Los Angeles herald., 1910-06-28
SUBMARINES OFF
FOR FUTURE HOME
Little Vessels Expected to Never
Leave Shelter of San
Diego Harbor
NOT ADAPTED TO LONG TRIP
Close Quarters and Gaseous Air
Cause Crew UnComfort-
able Voyages

SAN PEDRO, juno 27.-The little
Grampus continued down the coast to-
night on their first and what may be
their last sea voyage. With the sub
marines went the collier Justin and
the tug Fortuna. All will be perma-
nently attached to the torpedo station
recently established at San Diego.
Il. A. Saar, ]. p. Moore and J. b.
Cook, the men on the Grampus over.
come by gas Saturday at Santa Bar
bara, have recovered and were able to
proceed with the boats. Inhaling gas
from the gasoline engines is the thing
that the men on the submarines have
to guard against most.
When the engines are running the
gases from the burnt fuel is exhausted
into the water outside. In the cramped
quarters on the submarines a little
leak will soon fill the compartment
with gas. There is no odor to the
burnt gas, and the first warning the
men have is when they are overcome
and fall In a faint. Nearly all the men
have at various times been overcome.
The trouble last week was not from
a leak. The air was thick and heavy
and the gas came in through the
danger when submerged, as storage
batteries furnish the power under wa
ter.
Visitors continued to crowd the sub
marines today and as fast as they
could be admitted into the little boats
the machinery was explained. The
hold of a submarine has all the APP
pearance of an unusually clean ma
chine shop, and there is a bewildering
80 IT, kov TNfyA vol
we'll as the big gasoline engines, mo-
tor and pumps.
The submarine bells probably at
tracted the most attention from the
visitors The submarines are the only
boats in the navy and the first ever
in the harbor equipped with subma-
rine bells. Many passenger steamers
have the receiving apparatus, but only
a few light ships have the bells.
The bells are located on the after
deck and stand inverted with the lip
upward. They are cast of heavy brass
and weigh 438 pounds. Under water
tap from the heavy clapper can be
heard four miles. Unlike the ordt-
nary bell, the lip is rounded and is
about three inches thick. the bell be-
ing eighteen inches in diameter.
SIGNAL UNDER WATER
The receiver apparatus is an ordi-
nary telephone receiver connected with
a microphone that transmits the vibra-
tions of the water. BY means of
code of signals men on the boats are
able to communicate with each other
while under water.
When the little boats arrive at San
Pedro they will have completed the
longest sea voyagle in the history of
submarines. The record for a con-
tinious VOYAGE was made by the
Plunger from Newport to New York
city, O. distance of less than 200 miles.
The longest continuous voyage made
by the Pike and Grampus coming
down the coast was from Santa Cruz
to San Luis Obispo, a distance of 12S
miles.
The boats have before them a voy-
age nearly as long and the men are
not looking forward to 1t with pleas
ure. There are no sleeping quarters
on the submarine. There is but one
compartment in the boats-the engine
room. Men used to soft berths on the
tug Fortuna do not relish the idea OF
sleeping on a pile of oil cans in a
little room with big gasoline engine
running. While at sea the men will
have to sleep and eat on board with
out accommodations or room to do
either.
The submarines are not made to go
to sea, but the trip down the coast
has demonstrated that they can do so
in an emergency, even though they
did have to put back to port three
times at Port San Luis on account or
stormy weather Unless war should
call them to some port in danger 1t is
not likely that the little boats VIII
ever again leave San Diego harbor.