The Hawaiian gazette., 1915-11-12
C0RRQDEb BATTERY
.CAUSE0F DISASTER
TO SUBMARINE "A
,'aGf - g - =
Official Report BY Boush Board
or Inquiry Shows How
Crew PeriShed
FORECAST OF ADVERTISER
SUSTAINED IN SUBSTANCE
Loss Of Raider Was Not Due To
lnefficiency On Part
OF Men

Report OF the Roush board Of inVes-
tigation into the loss of the submarine
"a has been made public in Washing.
ton. Details reached Honolulu in yes
terday's mail,
Primary cause of the accident was
the "corroded condition of the lead
battery tank" Negative sbuOyancy
was acquired through leaky rivets;
water accumulated in the forward bat
terry leadlined tank and overlooked in
to the battery cells.
Under these circumstances the F-4
developed a strong tendency to dive.
| Efforts were made to get the boat to
the surface, but she reached crush.
ing depth and the men died within her.
| The conclusions of the board are, in
part, those forecast by The Advertiser.
| The board does not find that failure
of Kingston valves was responsible for
negative buoyancy, nor that the IA
struck submerged object, tearing the
great hole in Der port bow. With, these
exceptions, the forecast by The Adver
tiser was, in general, accurate, especial
! ly that the Toss Of positive buOyancy
sent the F-4 to a dangerous depth, that
the men tried to reach the surface by
water rushed into the forward com
partment and that some of the crew
escaped. into the after compartment,
closing the door.
Crew Efficient And Heroic
Statements made by The Advertiser
that the loss Of the submarine was not
due to ineficicncy, that the men re
NAMED at their posts to the last and
NkA, "a %
made by the board
As stated by the Advertiser, there
also had been a battery explosion.
Examination of the wrecked hull
after il had been brought to the sur,
face and placed in drydock convinced
the board that the disaster was caused
by leak resulting from cOrroded
Eattery lining and the failure Of the
boat through poor diving qualities to
respond promptly to the rudder change
which should have returned her to the
surface. =
Describing the theory once advanced
that chlorine gas brought quick re
lief in death to the crew, the board,
from signs within the rusted and bat
tered hulk, pieced out in its report a
dramatic account of how the doomed
men strove desperately to save them
solves as their vessel sank to the bot
5 tom.
Fifteen men met death in the engine
room, where they sought refuge at the
last; six died at their posts in the
= flooded forward compartment. All
members of the ships company are alb
q solved from blame in this tribute:
7 Men Stuck To Posts
4 "From the facts established we find
the accident resulting in disaster to
= the l.. s. $. "a or March p, 1918
@ was not due to carelessness, negligence
h or incfficiCncy on the part of the OF
I iccrs or men of the vessel, and that
+ furthermore the personnel remained at
s their respective stations until all cf"c
n tive means employed to avert tn" dis
l. aster impending had failed and there
h after sought refuge.
After a review of all the facts cstab
l. hshcd in the investigation tn" boar
l. states its conception of the disaster a.
l. follows:
:. "The primary cause of the disaster
was the corroded condition of the lca'
IS lining of the battery tank, and in con
II sequence of certain rivets in the Por
wall Of the forward battery steel tank
"Thr secondary causes were:
. "(aJ the poor diving qualities o
D the vessel and, CO. The consequ"n
al failure of the vessel promptly to re
ID spond to measures taken to bring he
to the surface.
O. "Unknown to the commanding off
ID Ger, the vessel acquired some negatiV
a. buoyancy forward of the center o
he gravity, through the leaky rivet in tn
20 port wall of the forward battery stec
8 tank.
"Water accumulated in the fOrwar
battery lead lined tank, and, throng
rorroded slop tanks, overlooked int
the battery cells--in contact with su
phuric acid in the cells generatln
n chlorine gas.
Nj 1.-THE vessel developed a strong ter
v denry to dive! Upon these ntimatiOn
of danger there followed;
"Up rudder, but due to the poor div
ing qualities of the vessel, aggraVate
by the additional quantity of waite
ne taken in through the port wall of tn
rs forward battery tank, vessel did ne
n. respond, but in fact, continued to dc
IN scend, and downward momentum game
he before propellers were stopped
"AutOmatic blow was tripPcd an
m blow valve on auxiliary tank opene
h.. "In the endeaver. to check the dow
be ward momentum, Empowering the pr
n. neIlers probably took place.
= Dipped to Crushing Depth
,r. 1.-THE appreciable length of time r
M uusite for air to build up in baila
~ tanks for the expulsion of sufiiciei
quantities of water resulted in vess
reaching crushing depth. Seams Of Il
vessel began TO open-and probab
through open valves water poured /
There followed actual disaster.
= "Vessel began filing with waite
n Personnel abandoned stations al
!. many sought refuge in the engine ROOF
closing It's doors.
l. "Tnder great pressure engine roo
: bulk head failed suddenly, leaving We
sci on bottom, completely hOoded.'