Indeed, as the
submarine warfare proceeded the main difficulty of the Allies was to
locate the submarines. Many ingenious devices were used for this
purpose, and many of the English vessels had listening attachments under
water which were intended to make it possible to hear a submarine as it
moved. These, however, do not seem to have been very effective. The
submarine itself seems at times to have been fitted out in a similar way
and to have thus been able to hear the sound of an approaching ship.
Many thrilling reports of naval actions against German submarines were
given out officially by the British admiralty from time to time. In most
of these cases the submarine was both rammed and attacked by depth
bombs. In nearly all of them the only proof of success was the oil and
air bubbles which came to the surface.
One interesting encounter was that in which a British submarine sighted
a German U-boat, while both were on the surface. The British submarine
dived and later was able to pick up the enemy through the periscope and
discharge a torpedo in such a way as to destroy the German vessel. When
the British submarine arose it found a patch of oil in which Germans
were swimming.
Ordinarily, however, a submarine was of little service in a fight
against another for the radius of sight from a periscope is so short
that it is practically blind so far as another periscope is concerned.
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