Submarine Sound Signalling

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Submarine Sound Signalling was an experimental means of communication at sea trialled around 1911.

An Admiralty letter dated 11 October 1911 names some 30-50 ships to be fitted with apparatus from the American company, Gardner's or Lieutenant Hervey's design.[1]

Coincidence

The building bearing the name "American Submarine Sound Signaling" sat prominently in Boston between North Station and the U.S.S. Constitution, where the editor had long wondered what it was referring to before discovering it was in his sphere of interest. The building still exists as Lovejoy Wharf, but a major renovation that turned it into condominiums and corporate offices for Converse sneakers removed the name from its parapet c. 2014-15.

Late 1913

There is mention of this equipment in a Weekly Order, naming 14 ships whose names are to be struck from an Admiralty Letter of 16 July 1913.[2]

A later order lists those ships containing the equipment, imploring them to contact the manufacturer so the machines can receive maintenance.

Ships carrying Submarine Sound Signalling Equipment in 1913[3]
Africa Collingwood Conqueror Eclipse Hibernia
King Edward VII Monarch Prince of Wales Thunderer Agamemnon
Colossus Dominion Harrier Hindustan Lion
Neptune Princess Royal Vanguard Bellerophon Commonwealth
Dreadnought Hercules Indefatigable Lord Nelson Orion
Temeraire Zealandia

1914

In March, the Admiralty issued an order that the "Hervey Type" was henceforth to be called the "Hervey-Gardner Type".[4]

1917

By 20 April, 1917, the following ships were equipped with Submarine Sound Signalling equipment:[5]

This may reflect an actual reduction in installations from 1913, which could be attributable to profuse cautions against its use by ships at sea. The equipment was to be considered part of the wireless equipment.

See Also

Footnotes

  1. Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1911. p. 108.
  2. Admiralty Weekly Order No. 612 of 31 Oct, 1913.
  3. Admiralty Weekly Order No. 644 of 14 Nov, 1913.
  4. Admiralty Weekly Order No. 926 of 6 Mar, 1914.
  5. Grand Fleet W/T/ General Orders. The National Archives. ADM 116/1663. 20/4/1917 Section XXX.

Bibliography

  • H.M.S. Vernon. Annual Report of the Torpedo School, 1911, with Appendix (Wireless Telegraphy). Copy 15 at The National Archives. ADM 189/31.
  • Poland, E. N. (1993). The Torpedomen: HMS Vernon's Story 1872-1986. London: Emsworth. ISBN 0-85937-396-7.