The Stability of Submarines

Abstract

THE mathematical investigation which Mr. Jeans puts forward is of great interest, but avowedly rests on the assumption of the complete immersion of a submarine in an infinite ocean. The concluding paragraph of his letter indicates that a great number of factors, which ought to be taken into account, are not represented in the mathematical investigation, the most important being near proximity to the surface and the consequent formation of surface-waves. It will suffice, therefore, for me to say that my insistence on the necessity for direct experiment, rather than mathematical investigation, had relation to the case where the submarine was moving at the surface with a small reserve of buoyancy. The slides which I exhibited at the Royal Society reproduced photographs taken in these circumstances, and showed the singular and irregular character of the surface-waves produced by the headway of submarines under these conditions. These slides furnished conclusive evidence of the impossibility of representing the conditions of practice by purely mathematical investigation, and the absolute necessity for experiments on models and full-sized submarines.