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Title (Dublin Core)
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Kite balloon
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Article Title and/or Image Caption (Dublin Core)
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Title: Undersea wolves are lurking for the attack, but the dogs of war are ready for them
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Caption: High up in the air, towed by a ship, they watch for submarines
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extracted text (Extract Text)
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WHEN Germany, shortly after the
beginning of the world war, en-
tered upon an intensive subma-
rine warfare against all shipping belonging
to the Entente Allies, the U-boat was a
comparatively new and untried weapon.
Step by step the submarine was de-
veloped into a most formidable fighting
machine. Size, speed, dirigibility and
radius of action were steadily increased.
The U-boats became more efficient and
dangerous, and the list of their victims
increased at an alarming rate.
To meet this critical situation, to com-
bat this lurking and elusive monster of
the deep which played havoc with the
shipping of enemies and neutrals alike,
something, some method, had to be de-
vised. It is not surprising that under
the stimulus of urgent necessity the in-
ventors of the Entente nations concen-
trated their efforts upon this vital subject
and fairly overwhelmed their governments
with an avalanche of ideas and sugges-
tions for protecting ships against sub-
marine attacks and for conducting war
against the U-boats.
A few of these suggestions were clever
and so promising of success that the
naval authorities of the Entente countries
gave them a trial. But, after many
months of experimenting it was found
that the only effective method of protect-
ing transports and supply ships on their
way through the danger zone consisted
in convoying them by swift and mobile
warships. One of the pictures which
accompany this article gives an excellent
illustration of this method in its most up-
to-date development.
How the Procession Steams Along
The convoy is led by a torpedo-boat
destroyer acting as a scout. It is followed
by a light cruiser, which serves as flag-
ship. Next comes a torpedo boat towing
a kite balloon. Then follow the trans-
ports or merchantmen of the convoy in
echelon formation, that is, each ship
steams in the wake of its leader. There
are two of these lines or echelons of
merchantmen, separated by an echelon of
trawlers and protected on the outer side
by similar echelons of trawlers. De-
stroyers, steaming in a zig-zag course,
form the flank of the convoy. The rear
guard of the convoy consists of another
torpedo boat towing a kite balloon.
These kite balloons are, as a matter of
fact, one of the most important if not the
most important feature of the convoy
system. They are the far-seeing eyes of
the sea caravan. From the deck of a
ship it is extremely difficult to
detect the presence of a sub-
marine submerged so that
only the periscope is
above the surface. But
from a balloon, towed
at a height of five
hundred to fifteen
hundred feet, it is
possible, not only to
survey a much larger
area, but to see sub-
marines which are
submerged or resting
upon the bottom of
the sea at a depth of
fifty or sixty feet.
Captive balloons
were first used during
our Civil War. In
modern times the
Japanese employed
them with good effect
in the siege of Port
Arthur. The kite balloons used nowadays
are of an approximately cylindrical form,
rigged much like an ordinary kite. The
harness, to which the towing cable is
attached, is so arranged that the balloon
cylinder always maintains an inclined
position in the teeth of the wind. Sus-
pended from the balloon is a basket which
usually contains one or two observers and
the necessary instruments, maps, ete.
The observer is in telephonic connection
with the ship towing him, and the ob-
servations reported by him are communi-
cated to the flagship and the rest of the
convoy. To keep the balloon well in the
wind and to steady it, a tail of five or six
small parachutes is attached to the lower
end of the balloon. These balloons may
be used in a moderate breeze, but cannot
safely be “flown” in a wind of more than
forty miles an hour. Only under the most
favorable conditions can these balloons be
towed at a height of 1,500 feet or more.
From his place in the basket, perhaps a
thousand feet above the ocean, the ob-
server commands a most wonderful view
of the watery expanse. As far as the eye
can reach the restless, ever changing
ocean spreads out far beneath him. But
he is not up there to admire the view, to
study the picturesque beauty of the sea
in its varying moods. His eye is glued to
the powerful telescope or binocular
with which he scans the wide ex-
panse around him for any sign
of danger. When the air is
clear and the wind not too
strong his task is com-
paratively pleasant.
But, when the wind
reaches the forty-mile
limit, when it comes
in gusts and is ac-
companied, per-
chance, by a heavy
downpour of rain, the
observer's position
becomes decidedly
uncomfortable. The
basket swings most
distressingly, making
the taking of observa-
tions extremely diffi-
cult and the driving
rain adds to the dis-
comfort of the ob-
server.
The physical and mental strain con-
nected with the work of the observer is
tremendous. He realizes his responsibili-
ties and concentrates every faculty upon
the task entrusted to him. The sight of a
periscope or other evidence of the presence
of a hostile submarine comes to him
almost like a welcome relief from the
terrific tension of the incessant search.
After a glance at the compass before him
the observer reports by telephone the
exact direction in which the submarine
craft was seen and its approximate
distance from the convoy. A few mo-
ments later the report is flashed to the
flagship and the destroyers and the
necessary orders are given.
The Slow Ships Hold Back the Fleet
The convoy system has proved to be
the most efficient protective measure
against German submarines evolved so
far, but it also has its disadvantages.
Transports and heavily loaded freighters
are necessarily slow. When such slow
going ships form part of the convoy, the
other, faster ships must adapt their speed
to that of the slower craft, as the forma-
tion of the convoy must be maintained
intact. This makes the
progress of a convoy
often extremely slow.
When the system was
first introduced fast
ships, weary of the slow
progress of the convoy,
would break out of the
line at the first oppor-
tunity and perhaps fall
a prey to a prowling
submarine. Since then
skippers have become
cautious. They have
learned their lesson.
Unnecessarily to re-
tard the progress of a
ship capable of making
greater speed is a waste
of shipping facilities the”
Allies can ill afford at the
present time. It would
be a good plan to form
convoys, whenever pos-
sible, of ships of approxi-
mately the same speed.
More recently the
convoy system has been
made safer by the ad-
dition of the smoke
screen.
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Contributor (Dublin Core)
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Ernest Welleck (writer)
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Language (Dublin Core)
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eng
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Date Issued (Dublin Core)
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1918-08
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pages (Bibliographic Ontology)
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195-199
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Rights (Dublin Core)
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Public domain
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Archived by (Dublin Core)
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Filippo Valle
Popular Science Monthly, v. 93, n. 2, 1918
