CHAPTER IX
THE CREW OF THE SUBMARINE
You will remember, back there in the first chapter, we told you about Fulton’s submarine and how one man operated it, so naturally he was his own superior officer and able-bodied seaman both rolled into one.
Since those early days of underwater navigation wonderful advances have been made, not only in submarine construction, but in the crew that mans her as well, for not only are there many men in the crew of a submarine of to-day, but each man is highly trained for the work he has to do.
At the present time the personnel, which means the force of men employed as well as their fighting qualities taken as a whole, includes a list of no less than 48 officers and seamen, and each and every one of them is a picked man. The smaller submarines, of course, carry a smaller complement of men, for there is neither as much work to be done nor is there room to bunk them.
Conditions on Early Submarine Craft.—What with the great array of instruments, apparatus, and machines that must form the equipment of the submarine to make her an efficient fighting unit, there is but little space left in her for her crew, and this was especially so in the early days.
Owing to the fact that space was, and still is, at a premium, the crew of a submarine does not list a man who has not one or more important parts to play in the actual operation of the boat; for every addition to the crew means that much less comfort for each one, and interferes moreover, with the carrying out of orders in a rapid and effective manner.
When Crews Were Hard to Sign.—There were no conveniences provided on the first submarines for their crews; indeed, as we look back now on those pioneer attempts, it seems verily as if no thought at all was given to the health and safety of the men who manned them.
It was enough, albeit, to get a boat that could be submerged and which stood a fair chance of coming to the surface again; so of course there was not enough air, and the little there was was bad; the quarters, if there were any at all, were very small and close, and there was a deal of danger attending the most ordinary maneuvers.
Now, the able-bodied seaman knew all these things only too well, and, what was more, he had heard tall yarns spun around of the terrors of the new and strange craft, and these did not tend to strengthen his desires to hurry up and enlist in that arm of the naval service.
When the various governments began to take a real interest in the submarine and to keep up an active flotilla, they began to realize that unless the comfort and the safety of the men were looked after better than they had been in the past the submarine service would soon be shorthanded and badly crippled.