The daily Gate City. [volume] (Keokuk, Iowa) 1855-1916, 1915-03-28
SUBMARINE LOCATED
800 FEET DEEP
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800 FEET DEEP
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object which was first grappled yes
terday was the F-4.
The naval authorities abandoned
hope tonight that any of the impris
oned men would be taken out alive
Air bubbles were continually rising to
4 the surface as the work of rescue
was in progress today but this, ex-
perts declared, was not necessarily
an indication OF the existence of life
| in the vessel.
Extremely slow progress was made
water In which the submarine now
rests. After having carefully tested
| the cables, the vessel was raised
fifty feet, but slipped back eight feet.
This caused quick sag in one of the
cables, resulting in reports that the
heavy hawser had snapped. Having
been able to start the submarine from
the bottom, Rear Admiral Moore,
commandant of the naval station,
urged the rescuing vessels on to even
greater efforts and it is expected the
F-4 will be brought to the surface
some time tonight.
From a position high In the air,
Aviator Bradshaw was able to give
the naval officers considerable assist
ance today in establishing the exact
position Of the sunken vessel. Giro
ling in hydroplane over the spot
where rested the vessel. now gener-
ally accepted to be the tomb of twen-
ty-one American sailors, he was able
to look down through the clear wat
ers Of the 1larbor and determine in
which direction her stem and stern
were pointing.
What Probably Happened.
SAN FRANCISCO, March PA
graphic description Of the manner In
which he believes the men in the
submarine F-4 went to their death
was given here tonight. by J. B. How
ell, former submarine commander of
the United States navy and holder of
the worlds submarine record. There
is no doubt in Howell's mind that the
men are dead He formerly COM
manded submarine Of the F-4 type
records in the FL by going down 283
feet, castings were leaking.
with reports from various officers
that all was in readiness, Lieutenant
Edes probably ordered the automatic
pillow set for 70 feet" said Howell,
land the dive began. With increasing
momentum the boat passed the 20
foot mark and then reached 100 feet.
The automatic plow must have click
ed. The crew waited
zone hundred and fifty feet.
elbow auxiliary, forward and
middle main ballast Lieutenant Edes
probably ordered. Then 230 feet! The
momentum couldn't be stopped. Some
thing had gone wrong. Too much
water had entered the tanks at the
beginning Of the dive.
1.-TWO hundred and fifty feet! The
pivots and seams began to leak. The
torpedo hatch casting gave way.
Three hundred feet. The tanks
tore away from the skin of the vessel
and salt water rushed over tn ebat-
teries. A short circuit. Darkness.
"The air became terrible. Chloride
gas from the sulphuric acid and salt
water filed the vessel. The crew be-
came unconscious and as the little
vessel reached the bottom they pass
ed into eternity"
Howell declared that had the Fla
been raised within twenty-four hours
there would nave peen CnanCe LnaC
some of the men imprisoned aboard
her would have been rescued alive.
AS the subm arines are divided into
three compartments, some of the
crew might have saved themselves by
crowding into the front compartment,
the smallest and strongest. Men able
to Get into this compartment might
have been able to live for twenty-four
hours, despite the fact that there
would have been little air space
Howell stated.
All Hope Abandoned.
WASHINGTON. March 81 The
navy department tonight awaited Adj
miral Moores complete report from
Honolulu on the submarine F-4 disas-
ter. 1t was not expected until the
boat was raised and all facts ascer.
tanned.
Hope that any remained alive on
board was abandoned Experts believ-
ed the submarine filled and drowned
all instantly or that an explosion kill
ed them. Until full details are avail
able, officers declined to express a
Il Erit no