The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1916-01-17

are installed on the boats and what
resources the navy 4now has would be
used for this PURPOSE
The board of investigation in ses-
sion over the E-2 had not reported to
the navy department today and no
further information concerning the ex-
plosion had reached officials.
Both Simon Lake and Lieutenant
Commander Richard H. M. Robinson,
formerly naval constructor at the
Brooklyn navy yard, have been out of
town. While the utmost secrecy is
preserved as to their present. where
abouts it is not denied at the Lake
Co.'s office here that they may have
been called to the scene Of the ex-
plosion to give their expert opinion
of the explosion.
Other submarine experts, fully ac-
quainted with the placing and charg-
ing of batteries, express themselves
as assured that some carelessness up
on the part of those employed in the
boat was responsible for the accident,
rather than the batteries themselves
In speaking of this, an expert who
has had many years experience with
both the Electric Boat Co, builders Of
the E-2 and with the Lake Co., but
who, because of his present close con-
nections with the navy department,
asked that his name be kept from
print, stated:
.It is interesting to note that of the
great number of accidents tol submar-
ines from the sinking of the '.Hun1ey''
during the Civil War to date, less
dents occur to boats in the builders
hands.
This is most significant, when it is
considered that all boats in COM
mission are in the hands of trained
ANNAPOLIS bnen.
'I believe with other experts in
this city and New London that hydro
gen gas. possibly mixed with chlorine
gas. forming hydrocho ric acid If
moist enough, was the basic cause of
the explosion.
'aThe presence of one or both of
these gases should have been noted
even before the pungency of the odor
became apparent to the olfactory
organs of the men engaged in the re-
pairs, provided the simple tests used
by builders of submarines have been
followed.
ssIn the first place every submarine
is equipped with a ''gas Indicator
which would be hard to explain in its
ltechnicaIities to the laynnan and pos
| sib1y this would be against the rules
OF the navy department. 1t will suf-
| fee to say that the principle is that
] of explosive gas action upon a com
| bination of chemicals located in var
| ious compartments of the boat, which
upon change of substance through
| electric apparatus, indicates the
presence upon a dial in the coming
| tower.
Thus If any gas were being gener-
ated in any recess of the boat its
presence would be clearly indicated at
once to the man who should have
been on watch at the indicator, es-
pecially If the batteries were being
| Installed or in process of charging or
recharging.
Another method, commonly used
by builders. but which I have never
seen used by navy of1cerss1 is the
/ spreading of litmus papers at all the
hatchways,i so that any gas forming
below the plates on which the work
men were engaged, and possibly by
its heavy nature not making itself
manifest by smell, but escaping
/ through underneath channels to
another part Of the boat will at once
be discovered. ne
/ t'As blue litmus paper is quickly
schanged by the action Of any acid and
as both chlorine and hydrogen gas
| show this acid reaction to marked
4 degree the paper would turn reddish
1 in color when such acids are present
though the average man could not
detect their odor.
HIn the opinion of most experts
here, what has actually happened is
believed to be this: In the placing or
charging of batteries gas has escaped
which has in some way mixed itself
/ with the chlorine elements left from
1.-THE older type of batteries that were
probably removed. Someone in charge
of, the indicators has been reIT1iss in
his duty with the result that a guam
| tity of gas has accumulated some
/ where in the vessel Possibly this
had passed, under and beneath the
/ men engaged in the work and found
Tits way to another part of the vessel.
An electric switch, the spark from a
/ hammer, or in the event that it was
chlorine gas that was liberated, strong
rays of the sun entering an open
| hatchway, would have fired it.