The San Call TORPEDOED HIS WAY TO FAME
1
The San yrandsco Sunday Call TORPEDOED HIS WAY TO FAME nized, this does not argue that the submarines ar\ unsafe. Under. ordinary, conditions these little vessels have had remarkably few -accidents when the kind of work they do , is considered and that they are prac- tically always at It But in time of war there are many chances for a hostile ship to disable the* sub- marines and sink them. • * Then there is always the possibility of something "•inexplicable** happening, which may mean throwing out of gear the meccanism of the vessels. Added to this there is the chance of the vessels being run down when submerged, as has happened in the crowded road- steads where the British submarines drill. y The most recent accident to submarines In the British navy occurred last July, when the Briti3h sub- marine Cll was run down and sunk by the cargo steamer > Kddystone four and a half miles northwest .of the Hainsborough lightship. Thirteen of the crew vent to the bottom with* the boat Two lieutenants and a\slngle sailor escaped death. ', On this occasion the British cruiser Bonaventure \u25a0was proceeding, leisurely southward with a flotilla of eight submarines. The submarines were submerged and practically invisible to the Eddystone, which steamed right in their midst before it was aware of their presence. The Eddystcrne collided with_ the sub- merged Cll. staving the Cll and sending it to the bot- tom in 15 fathoms of water. - There have. been similar accidents in other navies, the American and Japanese navies alone remaining free from submarine disasters. SUBMARINE DISASTERS \u25a0' The 7 British submarine Al was lost during the maneuvers off the entrance of Portsmouth harbor on March, IS, 1904. The Al was submerged awaiting a chance to score on a battleship, when a Donald Currie liner struck it It sank at once with the crew of two officers and nine men. The largest of the British sub- marines up to that time, the boat was a slow diver, and it is believed that this slowness was a large contribut- ing factor to its loss. Ten weeks later, on June 30, the Russian navy lost one officer and 20 men in the sinking of the submarine D«lfln. This boat, which was lying in the Neva, was Intended to carry a crew ot 11 men. In the absenca of the commander 33 officers and men, many of them novices so far as submarines were concerned, crowded | EH NSIGNWHim^ Shot ft?>mfhe\B^idm of Manila Ba# — Valorous iDeedßes&ife^ * AUr\*+A f All r FJ S! Wa# TVie-. 3-übm.a-ririe -Torpedo E^oat TbT-poi^e . ~ appointed to the naval academy from New York, being of the class of 1905. ..Well proportioned and muscular, he soon established .a reputation as an athlete, especially at football, where his ; black ? curly hair, -waving over handsome, regular features, ;could be seen often in the midst of scrimmages on : the gridiron. He made the team without difficulty andisboh: became a; star,; playing halfback in some of the most notable : games. Whiting was also Identified .with'the crew and was known as an expert swimmer. Ho ; was very : popular and liked by his classmates/ perhaps hla best friend being Theodore G. Ellyson, who shared 'honors .with him .on the '. football -field. Whiting and' Ellyson v were Inseparable at the academy, and strangely, enough, they have been together almost continually^ since -they leffAnnapolis. . Ellyson Is now in command of the submarine Shark, working with Whiting -at Cavite In .Ttholr plans to better submarine development. Lieutenant ; Castle having- been ordered home. * . s , '- .Ellyson "and Whiting were -on the armored cruiser, squadron under Rear Admiral Brownson to Asiatic waters in.1906. Last . November, when Rear Admiral Harber, commanding theUhird division of the Pacific fleet, two' men " to ; help". Lieutenant . Castle in his'' work; with, the : ; Shark and , the; Porpoise,- some one .suggested^Whitlng and Ellyson. \u25a0-,-\u25a0\u25a0 ':'. ',--. From the i viewpoint ? of ;; the ' navy * depar tmen t - the Importance of rEnsignJ;.Whitlng's experiments lies : pri- marily. In* the" fact|that it"suggests a means of provid! ns for.; the/ escape 'from a |submerged;' submarine; by some • manner L similar!^ to .-the /one undertaken' by. .Whiting, '.Whether /or.r.not'Jt.. would "expedient :to have the men| shot; out .through "the" torpedo "guns in case' of emergency ' is 'a'question.^' ''.!*\u25a0. : " l^v^^Af/rrJ^:.".^ ]:r?~;\S\ :.. v .';'?A!thoughlthelimportance ! of, permitting- escape from •a^submerged^submarine 'ih;caseiof necessity ia recos- into the submarine, forcing the. manhole almost to th» river's > surf ace. Tho wash from a passing towboai threatened to fldt>d the X>elfln before the manhole could be closed. One frightened, novice made disaster certain by attempting tp climb to the deck. As the vessel filled 11 men were blown to safety by the air pressure. On February 16, 1305. the British submarine A 5 was sunk off Queenstown. Here six lives were lost Sev- eral months lateVthe submarine A3 of the British navy was blown up by an explosion of gasoline, these vessels carrying as high as'l.OOO gallons, and her crew of 14 were lost , WHEN THE FARFADET SANK On July 6 the French submarine Farfadet sank off Tunis, taking down 13 of the crew. , Fifty hours later it was raised to the surface, all the men dead from suffocation. The breaking of a sea cock was supposed to have caused the disaster. :•\u25a0\u25a0: ln \u25a0October/ 1905. the Lutln sank with a crew of 13 off Tunis.; , Immediately warships of several powers went to its aid. cables were placed on and about and the submarine was, being slowly raised to the surface when all but one line parted. 'It was possible to get food and water to the 15 men imprisoned, as the sub- marine hung suspended by a single Una; but when tho work of raising was completed all were dead. A small pebble was jammed in a •valve, preventing the closing of it> Water was thus admitted to the submerging tanks ana this, together with structural weakness of the tanks themselves, caused the accident. One -.year later the Lutln wa3 again sunk, this time by, collision with a steamship. The crew was saved. . On April 26 last.the Italian navy lost tho Foca. the tho a l^ n uL nn ° t tm^ an 2 eight men by the exploding of bo« t ?™ ll a w k3 - > Th« explosion literally tore the of?00 rled Daember3 ot crew a distance es™^^ 6 >been ' roany suggestions looking to th» rundown XK V Crew "' r ? ma9ubmer S«d submarine when i*bm2ELZi a M veSß *i tOT lnstance « i <>r • «\u25a0« \u25a0 disabled wnll9 ne*LLtl *n? , tlme .? f war - Ensign Whitins has com* nearest to solvin S thi3 problem, Whiting; held his- grip, swung out clear of the gun: and ;shotVupward ;from the *depths of the, sea, \u25a0vigorously.. '" ; ,; \u25a0 \u25a0 \u25a0': Seventy-five seconds ; after? ho had been locked in the; torpedo tube, he 'had rolled over' on hi3 bacic'on t the smooth surface of the bay and" inhaled long drafts of air. When Lieutenant Castle and other officers ' reached the ; scene"; they*' found him splashing •around and enjoying a good swim. ."\u25a0' \u25a0 •\u25a0/."As a result of this experiment the following report; was .made .by Lieutenant -Castle and transmitted, by the. navy (department to officers of the service for their guidance and' information! : "' ' ' THE OFFICIAL REPORT '"I havo the honor to submitthe.fbllowing report of' an experiment to determine the practicability. of escap- ing from' a" submarine boat of the Shark class while submerged,". : rec"ently performed by Ensign Kenneth Whiting, commanding the Porpoise.- i v. ; -' , "Ensign Whiting entered the torpedo tube of the Porpolso through the after s door of jthe" tube, the cap of tho forward beiug-.closcd. He then- grasped' ' tho strong back; of the crossbar.of tho cap and ordered' the; after door closed.. As soon as the after -door was. the',; gunner's mate stationed, at the capengine ; •opened "the .i cap. ; The ;cap ."in' opening forward and up hauled Ensign Whiting clear; oif' the tube, : so as V to enable him' to use his arms to come to tho surface and to prevent his being shoved back into the tube-by in-, 'rushing: water. The whole operation consumed about 75 seconds. , \u25a0. . . ' /'"'\u25a0'. : ."The only other experiment of this nature that lam • cognizant of was tried at '< Newport some years :ago . when an attempt' was mado to blow- a,dog; clear "of, the; tube and was," not successful. > Tho ! method: used 'by ;*Ensign Whiting. .Is practical -up .to .depths in which' divers could: workand does not involve the use of the Impulse charge." )' ''\u25a0'^?^^^^^HHHh : * ''' •\u25a0 ':;. Ensign Whiting has .shown great: zeal • and \u25a0 ingenu- ity :In developing^ practical ; schemes for a the impfove- the: submarines 'on- this station.'? V. ' ' ' ; HIS) DAREDEVIL iSPIRm:f y->. [ ; / ' \u25a0 ,V W^ en :E° sl ffn:Whitin^3Tfriend?^iereViearno^|of^^^ 'experiment, they3recalledVhi3^ daredevil ? spirit.-; He .was' ENSIGN KEXXETH WHITING did it. The Idea was not wholly new. Its feasibility had been discussed around many a ward room tubJp. But nobody had ever put the idea to a practical test, or even attempted It. Therein lies Ensign Whiting's conspicuous accomplishment. He did it. ' Imagine yourself a minnow in a sliark's mouth. A momentary opening of the cruel teeth and you slide out and rush up, up, up through green water to safety. That describes the recent exploit of Ensign Whiting la Manila bay. He is no minnow; far from it, as his brilliant foot- ball record at Annapolis will attest. The shark in this cate was the United States submarine torpedo, boat Porpoise, from which he escaped, by having : himself shot through the torpedo tube and swimming* upward through five fathoms of water gained light and air and freedom on the surface of the waters where Dewey had sent the Spanish ships In an opposite direction. lii :.- zealous and daring experiment adds another pic- turesque detail to the thrilling lives of the officers and rr.cn who work with the strangest of all craft under the American flag. Moreover, it demonstrated ' the l»raeticability of a new method of escape from a sub- merged submarine in the case of accident The story^ establishes a modern simile for the b'.blical tradition of Jonah and the whale, and was fleemed of sufficient Importance to be communicated to every fleet and read aloud to the crews of several of the big battleships and cruisers. It is not intended to encourage the idea that submarines are necessarily dangerous. The necessity for new methods of escape has not been brought home by disaster in the American navy. Most of the recent fatal accidents In the. British service Have been cases of submerged submarines run down by steamers in crowded' harbors and roadsteds. Work with the submarines In the Philippines is of recent origin. About the time that the unprotected condition of the distant possessions prompted the dispatch of the battleship fleet to the Pacific the navy department had the submarines Shark and Porpoise loaded on the deck of the collier Caesar and sent 12,500 miles via Suez to the navy yard at Cavite. At the same time Lieutenant Guy Castle, who knew more perhaps about these par- ticular craft than aby other officer In the service,'- was sent across the continent and the Pacific to meet them. NO DRESS UNIFORM JOB When they were once more in the water looking like a couple of strange sea monsters Ensign Whiting was detailed to command the Porpoise and work with Lieutenant Castle. The two craft were accorded a prominent place in the defense of Manila. Their "moral effect," always accorded high rating by strategists, was heightened in comparison with the meager fortifi- cations and light naval force stationed. ln the -islands. Submarine duty Is no dress uniform job in a tem- perate climate, much less in the tropics.^ The sun blistered the paint from the skins of the Shark and Porpoise and, increased the discomfort of breathing the air laden with the fumes of the gas engine that'drlves the boat until submergence compels resort toSelectrlc propulsion from the storage batteries. The two young officers, aided by Ensign Theodore C Ellyson. a classmate of Whiting, were strictly O.'-T. J. (on the Job), as their fellows put It. Everybody saw them tinkering with the machinery'alongside the dock at Cavite and making an ; occasional run out among the armored cruisers. Hear Admiral Harber, command- ing the division, aud their otner seniors gave them a free hand, and the capabilities' of the submarines were steadily expanded. But "Ken" Whiting, as his classmates knew him, had a desire to do not only all that was expected of him. but more. He had put his vessel yirough the "tricks" and maneuvers which the submarines «'oii; the Atlantic coast had tried, and he conceived the idea of doing something which had never been tried. When'the submarine was. submerged In fathoms of green water the problem presented itself to him of find- ing some means of escape in case the vessel were dis- abled and unable to get to the surface. Hemmed In by the tons of pressure of; the deep sea the only thing that could escape from the vessel was the torpedo, which, forced out from the torpedo 'tube by air pressure, could be sent on its self-propelling destructive mission. Ensign Whiting knew all about the mechanism and workings of the 18 inch torpedo tube which foi'med the only outlet from the submerged submarine. Would Itnot be possible for members of the crew to escape by means of this tube In-case of emergency? He would try it. ~' • \u0084 \u25a0 - < AMAZED AT HIS PLAN Ab the only means of getting out through the tube was to be shot „out, ; and as this necessitated the'co- operation of. some one to operate the , torpedo' gun; Whiting took a; gunner . lnto his confidence* and un- folded hie plan". The gunner was toy operate the mechanism w,hile he (Whiting) crawled* into the tube x and became a human torpedo. •' • ButWhiting's plan did not impress. the gunner with the same force , that it impressed Whiting, himself. Consequently instead of aiding the gunner availed him- self of his opportunity to rush to Lieutenant Castle and inform him that Whltlngthad some "crazy," hazard- ous scheme on. foot. Lieutenant. Castle had best have' a heart to heart talk with Whiting or he would be minus a very valuable .officer. >*.. Lieutenant, Castle foresaw immediately[-. the danger of. the as yet untried experiment. The pressure of - the water at considerable depths Is great., the Inrush into the; tube would, he reasoned, hold "Whiting glued V to the interior, whUe edrdrums were shattered, features distorted and other injurfes sustained, to say, nothing ; of the terrific suction which would probably send an - inrush of water into his lungs, causing death .by stran- j gulatlon. ... :; Lieutenant Castle realized in a moment what Whit- ing was up to. He made efforts forthwith to get in* touch with him; But in. the meantime Uhings had been happening. Finding thatthe gunner \u0084had "ducked," as the officers put it.'Ensign. Whiting pressed into service a- gunner's mate, instructing him what to do and" when 1 to operate the" torpedo gun. '. - . SANK FOR THE TEST ! . Out in the bay near Cavite the other seagoing craft saw the Porpoise stop in its leisurely run and remain still for. several minutes. Then the body of the"sea monstdr seemed to sink- down into the water. Gradu- ally it sank out of sight, leaving only the thin staff flying, the American flag, which went. lower I . and lower until all had sunk from v?ew. ' " ','\u25a0\u25a0' Inside the little vessel the forward torpedo gun. had been; swung open from the inside.. The gunner's: mate was_ operating the mechanism- preparatofyTi:o> openings the outward , cap w..ich .separated the "jinterior: of ; the ship- from ;the water. Kenneth Whiting, in hlstdun-, garees, was squeezing his ; broad football shoulders ' through the opening and dragging;, himself ; with "diffi- culty in position. : . » The Porpoise was down several fathoms. "When I say read^' let her , go.'V was ; the command^ from the human torpedo," while Whiting fastened .'an ironAgrip on the crossbar of the outside cap. His idea was to keep hold and when. this}{outsido cap- swung open ; It. would pull him out of ; the tube, and • into the sea. ; /It:was to" be aibattle between his grip on? the cap and the inrush of the heavy sea. Once clear of the gun Whiting reasoned he would shoot .up^ toward "the; surface with sufficient speed Uo get ' his breath in the open,, above, the- surfaceiof^ the water. \u25a0'\u25a0•'; There was a moment of suspense whileVthe inner - tube door' closed iiii response to the work of the 'op- erator. 'Then the ."outer cap swung open - with : great v f orcei The , water rushed in ; with "terrific ; pressure,'- but '
Transcript of The San Call TORPEDOED HIS WAY TO FAME
The San yrandsco Sunday Call
TORPEDOED HIS WAY TO FAME
nized, this does not argue that the submarines ar\
unsafe. Under. ordinary, conditions these little vesselshave had remarkably few -accidents when the kind ofwork they do ,is considered and that they are prac-tically always at It But in time of war there aremany chances for a hostile ship to disable the* sub-marines and sink them. •*
Then there is always the possibility of something"•inexplicable** happening, which may mean throwingout of gear the meccanism of the vessels. Added tothis there is the chance of the vessels being run downwhen submerged, as has happened in the crowded road-steads where the British submarines drill.
y The most recent accident to submarines In theBritish navy occurred last July, when the Briti3h sub-marine Cll was run down and sunk by the cargosteamer > Kddystone four and a half miles northwest
.of the Hainsborough lightship. Thirteen of the crewvent to the bottom with* the boat Two lieutenantsand a\slngle sailor escaped death.
',On this occasion the British cruiser Bonaventure\u25a0was proceeding, leisurely southward with a flotilla ofeight submarines. The submarines were submergedand practically invisible to the Eddystone, whichsteamed right in their midst before it was aware oftheir presence. The Eddystcrne collided with_ the sub-merged Cll. staving the Cll and sending it to the bot-tom in 15 fathoms of water.-
There have. been similar accidents in other navies,the American and Japanese navies alone remaining freefrom submarine disasters.SUBMARINE DISASTERS
\u25a0' The 7 British submarine Al was lost during themaneuvers off the entrance of Portsmouth harbor onMarch, IS, 1904. The Al was submerged awaiting achance to score on a battleship, when a Donald Currieliner struck it Itsank at once with the crew of two
officers and nine men. The largest of the British sub-
marines up to that time, the boat was a slow diver, and
itis believed that this slowness was a large contribut-ing factor to its loss.
Ten weeks later, on June 30, the Russian navy lostone officer and 20 men in the sinking of the submarineD«lfln. This boat, which was lying in the Neva, wasIntended to carry a crew ot 11 men. In the absenca ofthe commander 33 officers and men, many of themnovices so far as submarines were concerned, crowded
|EHNSIGNWHim^
Shot ft?>mfhe\B^idm ofManila Ba#
—Valorous
iDeedßes&ife^*AUr\*+Af Allr FJ S! Wa#
TVie-. 3-übm.a-ririe -Torpedo E^oat TbT-poi^e . ~
appointed to the naval academy from New York, being
of the class of 1905...Well proportioned and muscular, he soon established
.a reputation as an athlete, especially at football, wherehis ;black ?curly hair, -waving over handsome, regularfeatures, ;could be seen often in the midst of scrimmageson:the gridiron. He made the team without difficultyandisboh: became a;star,; playing halfback in some of
the most notable :games. Whiting was also Identified.with'the crew and was known as an expert swimmer.
Ho;was very:popular and liked by his classmates/perhaps hla best friend being Theodore G. Ellyson,
who shared 'honors .with him .on the '. football -field.Whiting and' Ellysonv were Inseparable at the academy,and strangely, enough, they have been together almostcontinually^ since -they leffAnnapolis. . Ellyson Is nowin command of the submarine Shark, working withWhiting-at Cavite In.Ttholr plans to better submarinedevelopment. Lieutenant ;Castle having- been orderedhome.
*. s
, '- .Ellyson"and Whiting were -on the armoredcruiser, squadron under Rear Admiral Brownson toAsiatic waters in.1906. Last .November, when RearAdmiral Harber, commanding theUhird division of thePacific fleet, two'men
"to ;help".Lieutenant .Castle
in his'' work; with, the :;Shark and ,the; Porpoise,- someone .suggested^Whitlng and Ellyson. \u25a0-,-\u25a0\u25a0
':'. ',--.From theiviewpoint ? of;; the 'navy*depar tmen t
-theImportance ofrEnsignJ;.Whitlng's experiments lies :pri-
marily.In*the" fact|that it"suggests a means of provid!nsfor.;the/ escape 'from a |submerged;' submarine; by some• manner L similar!^ to .-the /one undertaken' by. .Whiting,
'.Whether /or.r.not'Jt.. would "expedient :to have themen| shot; out .through "the" torpedo "guns in case' ofemergency
'is 'a'question.^' ''.!*\u25a0. :
"
l^v^^Af/rrJ^:.".^]:r?~;\S\ :..v.';'?A!thoughlthelimportance !of,permitting- escape from•a^submerged^submarine 'ih;caseiof necessity ia recos-
into the submarine, forcing the.manhole almost to th»river's > surface. Tho wash from a passing towboaithreatened to fldt>d the X>elfln before the manhole couldbe closed. One frightened, novice made disaster certainby attempting tp climb to the deck. As the vessel filled11 men were blown to safety by the air pressure.
On February 16, 1305. the British submarine A5wassunk off Queenstown. Here six lives were lost Sev-eral months lateVthe submarine A3 of the British navywas blown up by an explosion of gasoline, these vesselscarrying as high as'l.OOO gallons, and her crew of 14were lost ,WHEN THE FARFADET SANK
On July 6 the French submarine Farfadet sank offTunis, taking down 13 of the crew. ,Fifty hours laterit was raised to the surface, all the men dead fromsuffocation. The breaking of a sea cock was supposedto have caused the disaster.
:•\u25a0\u25a0: ln\u25a0October/ 1905. the Lutln sank with a crew of 13off Tunis.; , Immediately warships of several powerswent to its aid. cables were placed on and about andthe submarine was,being slowly raised to the surfacewhen all but one line parted. 'It was possible to getfood and water to the 15 men imprisoned, as the sub-marine hung suspended by a single Una; but when thowork of raising was completed all were dead. A smallpebble was jammed in a •valve, preventing the closingof it> Water was thus admitted to the submergingtanks ana this, together with structural weakness ofthe tanks themselves, caused the accident.
One -.year later the Lutln wa3 again sunk, this timeby,collision with a steamship. The crew was saved.. On April26 last.the Italian navy lost tho Foca. thetho
al n̂uLnn°ttm^ an2 eight men by the exploding of
bo« t ?™ lla wk3
->Th« explosion literally tore the
of?00 rled Daember3 ot crew a distance
es™^^ 6>been'
roany suggestions looking to th»rundown XKV
Crew"'
r?ma9ubmer S«d submarine when
i*bm2ELZiaMveSß *itOT lnstance «
i<>r •«\u25a0« \u25a0 disabled wnll9ne*LLtl*n? ,tlme.? f war- Ensign Whitins has com*nearest to solvinS thi3 problem,
Whiting;held his- grip, swung out clear of the gun: and;shotVupward ;from the *depths of the, sea,\u25a0vigorously.. '" ; ,; \u25a0
\u25a0
\u25a0': Seventy-five seconds ;after? ho had been locked in
the; torpedo tube, he 'had rolled over' on hi3bacic'on t
the smooth surface of the bay and" inhaled long draftsof air. When Lieutenant Castle and otherofficers
'reached the ;scene"; they*' found him splashing
•around and enjoying a good swim. ."\u25a0'\u25a0•\u25a0/."As a result of this experiment the following report;
was .made .by Lieutenant -Castle and transmitted, by the.navy (department to officers of the service for theirguidance and' information! : "' ' '
THE OFFICIAL REPORT'"Ihavo the honor to submitthe.fbllowing report of'
an experiment to determine the practicability. of escap-ing from' a" submarine boat of the Shark class whilesubmerged,". :rec"ently performed by Ensign KennethWhiting, commanding the Porpoise.- i v.
; -' ,"Ensign Whiting entered the torpedo tube of the
Porpolso through the after s door of jthe" tube, the capof tho forward beiug-.closcd. He then- grasped''tho strong back; of the crossbar.of tho cap and ordered'the; after door closed.. As soon as the after -door was.
the',; gunner's mate stationed, at the capengine ;
•opened "the .icap. ;The ;cap ."in'opening forward and uphauled Ensign Whiting clear; oif' the tube, :so as Vtoenable him' to use his arms to come to tho surface andto prevent his being shoved back into the tube-by in-,
'rushing: water. The whole operation consumed about75 seconds. , \u25a0. . . '
/'"'\u25a0'.: ."The only other experiment of this nature that lam
• cognizant of was tried at '< Newport some years :ago.when an attempt' was mado to blow-a,dog;clear "of,the;tube and was," not successful. > Tho!method: used 'by
;*Ensign Whiting. .Is practical -up .to .depths in which'divers could: workand does not involve the use of theImpulse charge." )' ''\u25a0'^?^^^^^HHHh :* '''
•\u25a0
':;. Ensign Whiting has .shown great: zeal • and \u25a0 ingenu-
ity:In developing^ practical ;schemes for a the impfove-the: submarines 'on- this station.'? V. ' ' '
;HIS)DAREDEVILiSPIRm:fy->. [ ; /'
\u25a0 ,V W^en:E°sl ffn:Whitin^3Tfriend?^iereViearno^|of^^^'experiment, they3recalledVhi3^ daredevil ? spirit.-;He.was'
ENSIGNKEXXETH WHITING did it.
The Idea was not whollynew. Its feasibility
had been discussed around many a ward roomtubJp. But nobody had ever put the idea to a
practical test, or even attempted It. Therein lies EnsignWhiting's conspicuous accomplishment. He did it. '
Imagine yourself a minnow in a sliark's mouth. Amomentary opening of the cruel teeth and you slide outand rush up, up, up through green water to safety. Thatdescribes the recent exploit of Ensign Whiting la Manilabay.
He is no minnow; far from it, as his brilliant foot-ball record at Annapolis willattest. The shark in thiscate was the United States submarine torpedo, boatPorpoise, from which he escaped, by having :himselfshot through the torpedo tube and swimming* upwardthrough five fathoms of water gained light and air
and freedom on the surface of the waters where Dewey
had sent the Spanish ships In an opposite direction.lii:.- zealous and daring experiment adds another pic-turesque detail to the thrillinglives of the officers andrr.cn who work with the strangest of all craft underthe American flag. Moreover, it demonstrated 'thel»raeticability of a new method of escape from a sub-merged submarine in the case of accident
The story^ establishes a modern simile for theb'.blical tradition of Jonah and the whale, and wasfleemed of sufficient Importance to be communicated toevery fleet and read aloud to the crews of several of thebig battleships and cruisers. It is not intended toencourage the idea that submarines are necessarilydangerous. The necessity for new methods of escapehas not been brought home by disaster in the Americannavy. Most of the recent fatal accidents In the. Britishservice Have been cases of submerged submarines rundown by steamers in crowded' harbors and roadsteds.Work with the submarines In the Philippines is of
recent origin.
About the time that the unprotected condition ofthe distant possessions prompted the dispatch of thebattleship fleet to the Pacific the navy department hadthe submarines Shark and Porpoise loaded on the deckof the collier Caesar and sent 12,500 miles via Suez tothe navy yard at Cavite. At the same time LieutenantGuy Castle, who knew more perhaps about these par-ticular craft than aby other officer In the service,'- wassent across the continent and the Pacific to meet them.
NO DRESS UNIFORM JOBWhen they were once more in the water looking
like a couple of strange sea monsters Ensign Whitingwas detailed to command the Porpoise and work withLieutenant Castle. The two craft were accorded aprominent place in the defense of Manila. Their "moraleffect," always accorded high rating by strategists,
was heightened in comparison with the meager fortifi-cations and light naval force stationed. ln the -islands.
Submarine duty Is no dress uniform job in a tem-perate climate, much less in the tropics.^ The sunblistered the paint from the skins of the Shark andPorpoise and, increased the discomfort of breathing theair laden with the fumes of the gas engine that'drlvesthe boat until submergence compels resort toSelectrlcpropulsion from the storage batteries.
The two young officers, aided by Ensign Theodore CEllyson. a classmate of Whiting, were strictly O.'-T. J.(on the Job), as their fellows put It. Everybody sawthem tinkering with the machinery'alongside the dockat Cavite and making an;occasional run out among
the armored cruisers. Hear Admiral Harber, command-ing the division, aud their otner seniors gave them afree hand, and the capabilities' of the submarines weresteadily expanded.
But "Ken" Whiting, as his classmates knew him,had a desire to do not only all that was expected ofhim. but more. He had put his vessel yirough the"tricks" and maneuvers which the submarines «'oii; theAtlantic coast had tried, and he conceived the idea ofdoing something which had never been tried.
When'the submarine was. submerged In fathoms ofgreen water the problem presented itself to him of find-ing some means of escape in case the vessel were dis-abled and unable to get to the surface.
Hemmed Inby the tons of pressure of; the deep seathe only thing that could escape from the vessel wasthe torpedo, which, forced out from the torpedo 'tubeby air pressure, could be sent on its self-propellingdestructive mission.
Ensign Whiting knew all about the mechanism andworkings of the 18 inch torpedo tube which foi'medthe only outlet from the submerged submarine. WouldItnot be possible for members of the crew to escape by
means of this tube In-case of emergency? He wouldtry it.
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\u25a0 - <
AMAZED ATHIS PLANAb the only means of getting out through the tube
was to be shot „out, ;and as this necessitated the'co-operation of. some one to operate the , torpedo' gun;Whiting took a;gunner .lnto his confidence* and un-folded hie plan". The gunner was toy operate the
mechanism w,hile he (Whiting) crawled* into the tube x
and became a human torpedo. •' •
ButWhiting's plan did not impress. the gunner withthe same force ,that it impressed Whiting, himself.Consequently instead of aiding the gunner availed him-self of his opportunity to rush to Lieutenant Castleand inform him that Whltlngthad some "crazy," hazard-ous scheme on.foot. Lieutenant. Castle had best have' aheart to heart talk with Whitingor he would be minus avery valuable .officer. >*..
Lieutenant, Castle foresaw immediately[-. the danger
of. the as yet untried experiment. The pressure of-
the water at considerable depths Is great., the Inrushinto the; tube would, he reasoned, hold "Whiting glued Vto the interior, whUe edrdrums were shattered, featuresdistorted and other injurfes sustained, to say, nothing ;of the terrific suction which would probably send an -inrush of water into his lungs, causing death .by stran- jgulatlon.... :;Lieutenant Castle realized in a moment what Whit-ing was up to. He made efforts forthwith to get in*touch with him; But in.the meantime Uhings had beenhappening. Finding thatthe gunner \u0084had "ducked," asthe officers put it.'Ensign.Whiting pressed into service a-gunner's mate, instructing him what to do and" when 1
to operate the" torpedo gun. '.- .
SANK FOR THE TEST !. Out in the bay near Cavite the other seagoing craftsaw the Porpoise stop in its leisurely run and remainstill for. several minutes. Then the body of the"seamonstdr seemed to sink- down into the water. Gradu-ally it sank out of sight, leaving only the thin staffflying,the American flag, which went. lowerI.and loweruntil all had sunk from v?ew.
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Inside the little vessel the forward torpedo gun. hadbeen; swung open from the inside.. The gunner's: matewas_ operating the mechanism- preparatofyTi:o> openingsthe outward ,cap w..ich .separated the "jinterior: of;theship- from ;the water. Kenneth Whiting, in hlstdun-,garees, was squeezing his ;broad football shoulders
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through the opening and dragging;, himself ;with "diffi-culty in position. : .» The Porpoise was down several fathoms.
"When Isay read^' let her ,go.'V was ;the command^from the human torpedo," while Whiting fastened .'anironAgrip on the crossbar of the outside cap. Hisidea was to keep hold and when. this}{outsido cap-swung open ;It.would pull him out of;the tube, and •
into the sea.; /It:was to" be aibattle between his grip on? the cap
and the inrush of the heavy sea. Once clear of thegun Whiting reasoned he would shoot .up^ toward "the;surface with sufficient speed Uo get
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his breath in theopen,, above, the- surfaceiof^ the water.
\u25a0'\u25a0•'; There was a moment of suspense whileVthe inner -tube door' closed iiiiresponse to the work of the 'op-erator. 'Then the ."outer cap swung open
-with :great v
forcei The ,water rushed in;with "terrific;pressure,'- but'
