{"product_id":"2940015708899","title":"THE STORY OF OUR SUBMARINES","description":"There has naturally been a great deal of ink spilled during the War on\u003cbr\u003ethe subject of the U-boat. The British Submarines have worked unseen\u003cbr\u003eand unheard of. Occasionally a few official lines have appeared in the\u003cbr\u003enewspapers about them, but the very nature of the work they have been\u003cbr\u003edoing has precluded any divulging of their activity. With the\u003cbr\u003epermission of the Admiralty I am about to speak now of some of the work\u003cbr\u003ethey have done, and to give their own reports describing some of the\u003cbr\u003emany occasions on which they have been in contact with the enemy.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOn August 4, 1914, we had in our Submarine Service the following boats:\u003cbr\u003e9 E class, 8 D class, 37 C class, 10 B class.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOf these, the B and C classes were 320 tons submerged displacement, and\u003cbr\u003ewere not suitable for the patrol round the mouth of the Bight. The D\u003cbr\u003eand E boats were designed for that purpose, being of 600 and 800 tons\u003cbr\u003esubmerged displacement respectively. The B and C classes were used in\u003cbr\u003ethe War for local patrols, defence of the coasts and ports, and (as the\u003cbr\u003eWar progressed and they became obsolete), for instruction of new\u003cbr\u003eentries of personnel.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eBefore I get on to the War itself I want to give a short description of\u003cbr\u003ethe entry and training of our personnel both before and after the War\u003cbr\u003ebegan.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn peace time an officer who wished to join the Submarine Service had\u003cbr\u003efirst to receive a recommendation from his own Captain. He then had to\u003cbr\u003eproduce either a first-class certificate for his Torpedo examination\u003cbr\u003efor Lieutenant, or, if he had not that qualification, a certificate\u003cbr\u003efrom the Torpedo-Lieutenant of his ship to the effect that he showed\u003cbr\u003especial zeal in that branch of his duties. If his name was accepted it\u003cbr\u003ewas placed at the bottom of the candidates' list, and in due time,\u003cbr\u003eafter an interval which varied from year to year, he was appointed to\u003cbr\u003eFort Blockhouse, the Submarine Depot at Gosport. There the batch of new\u003cbr\u003eofficers were medically examined, and (the standard being high) the\u003cbr\u003eunfit were weeded out and returned to their ships.","brand":"SAP","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47147889230064,"sku":"2940015708899","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/2940015708899","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}