The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-02-24

accident little over year ago when
 the U 3 sank in the harbor Of Kiel Three officers were lost and twenty seven of the crew were saved. Nest of the fatalities to submarine
 might have Teen prevented had there been at hand, or within reasonab quickly locating the sunken vessel a'1d raising her to the surface, Germany hal suitable salvage plant available erd it proved it's efficiency by raising the IT within three hours after req cIl ing the scene of the disaster. This D ant consists of a seagoing salvage
 dock capable of navigating under it's own steam, and was built expressly for the raising and docking of sunken submarines.
 This vessel, She Vulcan, is a double
 hull vessel. 28O feet in length, with lifting capacity of 800 tons. The width between the two hulls is sufh- cient to admit with good clearance i the largest submarines. At suit the wall of the interior opening, and upon this rests the removable floor
 of the dock. The two hulls of the
 ship are each built with watertight
 compartments of large capacity, sim
 ila~ to those which are found in the
 side wa Is of the ordinary dock. When
 a sunken submarine is to be raised,
 the Vulcan steams to the wreck and Is moored securely in a position above
 it.
 Spanning the well between the two
 hulls are two massive gantry cranes, each provided with heavy lifting ackie driven by electric motors. The first
 operation is to fill the compartments
 until the vessel has sunk to the re-
 quired depth. The floor of the dock is then moved clear of the we'll The lifting tackles are now lowered and made fast, either to chains which have been slung around the body of bolts. which are permanently riveted Into the submarines hull. At the order to hoist away the submarine is lifted free from the mud and drawn is clear of the supporting shelves on the inner faces of the two hulls- The dock floor is then placed in position out of the two hu1ls and the Vulcan rises, lifting the submarine and the dock floor clear Of the water.
 AS soon as the accident to the U 3 occurred the crew released sphert- cal buoy containing telephone appara- coiling it's wires, the lower ends of which were attached to the hull and led to a telephone within the vessel. By this means the captain of the U 3 was able to communicate with the surface, and he reported that the yes sel has forty-eight hours supply of oxygen, and that the crew was in no immediate danger. Orders were at once dispatched for the Vulcan to pro- ceed to the scene of the disaster
 Pending the arrival of the Vulcan e 4iOdl4IlS CIdILS SuGCSOOS0 HI 41AL1AIS the bow of the submarine sufficiently for twenty-seven of the crew to es- cape through the torpedo discharge tube, the captain and two 1ieutenants electing to remain in the coming tow- CT until the arrival of the Vulcan. The breaking of the ventHator, however, and the subsequent flooding of the vessel, proved fatal to the three off, cers. On the arrival of the Vulcan she was moored above the wreck, and in three hours time the vessel appear ed above the surface
 One Disaster In Italy.
 Italy has been fortunate with her submarines as there has been but one disaster, and that in April, 1909, which cost eight lives. That accident was attributed to care'essness. alone. At that time the Foca was badly damaged by an explosion of gasolene fumes. The little vessel was lying in the Bay of Naples, and her crew was engaged in completing the replenishment of her fuel suppy. In fact her gasolene tanks had been actually filled Petrol fumes hung about the boat and found their way into the superstructure through the open manholes on the deck The gas gathered in the su- perstructure space, and a spark from a cigarette or from the stack of passing vessel was all that was needed to cause the explosion.
 Japan, as wei as England, Germany and France, has a remarka bIe tale to tell of heroism shown by sailors in accidents. On April Is, 1910, Lieutenant Tsutoma. SakuIna and four teen sailors smothered when subma- rine No. sank during manoeuvreS in Bay. The lieutenant left a record of the two hours and forty minutes after his boat was sunk, writ ten while he was dying. The mes sage was found in the coming tower of the submarine after she had been 3 brought to the surface. Tn part, the .. death log read:
 Words of apology fail me for hay ing sunk his Majesty's submarine No. 5. My subordinates were killed by my fault, but it is with pride that I in form you that the crew, to a man have discharged their duties as sail Ors should, with the utmost coolness