Submarine Warfare of To-day How the Submarine Menace Was Met and Vanquished, with Descriptions of the Inventions and Devices Used, Fast Boats, Mystery Ships, Nets — Background and Themes

Minesweeping as Mechanical Problem-Solving

The longest excerpt in the sample is devoted to minesweeping gear, not to submarines. Domville-Fife explains how a submerged wire, towed at an angle, cuts the mooring line of a mine so it floats harmlessly to the surface. He includes diagrams (Figs. 25–27) showing kites that hold the sweep-wire at the correct depth and hydroplane floats that signal when a mine is caught. The prose is functional: “the object is to drag a submerged wire through the water at an angle from the ship’s course until it encounters the mooring wire of a mine.”

He also describes the “delayed action mine,” which stays on the seabed for a set time before rising to firing depth, and the “bottom sweep”—a chain dragged along the sea-bed to overturn such mines. The text treats tides as a critical variable: a vessel may pass safely over a mine at high water but strike it at low water when the mine is nearer the surface. This section shows the book’s core method: break each countermeasure into its components, explain the physical principle, and note operational constraints.

The Author’s Role and the Book’s Perspective

Domville-Fife’s author’s note states he “took a humble part in the defeat of the great German submarine armada during the years 1914-1918.” His dedication is to the memory of Lieutenant Walter Price, R.N.V.R., “a true friend and a gallant officer.” These personal touches are rare in the technical excerpts, but they frame the book as an insider’s account. The title page lists his previous works—Submarines & Sea Power, Submarines of the World’s Navies, Submarine Engineering of To-Day—indicating he was a specialist writer, not a general war correspondent.

The book belongs to Seeley, Service & Co.’s Science of To-Day series, which also included volumes on electricity, astronomy, and aircraft. This context suggests the intended audience was technically literate civilians and naval personnel seeking detailed explanations rather than popular narrative. The excerpts contain no mention of strategy, command decisions, or political context, reinforcing the series’ focus on engineering and applied science.

What the Excerpts Do Not Reveal

The catalog subjects imply the book covers submarine operations, but the excerpts concentrate almost entirely on countermeasures: minesweeping, mystery ships (mentioned in the subtitle), nets, and aircraft. There is no description of U-boat attacks, convoy tactics, or the experience of submariners. The word “submarine” appears mainly in the title and headings; the body text discusses how to find and destroy mines, not how submarines function.

Readers expecting a balanced account of undersea warfare will find instead a manual of defensive technology. The book’s 53 illustrations and diagrams (not all reproduced here) likely reinforce this technical bent. Without the full text, it is impossible to know whether later chapters address submarine design or attack methods, but the sample suggests the work is narrower than its catalog tags imply. The author’s expertise in submarine mining—a branch focused on mine warfare—may explain this emphasis.

This book rewards readers interested in the nuts-and-bolts of early twentieth-century naval engineering. The diagrams and detailed descriptions of sweep wires, kites, and delayed-action mines offer a rare glimpse into the physical challenges of clearing sea lanes. Because the excerpts focus on countermeasures, those seeking a broad history of submarine warfare should supplement this volume with operational accounts. Domville-Fife’s work stands as a primary source for how one nation’s navy adapted its technology to an evolving threat.

There’s something humbling in that old 1920 book, the way it quietly details the nets and mystery ships that held the line. It makes you think about the ordinary people underneath all that ingenuity. A similar, quieter persistence seems to run through All in It : K(1) Carries On — Key Ideas to Explore, though I’ve only just begun turning its pages. Some stories just have that steady, unshowy weight.