The Birmingham age-herald., 1915-03-29
BIRMINGHAM MAN
 TELLS OF TRIP ON
 THE SUBMARINE F-4
When Undersea Boat Sinks Feeling of Helplessness Comes Over One-The-
 0ry of the Disaster

One resident of Birmingham has had the novel experience of a trip undersea in the submarine F-4, which now lies waters. with 19 victims of the wors. disaster in the history of American submarine navigation.
 w. C. Grebe of the LaBarre Con- struction company of Birmingham is graduate of the class of 1909 of An napolis Naval academy and classmate of Lieutenant Eby, the ill-fated com mander of the F-4, who is numbered among the undoubted victims of the present accident.
 While the F-4 was in Atlantic waters a few days ago, MT. Grebe was invited to make an underwater trip.
 "When the ballast tanks are filled with water and the submarine begins to sink, it gives one a peculiar sensa- tion," said MT. Grebe in discussing his experience. You have a shut-in feel ing and sense of helplessness in the event of trouble comes over you. The increasing gloom as submergence in- creases, coupled with the gurgling. greenish water around and above you compose an environment which cannot be paralleied."
 What is your theory as to the prob able cause of this disaster?" MT. Grebe was asked.
 Tt is vain to theorize in that direc- tion," was his reply. The submarine is naturally subject to thousand perils. There are certain dangers which, by the nature of things, cannot be obviated.
 "A submarine runs alongside dock her matches are opened; the batteries are charged and the gasoline tanks filled. She starts on her journey and during the course of surface navi- gation uses her gas engines. Then the ballast tanks are filled and sine goes down, whereupon the gas engines are shut off and power Is supplied by cleo trio motors. t
 "One of the gravest dangers and one constantly present arises from the fact that a submarine carries wet batteries filled with sulphurio acid. If salt water comes in contact with this acid, a deadly chlorine gas is formed. Under fits influence a man becomes drowsy, then unconscious and soon expires. It Is strange that, though resuscitatfo7 is attempted, by pulmotor or otherwise, even while the victims heart Is still beating, it Is rarely if ever successful. The chlorine gas seems to have @ pe- culiar effect on the lungs, in the na- ture of burning them.
 eff the F-4 stranded on the ocean 8 bottom at depth of 320 feet, as seems to be indicated by the dispatches, a tremendous pressure, amounting to about 140 pounds to the square inch, was exerted on every portion of her fabric. While some allowance is made for extra strain, the average subma- rine 1t not built to stand such pres sure as this.
 q can imagine that, in the case of the F-4, her seams were soon sprung, even if she was not crushed completely. In that event the salt water would begin to accumulate inside, would gradually rise until 1t reached the bat teries, and then a result as l have de- scribed would occur from contact of the water with the sulphuric acid of tho batteries.
 Lieutenant Eby was one of the pop ular men of our class, and his untimely death, along with that of the other brave men who went to their fate with him, will be generally mourned by na- val academy men,"