one of the crew, who sank.

It is the practice of the submarine to deliver its attack when below
the surface. There are, however, exceptions to this rule, as when the
attack is made on a dark night, when it would be impossible to
distinguish one's target through a periscope. Thus E52, of the
Harwich Flotilla, in November 1917, while co-operating with the Dover
Patrol, sighted an enemy submarine at about one o'clock in the
morning; she attacked the enemy on the surface, and fired two
torpedoes, both of which struck. The German sank, and only one
survivor was picked up.

And now and again it was bigger game that was brought down, as when
E8, of the Harwich Flotilla, at the time detached for service in the
Baltic, struck the German heavy cruiser _Prince Adalbert_ with a
torpedo at eight hundred yards range. The torpedo must have caused an
explosion in the German's magazine, for she was blown to pieces, and
the submarine had to dive to prevent the falling fragments from
injuring her.

Ingenious methods were employed by our submarines to entrap the
enemy's ships, and especially their submarines. The following plan,
for example, was successfully carried out by the Harwich submarines
until the Germans by chance discovered the trick and thenceforth
became more wary. The enticing of the Hun to his destruction was
effected in this manner. A disreputable old fishing vessel was sent
out to potter about the North Sea as if trawling for fish, thus
inviting the attack of the enemy. But the rope that was trailing
ostentatiously over her side was attached to no innocent trawl-beam,
but to one of our submarines, which she used to tow astern of her at a
depth of about sixty feet below the surface of the sea. The trawler
was commanded by a naval officer, and had a crew composed partly of
bluejackets and partly of trawler sailors. These trawler