PARAVANE, a naval device used in the World War first for attacking submerged submarines and subsequently for protecting vessels against mines and for cutting up hostile minefields. The name of Acting-Comm. C. D. Burney is especially associated with its design and development.
The explosive paravane in its final form consisted of a torpedo- shaped body carrying near its head a large steel plane which was set at a small angle to the centre-line of the body, and was in an approximately vertical position when the paravane was being towed. The thrust of the water on the plane carried the paravane away from the towing vessel, and with two paravanes, one on each side, a spread of sweep of about 200 ft. was obtained, i.e. the two paravanes were that distance apart. Horizontal and vertical fins near the tail increased the stability, and in the tail was fitted a depth-keeping mechanism consisting of a horizontal rudder actuated by a hydrostatic valve which responded to any difference in the water-pressure caused by a change of depth. The paravane carried a heavy charge of high explosive which could be detonated, by means of an electric current passing through the core of the towing-wire, in any one of three ways. If the paravane hit the hull of a submarine, striking-gear on its nose operated a switch which closed the firing circuit. This impact method would not become operative should the towing-line be- come entangled in the external fittings of a submarine, but in that case an extra load would be put on the line; apparatus was there- fore provided such that when the load on the line exceeded a pre- determined value a switch was tripped and the circuit closed. Finally a hand-switch on the bridge of the towing vessel en- abled the charge to be detonated at will should the presence of a submarine be suspected.
It was soon seen that the explosive paravane could be adapted to protect vessels against moored mines. For this purpose the tow- ing-lines were attached, not at the stern as with the explosive paravanes, but at & point as far forward and as low down as possi- ble. Their outboard ends being kept about 100 ft. away from the central fore and aft line of the ship by the paravanes to which they were attached, they swept a wedge-shaped track in a hori- zontal plane at the level of the keel or slightly below it, and fouled the mooring-wires of any anchored mines lying in or near the course of the vessel. When this happened the mooring- wire was deflected along the towing-line until it reached the head of the paravane, where it was guided into the jaws of shears or scissors made of special high-grade steel, by which it was severed. The mine then floated to the surface and was exploded by rifle-fire. It was found that with a pull of about 7 cwt. the shears would cut a ij in. mooring-wire. The normal length of the towing-lines was 56 yd. ; three-strand wire ropes were used, each consisting of 37 galvanized wires, 0-049 i n - i n diameter, with an ultimate breaking strength of between 100 and 120 tons per sq. in. There were three types of protector paravanes: (i) The merchant- vessel type, known as " otters," for ships with speeds below 16 knots; (2) the fast-liner type; and (3) the battleship type.
The mine-sweeping paravanes were towed from the stern of high-speed destroyers. As the point of attachment had to be on deck, an arrangement called a " depressor " was used to bring the virtual point of tow down to the required depth at the stern. Wide paths could be swept at speeds of 26 to 30 knots.
PARDO BAZAN, EMILIA (1851-1921), Spanish author (see 20.800), died in May 1921.
PARIS (see 20.804). The population of the French capital, 2,847,229 at the census of 1911, was 2,906,472 at the census
of 1921. In view of the rapid German advance on Paris after
the outbreak of war in August 1914, steps were quietly taken to
evacuate as many as possible of the civilian population; and on
the night of Sept. 2 the President and ministers left the city
for Bordeaux, where the Government was temporarily trans-
ferred. But the victory of the Marne removed the peril from
Paris, and in December the Government returned there.
Paris during the World War was bombarded by aeroplane, Zeppelin, and artillery; 746 bombs were dropped from the air, killing 266 persons and wounding 603; German long-range artillery fired 303 shells into Paris, killing 256 persons and wounding 620. The first air raid was made on Aug. 30 1914, by aeroplane and in daylight. The first Zeppelin raid took place by night on March 21 1915. The worst air raid was made on the night of Jan. 30-31 1918, when 91 bombs fell upon the city itself and 178 on the suburbs. The long-range bombardment began on March 23 1918, and continued until Aug. 9, with many intervals of calm, there being only 44 days upon which the Berthas were active. The existence of such long-range artillery being unknown when the first shells fell at an early hour of the morning, it was imagined that German aircraft, hidden high behind the clouds, must be engaged. All work in the city was at a standstill until noon, when the regularity with which the projectiles exploded at intervals of about 20 minutes, and an examination of some of their fragments, showed that a new engine of war was at work. The first two days of bombardment were the heaviest from the point of view of the number of shells fired, but from the number of casualties caused, March 29, when only one shell fell in Paris, was the most costly. That one shell fell during Good Friday service on the church of St. Gervais, bringing down with it a large portion of the roof; 88 people were killed and 68 wounded.
The air defences of Paris were not properly organized until March 1918. In fact organization had not been necessary, as German air services concentrated all their bombing raids upon England during the years 1916-8. The results obtained by the Paris system of air defences were as follows: on 13 different occasions, on which 107 aeroplanes all-told were employed, no single raider was able to reach Paris; of the 483 planes sent by the enemy to Paris in 1918, only 37 reached the city, and 13 were brought down; and only 11,680 kgm. of bombs were thrown upon the city.
The war being over, the work of demolishing the fortifications encircling the city was begun in 1919, in accordance with a grandiose scheme which would give Paris another ring of boulevards nearly 30 m. in length. It was intended that some of the ground thus made available should be used for building purposes, in the hope of solving the acute housing problem. It was proposed to keep much of it as garden, and to build numbers of well-equipped playing-grounds, and air stations round the city. One portion of the available space, S. of the city, was to be set apart for " University City," where accommodation would be provided for students of all nationalities; to include recreation and sports grounds, swimming-baths, etc. The site chosen is near the Pare Montsouris.
PARKER, ALTON BROOKS (1852- ), American lawyer,
was born at Cortland, N.Y., May 14 1852. He studied at the local academy and normal school, taught for a short time, read law in an office, and in 1873 graduated from the Albany Law School. He was admitted to the bar and began to practise law at Kingston, N.Y. In 1877 he was elected surrogate of Ulster co., and was reelected in 1883. He resigned in 1885 on being appointed by the governor justice of the N.Y. Supreme Court to fill a vacancy, and the following year was regularly elected. He was a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1884 and in 1885 declined President Cleveland's offer of the first assistant postmaster-generalship. He was appointed a member of the second division of the N.Y. Court of Appeals in 1889 and a member of the general term in 1893. In 1898 he was elected chief justice of the N.Y. Court of Appeals. In 1904 he resigned on being nominated by the Democrats for president, but he was defeated by Theodore Roosevelt, the electoral vote being 336 for Roosevelt to 140 for Parker, the popular vote 7,623,486 for Roosevelt to 5,077,971 for Parker. He then resumed the practice of law in New York City. He was a delegate-at-large from New York to the National Democratic Convention in 1912. In 1913 he was counsel for the managers of the trial leading to the impeachment of Governor Sulzer of New York.
PARKER, SIR GILBERT, BART. (1862- ), English novelist and politician (see 20.827), was created a baronet in 1915 and a privy councillor in 1916. During the first two and a half years of the World War he was engaged on the work of publicity in
