Читать книгу Our Navy at war онлайн

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I don't underestimate the submarine menace. It is a great, a novel, and a terrible menace. It is a menace that has been unsolved by any navy—our own navy, the German navy, the Austrian navy, the Italian navy, or the American navy. But don't imagine you will solve it by abuse or funk. No, the way to look upon it is that it is a real danger, and it is the work of men to face and solve real dangers."

The problem being still unsolved, it was up to our Navy to devise some plan that might solve it. And we did propose, nine days after this country entered the war, the biggest project that was put into effect—mine barrages to shut in the U-boats, preventing their egress into the Atlantic. On April 15 our Bureau of Ordnance presented plans for mine barriers across the North Sea and the English Channel. On April 17, I cabled Sims to report on the practicability of blocking the German coast, to prevent submarines from getting out from their bases. He replied that this had been tried and found "unfeasible," and said: