The evening world., 1920-09-04
SUNK SUBMARINES
CREW DRILLED FOR
HOURS TO GET AIR
Found Stern Was Above Wa
ter and Worked Frantically
in Two-Minute Shifts.
CRAFTS NOSE IN MUD.
Thrust Pole With UnderShirt
Through Orifice and Help
Came 27 Hours Later.

PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 4-The
United states submarine SIS went 20
the bottom OF the Atlantic ocean OF
Cape Henlopen because a large air
intake valve failed to close when
the Sub" made practice dive. in
Navy parlHnco a "Qrash dive" There
were thirty eight officers and enlisted
men aboard.
This was revealed o-day in the Of
ffcial report OF the accident made by
the commander OF the destroyer
Beaver The Beaver Ia standing by
the battleship Ohio. which to-day is
towing the ILL fated submarine to the
Delaware brealSw6ter, creeping along
about three miles an hour.
Briefly, but revealing the desperate
plight Of the imprisoned men, the
Beavers report tells Of the accident
and the work OF rescue.
II diEcloses that II was largely
through the work OF the imprisoned
men under the direction OF Lieut.
Commander Charles NJ. Cooke S.,
that they were saved and that It vas
their own desperate efforts and not
a telephone buoy, as first reported,
that attracted attention Of the rescu-
ing ships.
The crew learned that the stern OF
their ship was above water. This
supplied a ray Of hope and working
as they never worked before they
goughed n small hole through the iron
hull. To do this they climbed up tho
side OF the ship standing at an angle
Of about go degrees.
Through this pole they thrust a
pole. a sailors white gGaersA.Tt tied
to II and wtgwagged signals OF dis
tress, which were seen by the steam
ship Alanthus. the first vessel to
pass. twenty-seven hours later.
The report Of the Beaver shows
that the accident occurred at Q p. NJ,
Wednesday. With the boat at the
bottom in 16S feet OF water. the mon
worked desperately Some OF the
water was expelled and the stern
rose slowly. but the storage batteries
had been flooded releasing chlorine
fumes, the same gas that was re-
leased from tanks by the Germans in
their first attacks In the world war.
The sickening Fumes drove the
crew from the compartments. with
the batteries flooded they presumably
were forced to work practically in
darkness, aided only by small flash
lights. They worked in two-m minute
relays. They could not stand II for
a longer period. The chlorine sank to
the bowl of the ship but there was
no fresh air and the oxygen was rap
idly exhausted.
Sweating and painting, tho men
worked at the hull. It was slow work
but finally a hole was made and a
thin trioltle OF fresh air floated in.
Consider saving personnel was
splendid feat. Slightest mistake af-
ter accident on part of officers would
have resulted loss OF some or all"
tensely said the Beaver report
Members of tho crew of a destroyer
which arrived at the Philadelphia
Navy Yard after having been at the
scene OF the disaster declared the ac-
cident was due To negligence on the
part Of a member of the crew of the
S-6. Ohhcers would say nothing, re-
ferring interviewers 20 Washington.
After large hole had been drilled
in the outstanding stern OF the sub
marine by Grace and McWilliams OF
the General Cocktails and the men
were taken from their prison the drst
request OF each one was for cigar
etee.
Every man was wan and pale from
nearly two days spent in the dark
ness of the sunken hull. After they
had indulged in a smoke they said
they we're hungry.