CHAPTER VIII
THE MARVELOUS TONGUE AND EARS OF THE SUBMARINE
Since a submarine has an eye to see with, it is both proper and fitting that it should have a tongue so that it may speak and ears so that it may hear. In fact, an undersea boat is almost human.
The early submarine, though, was not only as blind as a cave fish, but it was as deaf and as dumb as a snail; and since this was the case, it had to do whatever talking was necessary by means of a deaf and dumb alphabet, that is, by signaling with flags, or wigwagging, as it is called.
The Tongue and Ears of a Submarine.—The tongue of a submarine—or rather tongues, for it has several—is the fanciful name I have given to the means, methods, and schemes by which messages are sent from one submarine to another submarine or to shore, and the ears are the devices by which it receives messages from other submarines and from shore stations.
There are two conditions under which messages must be sent from and received by a submarine, and these are (1) when she is running light or awash, and (2) when she is running submerged.
Now, most of the signaling systems can be used only when the submarine is on the surface, and a couple of them can be used only when she is under water.
Then, again, some systems are good only for daylight signaling, and others for night signaling; others will cover very short distances, but there are systems that will send and receive over long distances. But whatever the system may be there will be found some weak point in it as far as the submarine is concerned.
Kinds of Signaling Systems.—Since no one signaling system will meet the rigid requirements of the submarine, several systems are used. When the craft is on the surface, these are: (1) the flag, or wigwag, system; (2) the flashlight system; and (3) the wireless telegraph system. When the submarine is under water the signaling systems used are: (1) the bell, or violin, system; and (2) the electric current system—all of these will be described in order and as we go along.
The Wigwag Way of Signaling.—The oldest way of sending messages at sea is by wigwagging, that is, using flags, and this system is still in use in the navies of all nations for close range daylight communication.