Evening star., 1911-08-13

Despite the speedy efforts of the French
authorities and the assistance OF the Brit
ish from the naval station at Malta, IT
was impossible to bring the submarine
to the surface in time to save any or hef
imprisoned crew.
After some delay and good deal of
trouble a floating dock was attached to
the sunken craft. and. by successive
stages, was towed into shallow water and
finally lifted high enough to carry her
into the big dry dock at Bizerta For
days both the popular and the technical
press advanced all sorts Of theories to
account for the accident, sister boat.
the Farfadet, having been lost in 1919
by the imperfect sealing Of the coming
tower hatch cover. but none OF these ex-
plantations hinted at the true cause OF the
disaster.
When the Lutin was finally exposed In
the dry dock and the vessel carefully IN
spected from within, the structural Wails
tanks was found to be badly ruptured.
This tank. like most Of the others, was
not as strong as the main hull, and was
capable of withstanding pressure from
the sea at depth not exceeding twenty
five meters, or less than eighty-three
feet.
At the first immersion after leaving
port this ballast tank, with the others,
had been filled, but was left in open com
munication with the sea by accident. The
sailor in charge of the valve had sup
posedly closed it-turning the wheel for
the purpose until he could move it no
farther. A pebble had at some time been
drawn into the tank by the thrush OF the
sea while the boat was trimming for
submergence in shallow water. This peb-
BILE, upon this fatefu day. like tne chip
mentioned before lodged between the
valve and the valve seating, leaving a
crack through which The outside water
could enter and exert It's full pressure.
Believing his boat properly sealed and
secured. the commander. Lieut.. Fepoux.
submerged her beyond a depth of 100
feet The pressure burst the tank and
water rushed in astern. The crew was
probably frightened and ran forward.
This maneuver. no doubt, unbalanced the
boat and made her dive still deeper, in
creasing the damage to the ruptured tank
and causing other leaks to develop.
The Lutin came to the surface several
times afterward like the desperate efforts
of drowning man. some OF the safety
weights having been released to give her
buoyancy, but she was unable to hold her
own against the inrushng water and,
finally, before any of the crew could open
the coming tower hatch and escape she
sank for the last time with all on board.
The chief petty officer preserved his nerve
to the last moment, and his written record
of the various operations ordered bear
evidence of his calmness and his devotion
to duty.
The net result OF the mishap to the
Porpoise, with It's suggestive warming
and the loss of the Lutin was to empha-
size the fact that the ballast tanks that
opened to the sea. which might be sub
jected to great pressure. ought to be made
quite strong as the hull proper and
able to withstand the same external
stresses. Otherwise they would constitute
dangerously weak links in the structure.
x*
In 1904 the Russian government bought
a number Of submarines from American
builders Of these vessels. Five of these
boats were built at a shipyard near Nor
folk and transported to Lihau on the