Evening star., 1915-03-28
May Have Struck Rock
or Formation of Coral,
Officials Here Believe

At the close Of a day which brought
no report to the Navy Department
from either Rear Admiral Moore. COM
manding the naval station at Homo
lulu. nor Commander Smith of the first
submarine division of the Pacific fleet,
officials had practically abandoned all
hope last night that any Of the officers
or crew of submarine F-4 survives No
word mad been received since FRIDAY
night. when Admiral Moore reported
the vessel submerged in fifty fathoms
of water
Some hope was found in an early un-
official report that the rescue ships
had discovered the F-4's marker buoy
IT later, however, was disclosed that
this was working buoy and was not
attached to the submarine. Failure to
discover even the marker buoy inclin-
ed officials to the opinion that all
within the ship met instantaneous
death.
May Have Struck Coral.
The theories of the cause of the ac-
cident generally advanced last night
were that the boat either struck a
rock or coral formation while sub
merged, and that her shell had been
crushed by an impact against the
coral ocean bed.
Naval construction experts agree
that the tremendous pressure of the
water at any depth below fifty or six
ty feet offers serious handicap, to say
the least. to any effort to provide safe
exit from a sunken submarine
Many plans have been advanced and
considered by the Navy Department
for minimizing the dangers from acci-
dents below the surface. Some of these
ideas have proven entirely impractical,
as, for instance, q plan to provide each
man aboard the submarine with a div
ing helmet. 1t was found that the he'll
NETS took up SO much room that they
could not be slowed on the boat. Es
cape by means of the torpedo tubes
has been suggested often, and some
time ago man aboard the cruiser
Tennessee pluckily permitted himself
to be shot through a tube.
He came out safely, but this expert
ment was made at only ten feet depth,
and submarine officers say that sixty
or more feet under water a man who
craw1ed into a tube would be fmmedi-
pounds to the square inch. Air cham
bers are provided on most of the mod
ern boats, however, and at a moderate
depth the men might release them
selves and rise to the surface. The F-4
has such a contrivance, the coming
tower being arranged in two sections
for the purpose.
Stay Below Limited. -
J. The stay of submarine below water
is limited by the supply of oxygen. In
endurance tests. in not very deep wa
ter. twenty-four hours has been the
limit.
There is danger of development Of
leaks under the high pressure at unusual
depths. Commander Stirling, in charge
Of the submarine service. says, however,
within $50 feet" and stay there from
twelve to twenty-four hours with perfect
safety.
The tremendous range Of temperature,
which affects the expansion and contrac-
ton of the castings used, causes, fire.
quently, cracks in the cylinder heads and
piston heads. The lead battery. too, al
ways has been a source of apprehension
on craft like the F-4. When battery
has been in service any length Of time
The plates may buckle, there may be
short circuits, and there may be bat
terry explosion of the hydrogen gas given
Off in the vessel.
Ventilation Of Batteries.
The question of ventilation of the
batteries has been given a great deal
of attention. The deadly gas of hydro
chlorine forms when salt water gets
in lead battery and it's dangers have
been pointed out in congressional hear
ings and in reports.
With thirty pounds pressure to the
square inch at sixty feet depth the
water inside the ballast tank is liable
to be forced up through the battery
tank. The navy has installed what is
called the automatic blow to prevent a
vessel going the depth set, generally
sixty-f1ve feet.
The latest reports on the F-4 made
public by the Navy Department in
dicated that her main engine was in
good condition: that the batteries re-
quired overhaulng; that the hull was
in good condition, and that it was
otherwise In good shane