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144
THE SUBMARINE TORPEDO BOAT
quence of exposing above the surface her conning tower
and more vulnerable hull.
There has been a great deal said about the possibility
of shooting off the periscopes of the submarine. This
chance is in reality very small, and would be more luck
than good marksmanship were it successfully accom-
plished. When the small moving target that the peri-
scope offers is considered this can be at once realized.
The tube, of a neutral gray tint difficult in itself to dis-
tinguish, is of from three to four inches in diameter, is
exposed only two or three feet of its length and only this
much for very short intervals of time — just long enough
to check the course and the range. Even at the close
range of 500 yards it is an almost impossible target, and
when the range greatly exceeds this it becomes well nigh
invisible. It is to be doubted that any effectiveness
could be had even with the use of shrapnel.
Ever since the submarine has been accepted as a pos-
sible instrument of warfare, some means has been sought
to successfully cope with her. In England especially,
much thought and study has been given to various devices
for meeting this contingency. In the face of her seem-
ing inability to quell the German submarine raids in the
present conflict, it would seem that all this theorizing had
been very unfruitful. Probably had England given as
much study to the submarine itself as to the means for
defense against it she would be better able to cope with
the situation.
Obviously the destroyer becomes the natural adversary
of the submarine boat. With her great speed and superior
maneuvering ability it is within the compass of the des-
troyer to keep on the trail of the submarine and run her