THE VICTORY DL eR TH a By ADMIRAL WILLIAM SOWDEN SIMS NIRS a CA De BE SN NT NL MCR AT SEA ~ Uur Subchasers in the Adriatic American Subchasers Take Brilliant Part in Destruction of Durazzo-- Two Austrian U-Boats Sunk, One by 'Chaser No. 120 and One by Chasers No. 215 and 128--Thanks of British and Italians for Gallant Work of Our Subchasers in Pro- tecting Cruisers that Shelled Aus- trian Military Base, On September 28th, 1918, Captain Nejson received the following com- mun the commander of the Aliled naval forces at Brindisi, Commodore W. A. H. Kelly, RN. : "Cali you hold twelve chasers ready to leave Corfu to-morrow (Sunday) for special service? They should -have stores for four dgys. If unavoidable, barrage force may be reduced during their absence. Re quest reply. Further definite orders will be sent Sunday afternoon." To this Captain Nelson sent an answer which was entirely character- istic : "Yeu." The captain well knew what the enterprise was to which this message referred. The proposed undertaking was one which was very close to his heart and one which he had con- stantly urged. The Austrian port of Durazzo, on the Adriatic, at that time was playing an important part in the general conflict, It was a base by which Gerniany and Austria had sent supplies to their ally Bulgaria; and in September the Entente had started the ¢ampalgn uguinst Bulgaria which | 'ingtly ended in the complete humilj- ation of that comutry. The destrue- |": would | tion of Durazzo as a hase .reatly assist this operation. Several hips Jay in the harber; there were mang. Buildings used for army stores; the Aléstriiction ofall thess, as Well as the docks and military works, would render the port useless. The bombardment of Durazzo was there- tore the undertaking for which the agsistance of our subchasers had been requested, Plan to Shell Duraszo, It was estimated that about one hour's heavy shelling would render this port valueless as an Austrian base; and to accomplish this destrue- tion the Italians had detailed three battle cruisers, the San Georgio, the Pisa, and the' San Marco, and the British three light scout cruisers, the Lowestoft, the Dartmouth, snd the Weymouth, According to the plan agreed upon the Italian ships would aceive at Durassoat about ten o'clock on Wednesday morning, October 2nd, bombard the work for an hour and then return to Brindisi; when they had finished, it was proposed that the British cruisers should take their places, bombard for an hour and like- wise retire, The duty which had been assighed to the subchasers In this operation | was an important one. The Austrians had & considerable force of subma- rines at Durazzo; and it was to be expectad that they would send them to attack the bombarding warships. The chasers, therefore, were to ac- : company the cruisers, in order to fight any submarine which attempt- ed to interfere with the game. "Remember the life of these battle cruisers depends upon your vigilance and metivity," said Captain Nelson in the instructions issued to the of- flicers who commanded the little vessels. Subchasers Slip Throngh Net. ~.. At nine o'clock that Sunday even: ng twelve chasers slipped through © net at Corfu and started cross ha Adriatic; they sailed in "col smn" or single file, Captain Nel- "52 heading the procession in ubchaser 95, his second in com- wand, Lieut.-Commander Bastedo, oming mext in chaser 215. The tiny fleet hardly suggested to the ob- ssrver anything in 'the nature of + military operations; they looked more like a group of motor launches . out for a summer cruise. The next morning they arrived at Brindisi, the gathering place dof all the Allied vansels which were to participate in the operation--that same Brindisi (or ¢ Brundisium) which was one of the most famous parts of antiquity, the town from which Augustus and An- "tony, in 42 B.C, started on 'the ex- EN a EE pedition which, at of the ancient world. the battle of Phillipi, was to win them the mastery Upon arriving, chasers left Brindisi, steering a straight course to Durazzo. The night was very dark the harbor was black also with the smoke from the cruisers and other craft, which were making preparations to get away. After steaming for a few hours, the Captain Nelson went 'ashore for a council with Commodore Kelly, who commanded the British cruisers, and other Allied officers. When he re- turned Captain Nelson's face was glowing with happiness and expecta- tion. "It's goins to be a Teal party, boys," he informed his subordinate officers. Two days were spent at Brindisi, completeing preparations; on Tues- day evening Capt. Nelson called all his officers for a meeting on board officers, with sheir glasses, obtained their first glimpse of Durazzo; this time there was nothing in sight except the chasers, ships had not yet arrived. Captain" Nelson knew that there wére 'two or three Austrian destroy- ers at Durazzo, and his first efforts were devoted to attempts to persuade them to come out and give battle. With this idea in mind, the chasers engaged in what they called a "war dance" before the port; they began turning rapidly in a great circle, but as the at larger screen to the Italian cruisers while the bombardment was under way. One unit, three boats, was stationed at Cape Pali, to the north, to prevent any submarines leaving Durazzo from attacking British cruisers, which were to approach: the scene of acti- vities from that quarter, and another unit, three boats, was stationed off Cape Laghi. Thus the two critical capes were covered against subma- rine surprises, and the attacking vessels themselves were effectively séreened. The Shelling Begins, The Italian cruisers sailed back and forth for about an hour, blazing away at Durazzo, destroying shipping in the harbor, knocking down mili- tary buildings, and devastating the place on a liberal scale, all the time screened in this operation by our chasers. Meantime unit B, command- ed by Lieutenant Commander Bas- tedo, had started for its station at This drawing shows the listening device as used on the sub- chasers, the lower 4 . SEMAPHORING FROM THE CROW'S NEST 'While subchasers were on duty in the war zone a lookout was posted in the crow"s mest, the elevation giving him a wide horizon. THE OFFICERS AND CREW OF A SUBCHASER At sea a subchaser found it im possible to preserve the spick and span appearance of the dreadnaught, but once in port the little ship was thoroughly cl favorably with the British destroyer Badger. to give them all the details of the forthcom- ing "party." If there had been any flagging spirits in that company when the speech began--which I do not believe--all had vanished when "Jugsy" had finished his remarks; every officer lft with his soul filled by the same joy of ap- proaching battle as that which pos- sessed his chief, i i ol ---- ese. A Dark Night For a Journey. Al 2.30 Wednesday miorting -the | and the men when in their "liberty blues" compared "others in 'the navy. : #ll to no purpose, for the Austrian end of the T-tube being under water, Cape Pali. The Austrian shore bat- teries at once opened upon the tiny feraft, the water in their neighbor- hood being generously churned up by thd falling shells. : Mbanwhile the British cruisers, after steaming for a while east, turned south in order to take up the bombarding station which, according to the prearranged programme, the Italian warships were about to aban- don. The three screening chasers were steaming in column, No. 129 bring ing up the rear. Suddenly this little boat turned to the right and started scampering in the direction of some apparently very definite ob- ject. It moved so abruptly and has- tily that it did not take the time even to signal to its associates the cause of its unexpected manoeuvre, A Submarine Spotted. On board No. 215 there was some questian as to what should be done. no mystery as to the cause of th feathery disturbance. It was ma by "a periscope; it was moving wi considerable speed also, entirely rowing the subchasers and shaping course directly toward the advancir British cruisers. Commander Ba: tedo forgot all about subchaser 12% which apparently was after game ¢ its own, and headed his own boat in the direction of this little column ot epray. In a few seconds the peri- scope itself became visible; Comman- der Bistedo opened fire at it with his port gun; at the second shot a colymn of water and air arose about six feet--a splendid geyser which in- formed the pursuer that the peris- cope had been shattered. By this time the third chaser, No. 128, was rushing at full speed. "That Got Him !* The submarine now saw that all chance of attacking the British ships to be pS pm) TAKING A SIGHT The rollingand pitching of a subchaser made pavigation di ficult,.but by bracing oneself, a sight could be taken from which a position could be worked out, ' Almost none of the officers who com- manded these subchasers had any knowledge of navigation before the war, yet they took their little ships to Euro pe and back with gratitylng efficiency No. 215 was immediately turned in the direction of the busy No. 129, when the interest of its officers was aroused by a little foamy fountain had gone, and turned to the south in an effort to get away with a whole skin. But the two cubchasers, 215 and 128, quickly turned again and started for their prey; soon both were "dropping depth charges and shooting their ""Y" guns; and a huge circle of the sea was a mass of ex- plosions, whirling water, mighty eruptions of foam, mist and debris-- for in the mass, steel plates and other wreckage {lew from the depths into the air. : "That got him!" cried the execu- tive officer from the deck of 215, while the crew MNfted up its voices in a shout that was reminiscent of a college yell $ of spray moving in the water slightly forward of its port beam. There was EE ------ seaworthy heavy weather It was not until this moment that seldom prevent d the pertor- the weather was ymmander Bastedo and his associ es remembered the 129, which, ren last obsepved, "was speeding rough the water ou an independent urse of her own. In the midst of o excitement there came a message om this boat I * : Noy "Submarine sighted!' fa A Then a second afterward came ams = other message : "My engines are disabled." In a short-time Bastédo had reach. ed the boat. Mr "Where is the submarine? "We just sank it," was the answer, No. 129 had dropped eight depth charges, one directly over the Aus trian boat; in the water thrown 'up the officers had counted seven pieces, of metal plates, and the masses of oil and bubbles that presently arose completed the story of the destruc tion. Meanwhile the British cruisers had taken up their station at Dur 2220 and were finishing the work that made this place useless as a military headquarters. ' « Not a man in the whole American force was injured; in a brief time the excitement was all over, and the great ships, screened again by the wasps of chasers, started back to Brindisi. The impression made upon our Allies was well expressed in the congratulatory message sent to me in London by Commodore Kelly, who commanded the British cruisers in this action. : "Their conduct,' he said, "was bes yond prajse. They all returnéd safely without casualties. They thoroughly enjoyed themselves." And from the Italians came this message : "Italian naval general staff exe presses highest appreciation of uses ful and efficient work performed by United States chasers in protecti major vessels during action again Durazzo; also vivid admiration .of their brilliant and clever operations which resulted in sinking two enemy submarines." Subchasers Most Efficient as Wi Ends. Li The war was now drawing fo close; a day before the Allied squads rons started for Durazzo Bul ¥ surrendered; about two weeks the attack Austria had given up the ghost. The subdbasers were about this time just getting inte thelr stride ; the cessation of hostilities, however, ended their careers at the very moment when they had become most useful. A squadron of thirty. six, under the command of Capt. Arthur J. Hepburn reached Queens town in September, but, though § had several interesting contacts with the enemy, and is credited with send. ing one German home badly dams aged, the armistice was signed it had really settled down to ii The final spectacular appearance was at Gibralter, in the last four days of the war. The surrender of Austria had. left the German su marines stranded in the Adriatic without a base; and thé¥y started home by way of the Mediterranean and Gibralter. A squadron of eigh teen chasers had just arrived at the Azores, on the way to reinforce the flotilla at Plymouth; seven of these were at once despatched to Gibralter on the chance that they might bar the passage of these f honk They reached this post at the storm sea- son; yet they went out in the hardest gales and had several exciting con- tacts with the fleeing Germans, The records show that five submarines attempted to get through the straits; there is good' evidence that two of these were sunk, one by the British patrol and one by our chasers. : (To be Continmed. Copyright, 1920, by the World's 'Work. The copyright of these articles in Great Britain is strictly reserved by Pearson's Magazine, London; without their permission no quotas tion may be made. Published by special arrangement with the Me Clure Newspaper Syndicate. i-------------- A refreshment tray to be clamped to the side of an a ile has patented by a Nebraska inventor.