Arizona republican., 1915-10-29
Report of the Naval Board of Inquiry Tells of Fear ful Battle for Life Made by Imprisoned Crew of Sunken Submarine
WENT DOWN
 LAST MARCH
Battered Hulk of Ill-Fated Sub-Sea is Given Thor ough Examination by the Naval Experts at Homo lulu, Who Find Defects
ASSOCIATED PRESS D1spArcHl

i ASSOCIATED PRESS DIsPATCH1 WASHINGTON, Oct. 28.-A graphic story of the battle for life waged in valn 300 feet beneath the surface Of the sea by the 21 men who perished. in the 1 navy's submarine F-4 last March at 1 Honolulu is told in the final report on l the loss of the vessel submitted by a board of inquiry headed by Rear Ad- miral Burch and made public today. l Examination of the wrecked hull after l it had been brought to the surface ana l placed in drydock convinced the board ! that the disaster was caused by leak resulting from a corroded battery lin 1 ing and the failure of the boat through poor diving qualities to respond promptly to the rudder change which should have returned her to the sur face. Dscarding the theory once ad- vanced that chlorine gas brought quick relief in death to the crew, the board from signs within the rusted and bat tered hulk pieced out in it's report a dramatic account of how the doomed men stroVe desperately to save them selves as their vessel sank to the bot tom. Fifteen met death in the engine room where they sought refuge at the
 
 flooded forward cOmpartment All members of the ships company are ab solved from blame in this tribute:
 From the facts established we find the accident resulting in disaster to the U. S. s. submarine F-4 on March 25, 1915, was not due to carelessness, neg ligence, or inefficiency on the part of the officers or the men of the vessel II, mained at their respective stations un- til all effective means employed to avert the disaster impending had failed and thereafter sought refuge
 After review of all the facts estab- lished in the investigation the board states it's conception of the disaster as follows:
 "The primary cause of the disaster was the cOrroded condition of the lead lining of the battery tank and, in con- sequence of certain rivets in the port wall of the forward battery steel tank;
 'The secondary causes were:
 "(a)-The poor diving qualities of the vessel; and (b) the consequent fail ure of the vessel promptly to respond to measures taken to bring her to the surface.
  cer. the vessel acquired some negative buOyancy forward of the center of gravity, through the leaky rivet in the port wall of the forward battery steel tank.
 Water accumulated in the forward battery lead-lined tank and through corroded slop tanks, overflowed into the battery cells-in contact with sul- Db11rio in ha oEl rine gas.
 'The vessel developed a strong ten dency to dive
 Upon these intimations of danger, there followed:
 'Cp-rudder. but. due to the poor diving qualities of the vessel, agra vated by the additional quantity of water taken in through the port wall of the forward battery tank, vessel did not respond, but in fact, continued to descend, and downward momentum gained before prOpellers would scop.
 Automatic blow was tripped, and blow valve on auxiliary tank opened.
 Tn the endeavor to check the down. ward momentum maneuvering with propeller probably took place.
 ''The appreciable length of time re-
 
 tanks for the expulsion of sufficient quantities of water resulted in vessel reaching crushing depths
 Seams of the vessels began to open and. probably through open torpedo tubes and seams-water entered the vessel. A condition of positive buoy ancv WAS never attained.
 There followed actual disaster.
 Vessel began filling with water.
 Personnel abandoned stations and many sought refuge in the engine room 1 closing it's door,
 under great pressure engine room | bulkhead failed suddenly, leaving
 Vessel on bottom completely flood 1 ed
 From it's examination of the valves !! of the automatic device which was set | to eXpe1 water from the vessels ballast 1 tanks at a depth of 100 feet as required | by departmental regulations. the board | found that the accident which started | the F-4 on her downward plunge had | occurred before the 100 foot mark was | reached. The most effective procedure | Tor sending the boat to the surface was | promptly carried out diving rudders were set to send her upward, valves opened to empty the forward ballast tanks. and the electric motors started | to drive her upward, all without avail.