The Diluits of Monday publishes an instructive article on the
recent trials of the new French submarine boat at Cherbourg. The tone adopted by the writer is eminently judicial. The trials, he admits, have established the naviga- bility of the new submarines, but to render them really efficient fighting machines considerable improvement has yet to be made in the periscope, or apparatus which enables the commander of the stomarine to see what is going on on the surface. The Moniteur de la Marine contends that the periscope fulfils its aim perfectly at a, depth of six metres, but the Debate, evidently sceptical on this point, points out that it will not suffice merely to have clear images of what takes places on the surface, but images which are susceptible of measurement. At present the periscope shows objects, but does not indicate distances with sufficient accuracy for the officer in command to be able to know when he is near enough for his torpedo to prove effective. "If this result is reached we shall not long be kept in the dark, for, with modern Parlia- mentary methods all over the world, we shall witness the simultaneous appearance, in all naval budgets, of demands for considerable sums in order to construct these vessels." That is probably a correct forecast. At the moment the sub- marine only realises two out of three essential qualities. It can assume invisibility, it is navigable, but it is still a short- sighted monster. Surely our Admiralty is even more short- sighted in foregoing all experimentation until this problem has been solved by foreigners. Even allowing that we can then procure the best submarine boats, the French will have secured a great start by their practical familiarity with the conditions of submarine navigation.
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