New Britain herald., 1915-09-01
BODIES FOUND IN ! WRECkAGE OF "A
Crew Aware of Defects in Bat- terieS Of Submarine, States Report

Washington, Sept. 1.-The bodies of 7 several members of the crew of the United States submarine F-4, which sank in Honolulu harbor on March 25 have been located in the wreckage &C., cording to a despatch received at the navy department last evening from Rear Admiral Boush, in charge of the board of naval officers examining tn. hulk of the submarine. The de- Vepatch sent at 10:30 o'clock yester- day morning, Honolulu time, and re- ceived here at 5:4S D. m., Washing ton time, reads:
 2s"Debris being removed from interior of F-4. Several bodies located but ssllot yet identified"
 g9ta Earlier the admiral advised the de- spartment that the submarine had toeen placed in dry dock and that hole had been found in the hull.
 Crew Feared Danger.
 That the twenty-two officers and men comprising the crew of the F-4, and making up the death total of the accident, started on their last cruise fully aware that their vessel might never make port again, was plainly indicate1 in a report of the naval board which made the preliminary Investigation of the accident. This re- port was made public yesterday.
 Not only were the members of the crew entirely alive to serious defects in the batteries of the submarine, but according to the report it is a widely known fact in the service that all three of the remaining boats of the <F class possess the same defects to an equal or less extent.
 The submarines in this class were the F-1, F-2, F-3 and F-4. They were completed in 1911, and with the exception of the F-4, all are still in acceptance by the navy they were supposed to be far superior in every way to older types of submarines : which are also still in operation.
 Engines Also Had Faults.
 Tn addition to having faulty bat tries the report shows that the F-4's propclling engines possessed inherent faults and were difficult to keep in re- pair and that the ability of the off, cers and crew to regulate the depth to which the submarine could sink de- ' pended more on the skill of those in charge than on the accuracy or the mechanical appliances. While it is
 
 kept in as high state of efficiency as practicable within the limitations of the design and while the officers and crew of the boat were found by the board to have ben efficient, at tcntion Is called to the fact that all boats of the F class have these same V shortcomings.
 No attempt was made in the pre- liminary investigation to determine the actual cause of the accident-this decision resting with the present board that is examining the wreck it. self-but the greater part of the re- = port deals with the batteries, the board holding it improbable that the unsatisfactory condition of the pro- polling engines had any bearing or the accident.
 Although it is set forth that the storage batteries were in as good con- diticn IS could be expected in vie" of their defects the report says tha' they were always in state of being more or less electrically grounded, Sdue to the leakage of electrolyte o' by capillary action of the electrolyte or moisture and poor insulation or bad electrical contact, and that these salc grounds have been of suffi' cient intensity at times to cause flame and the fusing of electrical con- nections." This condition, the report adds. obtains with all the submarines of this class.
 Gas Formed From Batteries
 When being charged or discharged the report says, the storage batteries