while tremendously effective, has not done away with the battleship as a
mighty element in the theory of sea power.

As to life on a submersible, let us construct from material which has
come to us from various sources in the past three years a little story
which will give a better knowledge of the workings of the German
undersea boat than many pages of technical description would do. An
undertaking of the sort will be the more valuable because we of the
Allies are inclined to consider the submarine problem only in relation
to our side of the case, whereas the fact is that the submarine operates
under great difficulties and dangers, and in an ever-increasing degree
leaves port never to be heard from again. We may, then, begin the
following chapter with a scene in Kiel, Zeebrugge, or any German
submarine base.

CHAPTER VI

On a German Submarine--Fight with a Destroyer--Periscope Hit--Record of
the Submarine in this War--Dawning Failure of the Undersea Boat--Figures
Issued by the British Admiralty--Proof of Decline--Our Navy's Part in
this Achievement

A first lieutenant with acting rank of commander takes the order in the
gray dawn of a February day. The hulk of an old corvette with the Iron
Cross of 1870 on her stubby foremast is his quarters in port, and on the
corvette's deck he is presently saluted by his first engineer and the
officer of the watch. On the pier the crew of the U-47-1/2 await him. At
their feet the narrow gray submarine lies alongside, straining a little
at her cables.

"Well, we've got our orders at last," begins the commander, addressing
his crew of thirty, and the crew look solemn. For this is the U-47-1/2's
first experience of active service. She has done nothing save trial
trips hitherto and has just been overhauled for her first fighting
cruise. Her commander snaps out a number of orders. Provisions are to be
taken "up to the neck." Fresh water is to be put aboard, and engine-room
supplies to be supplemented.

A mere plank is the gangway to the little vessel. As the commander,
followed by his officers, comes aboard, a sailor hands to each of the
officers a ball of cotton waste, the one article aboard a submarine
which never leaves an officer's hands. For of all oily, grimy, greasy
places the inside of the submarine is supreme. The steel walls, the
doors, the companion-ladders all sweat oil, and the hands must be wiped
dry at every touch. Through a narrow hole aft the commander d