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March, 1919 A FLEET OF MINE SWEEPERS AND ing ability and fighting power. The camouflage designs also were arranged so that it was very difficult to deter- mine just what course a ship under observation was sailing and the speed at which she was going. This, of course, added to the troubles of the submarine and increased the safety of the merchantman. Miles of Nets Used During the war, the various harbor and channel entrances were protected. by miles and miles of submarine nets. These nets were not made of heavy wire rope as many people imagine, nor were they, as was generally supposed, securely anchored and arranged to catch and hold the submarines. On the contrary, the néts were made of fine wire cables not much over %-inch in diameter. Unusually flexible cables were provided and the nets were made up in sections about 120 feet long and 35 feet wide. The mesh was 12 feet square, big enough to drive an auto- mobile through, with plenty of clear- ance. The top edge of the nets was supported by ordinary fishermen’s floats and the bottom hung with lead weights of the same type. The various sections or units were provided with coupling devices so that continuous nets of any length and depth could be quickly assembled, and as easily disassembled. The methods of manufacturing these nets were so greatly improved during the war that the cost per section was reduced from about $150 to approxi- mately $30. The nets were strung out where the submarines were in the habit of operating in much the same manner as gill nets are laid out by salmon fishermen. In fact, the submarine nets were nothing more than enlarged gill nets, the fish in this case being NET HANDLING CRAFT STEAMING the German pirates. The nets were not anchored, but were attended by drifters or trawlers. The 85-foot and the 110-foot submarine chasers also were used for net patrol work in large numbers. When a submarine came along where a net was located, he poked through the mesh which im- mediately caught on the conning tower or some other projection. The floats, of course, began promptly to move off at a speed of 8 ‘to 12 knots, while at the same time the net formed a pocket and wrapped itself gracefully around the submarine. The net was so light that usually it did not impede the operations of the submarine in any way and frequently the first in- timation the commander of the under- sea boat received that his presence was known, came in the form of an ac- curately placed depth charge which blew him and his craft to kingdom come. It was a very simple matter, of course, for the net patrol boat to drop the charge accurately since the floats indicated the position of the submarine precisely, as well as_ re- vealing its course and speed. Some- times the submarine commander dis- covered he was in a net and tried to back out. This was not easily accom- plished, particularly in view of the fact that the instant he touched the net the disturbance of the floats was noted by the patrol. Thus like the lion in the silken web, many a Hun submarine was brought to an untimely end by a fabric of flimsy wire. Baltimore Yard’s Record The Baltimore Dry Docks & Ship Building Co., Baltimore, calls. atten- tion to the omission of two steamers from the list of vessels credited to this company in the table presented in the February issue showing all Amer- ican ships delivered during 1918. These ed vie tuner t 4 de 135 OUT TO SEA FROM A BRITISH PORT DURING THE WAR steamers are the refrigerator ships NortH Pore and Porar Star. They are 6200 tons deadweight, being sister vessels of the refrigerator ships list- ed in the table. During 1918, the Balti- more company delivered from its lower plant eight 6200-ton ships from two ways in addition to doing a large amount of government. repair work. Two .8800-ton ships were delivered from.the company’s new yard, making a total of 10 vessels delivered during the year. Late Marine Patents Copies of the following patents can be obtained by sending: 15 cents in stamps to Siggers & Siggers, National Union Institute building, Washington; by mentioning THe Marine Review. 1275987—-Device for suspending ship’s boats from dayits; Owen J. MeGowan. Brooklyn, N.Y. 1274043—Propelling mechanism, James A. Horne, Denver, Colo., assigned to Edward L. Clover. 1274044—Propelling mechanism, Denyer, Colo. James A. Horne, 1274230—Means for raising sunken de Arazoza, Habana, Cuba. 1274273—Convertible raft and the like, S. M. Johnson, Cardiff, Wales, assigned to Johnson’s Con- vertible Boats & Rafts, Ltd., Cardiff, Wales. 1274319—Ship propulsion installation—C. A. Par- sons, Neweastle-upon-Tyne, R. J. Walker, S. S. Cook and L. M. Douglass, Wallsend, England, assigned to vessels, Rafael C. A. Parsons, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, England. 1274299—Rudder controlled shield—H. §. Mc- Gowan, McGowan, Wasb. : 1274416—Propulsion device for vessels, Marcus Hollander, Brooklyn, N. Y. 1274550—Davit, Christian Hoer, New York, as- signed to Ship Builders Iron Works, New York. 1274624—Submarine net, Joseph A. Steinmetz, Philadelphia. 1274653—Ship protector, 1274694—Bridge for Craw, New London, Boat Co. 1283523—Submarine signal and escape-buoy,. Ossed W. Jasper, Columbus, 0., assigned to W. M. Jones and M. A. Karshner, Columbus, 0. John Wosinski, Detroit. Harold M. De assigned to Electric submarines, Conn.,