Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1916-01-16
While in Drydock at New York
Navy Yard E-4 Is Blown Up.
From Unknown Cause, In
Quiry to Begin at Once,
NEW STORAGE BATTERIES
BELIEVED RESPONSIBLE {
Latest Device of Thomas A.,
Edison Supposed to Have
Generated Gases in Interior
Which Caused Disaster,

,sv No"Hlae louns.l sreelAl lsAsso VIM

q,
five of them dangerously, in an explo.
sion which occurred this afternoon on
tho submarine E-2 while the craft was
undergoing repairs in drydork at the
New York navy yard one OF the men
Killed was an enlisted electrician and
the other three civilian workers Att
least three Of tho ten now In hospitalsl
are not expected to live.
The dead.
ROY Il. SEABERT. electrician, sec.
ond class, Cleveland.
JAMES II PECK. civilian, general
helper, Brooklyn.
j. +. SCHULTZ, civilian, machn-
list, Brooklyn.
! JOSEPH LOGAN, civilian, general
helper Brooklyn.
. Tho injured.
] l.. l.. Miles, chief electrician. Mid
dlcbnrg, Md
/ Guy II. Clark. Frankfort. Ky.
John llolsey, Baltimore, Md
, James Lyons, civilian.
! Henry zoll. civilian
I otto Hasscrt civilian.
Richard Heyne, civilian
/ Michael PeNser. civilian
Terrific DctOnation.
( Although the detonution was tcrrif-
/ ic, the submarine itself from the out.
+ side shows none of the effects of the
explosion, the second fatal accident OF
It's KIND in the history OF the United
states navy. The interior apparatus
was badly shattered. but so tight was
tho vessels shell that there was no
means of escape for gas which ae.
cumulated and 1t was moro than an
d hOur after the blast before the work
of recovering the bodies could he COM
plctcd. \ ladder was blown up
through the coming tower ana fell
$50 feet away.
The injured men ana ono body were
removed soon after the accident but
three bodies far down In the craft
could not he reached until the gas had
been blown out by compressed air.
Soon after the explosion several naval
Officers led a rescue party into the
drydock but were partly overcome by
gas fumes when they attempted to
descend into the vessel 1t was then
that compressed air pipes were run
into the shell and the gas forced out
The number Of men inside the sub
marine at the time of the explosion Is
not definitely known. About twenty
were working on the craft but all OF
them were not on the underwater
boat at the same time. II Is not
thought possible that any ono Who'll
was inside could hnvc escaped injury
Cause Not Asccrtalncd
What caused the explosion has not
been definitely decided. Rear Adj
miral Nathaniel X. Usher command
ant of the navy yard, after an cxam-
nation Of tho craft and questioning
workmen who had been ncnrby, de-
clincd to express an opinion. lIel
said:
The men were at work In the bat
terry compartment of the E-2, dis
charging the new Edison batteries
through II rheostat to measure thol
voltage and the explosion occurred In
that department while they were
working there. The battery win gen
erato no kind Of gas and there was
no gasoline on board The engine was
Of the oil-burning Diesel type"
Pending the appointment OF an Of
ficial board Of inquiry by the navy de- |
partment. Roar Admiral Usher named |
n temporary investigating committee
as follows.
Lieutenant Commander Pope Wash |
ington. commander of the receiving !
shipe Maine. Lieutenant L. NJ. Stow |
art. Of the torpedo boat destroyer Nc
Can. and Lieutenant Rush II. Fay, |
commander of the submarine division |
TO which the ls2 was attached. This
committee imcdiatcly began to tako
testimony of men working around the
E-2 when the explosion occurred.
Tho submarine E-2 was built in
1910 and displaced t30 tons She
was capable Of travelling fourteen
knots on the surface and eleven knots
submerged. In September, 1914, she
had q narrow escape from an acci-
dent similar to that which befcl the
F-i outside of Honolulu harhor. While
the submersiblc was engaged IN ma
neuvcrs off Brenton reef liehship.
Ensign Gillian detected chlorine gas
whom the vessel was submerged fifty
feet. He ran to the surface. aud the
coming tower was quickly opened to
give the crew fresh air. Every one oil
the nineteen members Of the crew, it
Is said was moro or less affected by
ihc gas, some bleeding from the nose
and mouth.
As a result Of the accident. Ensignl
Gillian was under medical treatment
At the naval hospital in Las Animas
'olo., for several months.
The E-2 was the only vessel in the
world equipped with the Edison
llckeled batteries. and she made her
first trial successfully with them De
'ember :. last with Lieutenant
~harles NJ Cooke. Jr.. In command.
he E-9 made an extensive run on tho i
mrface. then dived and maneuvered d
'or several hours. After these expert a
noes the E-2 made a successful run v
IN merged. The run proved. II WAS ~
declared on excellent authority that e
he new batteries gave better speed Q
With less fuel. u
The E-2 went into commission at /
Boston in the spring Of 1912. She was v