The Brighton Boys with the Submarine Fleet | Page 9

seemed such a wonderful thing,
the fact that submarines small enough to be carried on the decks of
huge liners had been able to cross the Atlantic alone and unaided. They

had been still further amazed by the feats of the German undersea cargo
carrier Deutschland that had made the trip to America and back, and the
U-53 that suddenly popped into Newport one summer afternoon.
The night dragged along. Now that they were fairly off, Jack and Ted
preferred not to sleep, but rather to keep tabs on the maneuvers of the
American fleet. The sea was calm and the Dewey cruised on the surface,
with her hatches open. The boys were able to stretch themselves in a
promenade on the aft deck and found the night air invigorating as they
speculated together on their mission.
They had soon to find out something of the number and character of
warships in the fleet of which the Dewey was a unit. As daybreak came
stealing up over the horizon they looked about them to discern many
other warships all about them. Far to port, strung out in single file
about a half mile apart, were three huge liners that they took to be
troopships. Deployed around them were destroyers---four of
them---riding like a protecting body guard. Bobbing about at intervals
in the maritime procession were other submarines, their conning towers
silhouetted against the dim skyline.
Relieved of duty, Jack and Ted went below and turned in for a
two-hour sleep. When they climbed up through the forward hatch again
after breakfast it was to find the sun shining bright and the fleet moving
majestically eastward.
Chief Gunner's Mate Mike Mowrey confided to them that the Dewey
was, indeed, bound for European waters. Lieutenant McClure had
opened his sealed orders and learned that he was to report to the
Vice-Admiral in the North Sea. Word had been passed around to the
ship's officers and they in turn were "tipping off" their men. The Dewey
was stripped for action and was to assist the destroyers in defense of the
transports in the event of an attack.
The first day out was spent in drills and target practice. Late in the
afternoon a huge warship was sighted dead ahead and for a time there
was a bit of anxious waiting aboard the Dewey. While it was generally
known that the German high seas fleet was bottled up in the Kiel Canal,

there was always a chance of running into a stray raider. But very
shortly the oncoming vessel broke out a flutter of flags, indicating that
she was a French cruiser, and exchanged salutations with the
commander of the American fleet.
The men of the Dewey soon learned that the troopships which they
were escorting carried a number of regiments of marines and several
detachments of U.S. Regulars bound for France. Because the
submarines were slower than either the transports or the destroyers, the
fleet made slow progress.
They had been at sea over a week and were entering the war zone when,
late one afternoon, there came a sharp cry from the lookout in the
_Dewey's_ deck steering station.
"Periscope two points off the starboard!"
Instantly an alarm to general quarters was sounded. Jack and Ted,
detailed in the same gun crew, had just come on duty at the forward
gun. The _Dewey's_ wireless was flashing the news to the rest of the
fleet.
The destroyers drew in closer to the troopships and began immediately
belching forth dense black clouds of smoke under forced draft that the
boys divined instantly as the smoke screens used so effectively as a
curtain to blind the eyes of the U-boats.
Turning her nose outward from the hidden transports the Dewey drew
away in a wide sweeping circle to starboard.
"All hands below!" came the order. Immediately the deck guns were
made fast and the crew scrambled down through the hatches. In a few
minutes, driving ahead at full speed, the Dewey was submerged until
only her periscopes showed.
All at once the crew heard a shout from the conning tower.
"There she is!" yelled Lieutenant McClure, as he stood with his eyes

glued to the periscope glass.
"U-boat driving straight ahead at the smoke curtain. Port the helm!" he
commanded.
The Dewey came around sharp and, in response to the guidance of her
commander, began to ascend.
Having executed a flank movement, the Dewey now was endeavoring
to engineer a surprise attack on the German submarine from the rear.
To all intents, the German commander had not yet noted the
approaching American submersible. He was going after the transports
full tilt, hoping to bore through the destroyers' smoke curtain and
torpedo one of the Yankee fleet.
Quickly the Dewey dived up out of the water, the hatches were