or valour. In two of
these engagements no less than six and fourteen drifters were sunk in a
few minutes.

MOTOR LAUNCHES

About the now famous motor launches, or "movies," as they are called in
the Service, much will be said in later pages. They numbered over 500,
and, with but few exceptions, were a homogeneous flotilla of fast
sea-going patrol boats, heavily armed for their size. Some idea of their
appearance under varying conditions will be gained from a study of the
illustrations.

They were all commanded by R.N.V.R. officers, whose training on H.M.S.
_Hermione_ and elsewhere has been described in an earlier chapter. They
carried a crew of nine men and two officers, and their zones of
operations extended from the icy seas which wash the Orkneys and
Shetlands to the West Indies and the Suez Canal.

It may be of interest to give here an extract from the American journal,
_Rudder_, showing how these vessels came into being.[3] Although the
hulls were constructed in Canada, and much of the assembling was also
carried out on the banks of the St Lawrence, the engines came from the
United States. It was to the organising ability of Mr Henry R. Sutphen,
of the Electric Boat Company, New York, that the delivery of over 500 of
these wonderful little craft in less than a year was due. Here is that
gentleman's story of the "M.L." contract:

"It was in February, 1915, that we had our initial
negotiations with the British Naval authorities. A
well-known English shipbuilder and ordnance expert
was in this country, presumably on secret business
for the Admiralty, and I met him one afternoon at
his hotel. Naturally the menace of the German
submarine warfare came into discussion; we both
agreed that the danger was a real one, and that
steps should be taken to meet it.

"I suggested the use of a number of small, speedy
gasolene boats for use in attacking and destroying
submarines. My idea was to have a mosquito fleet
big enough to thoroughly patrol the coastal waters
of Great Britain, each of them carrying a 13-lb.
rapid-fire gun.

[Illustration: FIG. 1.--Diagram showing principal characteristics of an
armed motor launch. _A._ Wheel-house. _B._ Searchlight. _C._ Chart-room.
_D._ Navigation lights. _E._ 3 or 13 pounder quick-firing gun. _F._
Wheel and indicators in wheel-hou