The Hawaiian gazette., 1915-09-17

" HS. That, further, the storage bat.
teries were always in a state of beingl
more or less electrically grounded, |
due TO the leakage Of electrolyte, or by |
capillary action of the electrolytc or
moisture and poor insulation, or bad
electrical contact and that these said |
grounds have been noted to be Of suf |
fcient intensity at times to cause fame
and the fusing Of electrical connections. !
80. That, further. the condition
above stated Is one which obtains in all |
the boats Of the 81 class Of subma.
rines.
$40. That, further. this condition il
we'll known to the officers and men of
this submarine torpedo boat division
and that due care is exercised in at
tempting to reduce this danger to a
minimum.
"11. That, further, this condition
seems to be inherent in this type of
storage battery.
'+12. That the storage batter es Of
the submarine torpedo boat F-4 during
the charging evolved excessive guam
titles of hydrogen gas, and further, dur
ing the early stages of discharginJ
quantities of hydrogen gas were evolved
and the fumes of hydrogen and OF acid
became noticeable in the interior of
the boat on long dives.
"13. That, further, this condition
obtains in less degree on all the
boats of the 'F' class.
GA. That, further, on submarine
torpedo boat "a of March. 6, 1918,
| while one electrical ventilator blower
was stopped for short period for
minor repairs, probably fEehh n HGronnd
in the ventilatipg ,,blower's electrical
circuit, a hydrogen explosion took place
which damaged the battery deck and
broke several separators' Of tho cells
Of the storage batteries.
"15. That, further, the conditions
under which an explosion Of hv'lro""n
is always possible. obtain in all the
boats of the 81 class. t.
Water seeps Into Batteries
"18. That the covering over the
storage batteries or the battery DICK
in accordance with specificat' ons fol
submarine torpedo boat No. %, is to be
'prac tically gas tipht and water tight.
which condition does not obtain, Ss
! this so called battery derk docs permit
water to seep into the batteries.
"17. That, further. the sea water hal
at times seeped into the cells Of! the
storage batteries of the boats of the
'F' class, causing the evolution of chlo
rine gas which gas is quickly dcstrue
tive of life.
"lS. That, further, a comparatively
small amount of sea water can cause
the liberation of sufficient chlorine ga
to asphyxiate the crew of submarine
while in submerged condition.
"19. That, further, this condition
obtains in all boats of the F. elias
and that in theNsuhmarin torpedo boa
FL, small quantity of sea waite
sceped into three of the cells of thu
forward storage battery, damaging tn
cells and liberating quantities of chic
rine gas. No fatalities or injurieF ;,
'rsonnel followed, as the boat IVA
moorcd to the dock and the hatch
wCr" open at the time.
"20. That the steering gear Of tn
sui marine torpedo boat F 4 had in tn
past given trouble, but had been re
paired.
"2I. That, further. the design of t
said steering gear is good and salts
factory.
"22 That all inspections of safet
appliances as far as can he as"P tn nee
have been carried out, as requiFed b
the navy regulations and orders fror
the division commander of this div
+ sion.
a "23. That all Inspections wer" reg
e larly carried out BY the c1mmandin
officer of the submarine torpedo boa
I "a.
: Stability Was Established
"24. That the submarine tOrped
!, boat F-4 was locked recently and tn
! question of stability Investigated b
the officers of the navy yard and fOun
II to be satisfactory.
Il "25. That, in general, the conditiO
J. of the submarine torpedo boat F.
compared favorably with the othC
r three boats of this type.
u "26. That, further, the submarir
y torpedo boat "A was maintained 1
It As high state of efficiency as w
i rractic able within the limitations an
/ deficiencies existing in this type
submarine torpedo boat.
II "27. That the action of tn" subm
l." rino torpedo boat, Fl has, in CONNIE
VIII u tue OlntT bOdC VI lhF bdhN ~ Y
in diving or trimming down. BEEN
regular, and the depth to whi"h sn'
* submarine torpedo boat would d
> scrnd is uncertain. and the method
IT checking such descent is depcnde
0 more upon the skill of the cowmrn
+ ing officer than upon the mechanic
appliances of the boat.
IN "9S That the officer ana men,
at the submarine torpedo boat Fl WI
l" in 50 far as can be aScertained, hiltg"
rs and alert in the performance Of the
" duties and no reluctance was shown
them in operating the said FI, ev
though tie said officers and crew We
re- we'll aware of the existing defects.
rs "29. That no conclusion at this t.
can be drawn AS to the probable eau