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CHAPTER VII
FUTURE DEVELOPMENT
It is by no means an easy matter to undertake to fore-
tell what the future development of the submarine will
bring about. We may draw certain conclusions from the
past performance and development of these vessels and
by careful consideration of the many inherent difficulties
found in their characteristics arrive at a safe and sane
conservative deduction. It is assuredly no reason, how-
ever, that because a certain performance is improbable
of mechanical accomplishment today, it is impossible - of
ultimate accomplishment. We of this age of achieve-
ment should, before making any rash statements, always
keep this in mind.
In the past ten years alone the submarine has steadily
advanced in size to four times what it was then, the sur-
face speeds have been doubled, the radius of action on the
surface enlarged in even greater proportion, and the
military equipment and features immensely improved.
Already from being little steel tanks so completely filled
with machinery and appurtenances that the few members
of the crew could scarcely crawl around in them, and
even had there been room they would scarcely have
dared to move for fear of disturbing the equilibrium of
the boat and upsetting her, the submarine has become a
large comparatively roomy craft in which a crew con-
sisting of two officers and from twenty to thirty men can
live for days at a time. Great as has already been the
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