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Naval History and Heritage Command

Naval History and Heritage Command

Commodore Guy R. Gaunt, British Naval Attaché at Washington, D. C., to the British Admiralty

357

COPY OF TELEGRAM.                  IN

From..Washington.                  Date,2.9.17.

                                   Sent,9.30pm-1st.

To....Admiralty                    Recd.10.52am.

------------------------------------

     K.1

357. Your 3882 Length over all 110 feet beam 15 feet 4 ¾ inches draught 4 feet 10 inch freeboard lowest point 4 feet 8 inches freeboard forward 9 feet 5 inches full capacity 2500 gallons cruising radius 12 knots 1500 miles speed 18 knots horse power 660 armaments 6 pounder Admiral Sims3 has full details of these boats. The American scheme is to use them in conjunction with a kite 3 to a destroyer. They carry depth charges. Some success had been obtained by using them for listening and then following submarines and calling up the destroyer.

Source Note: Cy, UK-KeNA, Adm. 137/1437. Notation at bottom of page: “3rd S.L. [RAdm. Sir Lionel Halsey]/D.I.D.[Capt. William E. Hall] 2.” The notation meant that a copy of this cable was sent to Halsey and two copies to Hall.

Footnote 1: That is, the cypher code used to transmit this cable.

Footnote 2: Gaunt previously asked the Admiralty if there was any interest in procuring “110 foot submarine chasers,” from the United States Navy to which the Admiralty requested further information on the nature of the vessels. See, Gaunt to Admiralty, 31 August 1917, UK-KeNA, Adm. 137/1437.

Footnote 3: VAdm. William S. Sims, Commander, United States Naval Forces Operating in European Waters.

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