The Maine skipper, in his red underclothes, besought, and then
cursed--while the German grinned the more broadly. Finally, however, the
irate--sic--skipper and his crew of five clambered into their dingy as
ordered by the commander of the submarine. And then! No sooner had the
schooner crew cleared the wind-jammer than the deck-load of lumber
resolved itself into a series of doors, and out of each door protruded a
gun. It was the last of that submarine, of course. The schooner got five
submarines before another submarine happened to witness the destruction
of a companion craft.
Next day when the schooner approached a submarine the undersea boat let
drive with a torpedo, and the joyous days of that particular wind-jammer
were at an end. But thereafter the Germans seldom tried to bomb a
sailing craft.
Airplanes have played their important part in the work of our navy in
combating the submarine. Seaplanes are sent on patrol from regular bases
or from the deck of a parent-vessel, a steamship of large size. Flying
at a height of 10,000 feet, an airplane operator can see the shadow of a
submarine proceeding beneath the surface. Thus viewing his prey, the
aviator descends and drops a depth-bomb into the water. Our airmen have
already won great commendation from the British Admiralty and aerial
commanders. Whatever may have been the delays in airplane production in
this country, the American Navy has not been at fault, and Secretary
Daniels's young men went into British seaplanes when American planes
were not at hand.
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