Laying Mine Fields in Harbors.—This plan is very good for protecting harbors against submarine attacks; but as nearly all the merchantmen are sunk from 200 to 300 miles off the coast, the use of mines for the protection of shipping is very limited.
Arming Merchantmen with Guns.—Arming merchantmen has met with some success, but as a matter of fact it is a very uncertain means of protection, and the large number of armed ships which are sunk weekly shows that the plan is weak.
As a merchantman, or freighter, is usually a slow craft, and a submarine can easily out-maneuver it even when the submarine is on the surface, and when she is submerged she cannot be seen, it must be clear that ordinary rapid-fire guns cannot easily hit her.
Courtesy of Leslie’s Weekly
THREE EIGHTY-FOOT GASOLENE CHASERS ON THEIR WAY TO PATROL DUTY
Destroying the Mother Ships.—To destroy the base-ships is, though it may sound like a paradox, one of the best and at the same time one of the least practical plans of getting rid of the submarines that infest a certain zone.
It must be clear if the base-ships are destroyed that the submarines they mother would speedily come to an end. Knowing full well that the Allies would try to find out her bases, both on land and sea, Germany has hidden most of them well, and those that are not hidden are protected by guns of such caliber[37] as to prove a source of danger to even a fleet of first line dreadnaughts.
Since the bases are too hard to find and too hard to destroy when once found, other easier and more practical plans have been devised, tried and found fairly successful.
Kinds of Submarine Chasers.—And now we come to a class of naval craft to which the name submarine chaser has been given, and she has proved to be the best and most practical plan yet worked out to kill off the submarine.