New-York tribune., 1915-03-27
CREW OF F-4
DIED QUICKLY,
SAY NAVY MEN
Speedy Dive Blamed for
Fate of Boat Trapped
Under Sea.
WORRY OVER TWO
OTHER SUBMARINES
Gas Accident on Craft in Pacific
May Have Been Fatal
10 Sailors.

10 SdllOTS.
Officers Of the navy yard declared
last night that the F-4 was beyond aid
and that the entire crew died either
by suhocation or drowning almost as
soon as the submarine reached the
bottom. If by any chance the vessel
did not meet with an accident, but
simply cannot get TO the surface, dis
astrous results may follow any efforts
10 raise her. The F-4 must be brought
20 the top of the water on an even
keel, and only a miracle can bring
this about, one of the officers declared.
Lieutenant Commander Louis Z.
Richardson, when first apprlsed Of the
vessels sinking. believed that she had
gone down TO depth of 72O feet. lie
said that If this had been true the
seams Of the craft would have opened
and there would have been no sub
marine left. When told that later re-
ports had placed the depth at $50 feet
he said there might be a chance Of the
vessel being saved.
Worry Over Submarines.
The officers wanted it made plain
that they gave their opinions only from
the reports they received in the paperS.
They know nothing officially Of the
sinking Of the F-4 They feel q little
worried over the departure Of the sub
marines G-1 and G-2, the tender Full
ton and the tender Sonoma for Phila-
delphia Thursday afternoon. Not that
they fear an accident, but they will
be relieved when the underwater craft
arrive safely at their destination.
Commander Richardson gave two rea-
sons as 10 what might have happened.
In trimming the vessel for down
ward dive the craft might have gone
at such speed that she got beyond
her crews control and dived so far as
10 be unable to get 10 the top again.
He said further that the vessel
might have been flooded when an at
tempt was made to fire a torpedo. An
outer gate is opened when the signal
is given and the missile discharged by
the aid Of compressed air. The gate
is then closed and the inner one is
opened and the tube drained. Another
torpedo is put in place and the same
process gone through every time one
IS fired.
The outer gate might have been
leaking, the commander explained, and
when the inner one was opened the
water may have rushed through so
salt water coming in contact with
the submarines batteries would cause
chlorine gas to form, and in very
short space of time the entire crew
would succumb TO the fumes
Mr.. Richardson Is regarded as an
expert on submarines, taking a prom
inent part in the construction Of G-l,
c. and G-3 at the navy yard. lie
served aboard several of them and
spent many nights at the bottom OF
bays while tests were being made
for length Of stay under water.
Coral Reefs as Traps.
Commander Robert Stocker, head of
the hull division, said that there are
many coral reefs in the vicinity of the
disaster and that the F4 may have
struck one of them. He said that the
discovery Of the oil on the surface
did not mean that the craft met with
destruction. The crew might have
been riddng the ship Of it in order
10 tighten il. All ballast would be let
off, the commander said.
Captain George +. Burd, head of the
industrial department, said he knew
nothing other than the reports he had
from the papers. He would not assign
reason for the accident.
Another officer declared that mas
much as nothing was said in the fiotilla
commanders telegram about dlscharg-
ing torpedoes, something must have hit
the GA. lie said that if a vessel
struck the submarine it would have re-
ported the matter. lie believed that no
torpedoes were discharged, and conse-
Qucntly nothing could have happened
from the inside.
The presence of oil on the waters
led another TO declare that there might
have been an explosion of gasolene.
Each of the underwater craft carries
a large supplyas fuel, and possibly
some spark might have touched II and
caused It TO break the submarine
asunder. In that case, however, the
officer said, the bodies Of the crew
would have probably come to the sur
face as a result Of the shock
Hoping Against Hope.
Lieutenant Eide was said by other Of
fcers TO be a careful navigator, but
that he might have been trying to
establis' record for submerson. But
in that event he would not have re-
mained down more than ten hours, his
brother officers asserted. They are
hoping, however, that thiI is the case.
Many of the yard officials were ac-
quainted with the commander OF the
F-4, and he is the second naval officer
i'm within a few days 10 lose his life in
foreign waters. The other mas Lieu
tenant Commander W. +. Bricker, COM
mander of the Scorpion, who was
drowned in Turkey a few days ago.
Commander Bricker was well known at
the navy yard where he served as aid
20 Rear Admiral Goodrich when the lat
ter was commandant at the yard.
The crew cannot starYe, If they are
nov dead from chlorine gas or drown
ing. IL was pointed out at the yard.
The underwater craft carry q supply
Of food for nearly q week and have an
emergency s1pply of various kinds of
canned goods that will tide them over
for nearly an additional week
The absence of an alarm of warning
from the bells Of the F-4 is one of the
things that puzzle the officers. They
believe tina: if there had been a chance
10 signal Tor help that it would have
been done. Il Is this feature of the
ships disappearance that makes the
cMccr5 fearful.
Rubber Jars at Fault.
As long as the United States Navy
employs hard rubber jars and sui
phuric acid for the batteries of its