The star-independent. [volume] (Harrisburg, Pa.) 1904-1917, 1915-03-26
Naval onicers Have No Hopes


Washington, March 26.-If the sub
marine F-4 is sunk in 35 fathoms of
water, as Honolulu dispatches report,
naval officers have no hopes whatever
that any of her crew of 26 are alive.
AT such a depth, they say, the subma-
rine must be crushed and full of wa
ter.
Early to-day the Navy Department
received this dispatch from Commander
Charles f. Smith, commanding the first
submarine divisiol> of the Pacific feet
off Honolulu:
ia left tender at a. m. for sub
merged run March 25th. Failed to re.
turn to the surface. Entrance of harbor
In thirty fathoms of water covered with
fuel oil. Diving and dragging =
Oil on Surface Bad Omen
Commander Smith s mention of the
entrance of the harbor being covered
with OF! created grave alarm at the
Navy Department. 1t was feared that
the F-4 had struck rock, although it
was pointed ont that Lieutenant Eide
might have blown out the vessels oil
to Tighten her burden.
But the alarm of officials was in
creased by the omission in Commander
Smith S report of any reference to a
signal from the submerged craft. She
was equipped with marker buoy at
! taehed to the outside of the submarine
and capable of being released from
within. AS no mention was made of
the appearance of the marker buoy, off
cials concluded it has not come to the
surface.
Diving Record of Sister Ship
The usual diving radius of subma-
rine is between $50 and 200 feet. The
worlds record for diving, made by the
FL, sister ship of the sunken F4,
in San Francisco bay two years ago, is
2S3 feet, at which depth she remained
for ten minutes and cruised at speed
of six knots AT that depth the hull
creakeds and groaned under the tre-
mendous pressure and Lieutenant James
B. Howell her commander, reported
that the water seeped ( through the
seams.
Early to-day the Navy Department
was without full information from
Rear Admiral Moore and merely had
one brief dispatch saying the F-4 had
gone down and had not returned, and
the other from Commander Smith.
Chance for Rescue of Crew
Commander Smith s dispatch men,
tioning a 30fathom depth gave some
! hope that the F4 might not be more
! than $50 feet down, in which case
there might be chance for the rescue
of her crew if the work were done prop
erly.
Until the present time the United
States navy has been particularly for
tunate with its submarines. Not a life
has been lost in their operations, al
though some of the ships have sustained
minor accidents, such as are common to
the hazard of submarine maneuvers
European navies, however, have had
several serious accidents in which sub.
marines have gone to the bottom and
with their crews, have never been re.
tcovered.
Harbor's Dangerous Bottom
1t was pointed out to-day that Amer
lean submarines have one feature OF
construction intended to meet just such
an emergency as eonfronts the F-4. On
their outer skin large eye, into which
graphing hooks, being trailed from
rescue ships on the surface, may catcI
and the sunken craft may be hauled
into shallow water or to the surface
The waters of Honolulu harbor
where the F-4 lies, have volcanic rock
formations at their bottom, with tall
sharp peaks and deep, narrow pockets
The fear is that the F-4 may have fall
en- into one of the latter.
Reno, New, March 26.-Lieutenant
Alfred L. EIDE, in command of the sub
marine F-4 at Honolulu, was appointed
to the Naval Academy from Nevada
and was graduated in 1908. He served
on the armored cruiser West Virginia
and the destroyer Truxton before being
assigned to submarine duty at Honolulu
He married the daughter of former
State Treasurer William Mcmillan in
1911.