PLANS for a speedy submarine “screw-ship,” which would serve as a carrier for the quick dispatch of mail and freight between continents, have been developed by Maximilian Bernd, an engineer in Hamburg, Germany. Resembling a torpedo in general appearance, the proposed underwater craft consists of two parts. One, a cylinder-like inner chamber, features the crew’s rooms, the storage hold, engines (electric) and a gyro device to maintain balance. The other part of the future “screw-ship” consists of a steel outer jacket which rotates around the stationary inner chamber by means of a special gear and bearing arrangement and which has spiral-shaped metal fins fastened to its surface. When the engines cause the outer jacket to rotate, the spiral fins screw into the water much as the threads of a screw bite into wood, thus forcing the craft forward. A periscope at the nose and a rudder at the rear facilitate steering.