The sun., 1915-10-28
CORRODED RIVET
SENT SUBMARINE
F.4 TO BOTTOM
Naval Investigating Board
Saws Crew Was Drowned,
Not Asphyxiated.
ELECTRIC BOAT co.
DEFENDS THE CRAFT

v,yIrYGrox. oct. 27.--The loss Of the
.,,,arIue FL in Honolulu harbor last
v.,cb with all on board was primarily
Sne "a the corrusioi, of n rivet In one OF
ts, ballast tanks, according to the re-
,ort Of the naval board which investi-
sa,ed the disaster. made public here to-
day. ,,.
| ,rlpatinn OF the wreck Of the F-i. The
rcrbers are satisfied that the condi-
,Ior of the vessel and her apparatus. as
,cuud after she was recovered. tell with
annroylmate completeness the story OF
her fatal plunge.
Tn. board Is unit in the opinion that
,be corrosion OF the rivet in a ballast
,snk psrmltted sea water from the tank
IN peuetrate to the exterior OF the sub
marines storage batteries and thence to
,be interior OF the tank.
Az tho sea valves of the tank were
anon as usual, additional water entered
,be hull OF the F-i, probably to the ex-
,ent of several tons. This caused the
submarine to sink. the board believes.
while the generation OF chlorine gas re-
suited from the action of the salt water
upOn the s1lrnurlC HClu VI tHe DdtteTles
within "A very brief time. probably
from Two to four minutes. II Is believed,
the submarine had sunk TO the bottom,
.ss feet. where the water pressure was
so enormous az to open her seams and
admit further quantities of water. flood
,ng the vessel and drowning all on board.
That drowning. rather than asphyxiation
by chlorine gas, was the cause OF death
IN the opinion of the board.
Crew In Engine Room.
II was found that the majority of the
personnel took refuge in the engine room
an, while the disaster occurred forward.
Many evidences were discovered OF the
efforts made by the crew to bring their
vessel 10 the surface II is believed that
not more than five minutes altogether.
and probably less. elapsed between the
moment Of the first aign OF trouble and
the elimination of the disaster.
The report has already started a
lively controversy at the Navy Depart
ment. where 1t is being discussed by
naval officers. The general opinion Is.
however. that the board performed its
task thoroughly and that its conclu-
sons are justified by the evidence cited.
The board was headed by Rear Ad-
rllTSl y. y. fsOuen. .NdNdl 1OnstTuCtOT
Forer. Lieut.. X. Il. Crittenden and Lieut..
H. r. Bogusch. recorder of the board.
Naval Constructor Forer had charge of
ths salvage OF the "a. which proved to
b heartbreaking task. requiring sew
era months. Special apparatus was
constructed on the spot and incidentally
new worlds records In deep sea diving
established.
Though the board finds that corrosion
v0 the primary cause Of the disaster.
It Is stated that no blame attaches In
tho least TO any of the personnel of the
F. Though the danger of corroson
is always present In submarines, no
ease just like this one has ever been
eEcoun'erc'l In the navy's experience
with submarines. The corrosion was In
place where its existence would hardly
he expectcd or discovered even in the
most thorough overhaulinG OF the vessel.
Two Separate Theories.
There are two theories for the corro-
son one Is that acetic acid developed
In the wood backing Of the battery tank.
attacked the lead plates OF the tank
and corrodcd them sufficiently to let
sulphuric acid through into contact with
The steel sides Of the ballast tank
The other theory is that the lead OF
he battery tank contained zine and
other Impurities, which were attacked
oy tn" sulphuric acid and the lead per
tra'ed permitting the sulphuric acid
10 reach the steel sides of the ballast
tank. That the corrosion did take place
oeore the disaster Is considered s.bso-
1'clS proved by the fact that no gem
eral corrosion was found of the lead
pIatos or lead sides of the battery.
stripped Of it's tcchnicalitics. the mar
R'lvc account of what happened on the
~, aS constructed from the boards
elimination, is as follows:
Tho F-f had but recently come out
adrydock after thorough overhauling,
IN the course of which her stability was
tested and found normal. Also a set OF
experimental propellers WAS fitted to her
and It was found by her commanding Of
hcer that their effect was to make the
vessel less responsive to her rudders
On the day Of the disaster the FL
Submerged for a short underwater run
across Honolulu harbor. The Depart
ment requires that no submarine dive to
depth OF more than 100 feet. and 1t
Is assumed that the F-4 resumed even
f' afi"" reaching depth OF from so
10 ~ feet, as IL customary.
suddenly IL was noted that the vessel
'INN'hE 10 lower IeVcl. as SHOWN
% III" Indicators that fx depth below
N" surface AT all times. The first
NOV" "f thu commander was to adjust
ha Ter for an ascent.
Graft Failed to Rise.
The vessel, however. owing to the
weight Of the water entering the ballast
MAh ard into the battery tank through
,'' teak by the corroded rivet and also
oe'dus" ~ the lessened responsiveness
pe'lmental propellers, failed to rise to
~ ruId'r. 1t continued. In fact, to
descend
The mechanism for expelling all
Na'c' from al ballast tanks was there
upoh started without affecting the sit
ud,,on IN" vessel continuing to sink.
'ionahly simultaneously the COM
"a'qer cud"avored to turn around to
-'"I l,IS vessel inshore so as not to
81 I'IIh'r off the rapidly shelving bank
VI l"'pul'I hHrbor This manpuvrlng
.,O hl' propellers in the effort to turn
,.euu''I mis- hoadway, which would have
e 'H''i ~ causing the vessel to sink
more rapidly
a., IN" F-i was found at a depth Of
''r' She was built TO stand the
teNHur- OF the sea at depths not more
,d' ~" feet Consequently her seams
sdn 10 open and under the tremendous
'SNUF" large volumes Of water poured
% Hr' M very brief time. The crew
sS"eu i"r her engine. room, closed the
,o'r ana apparently made some attempt
oH u'r" TO rescue the vessel The
,sne room hulkhead gave way, how
,.r ana The entire vessel was flooded
OF .Ne.