Evening public ledger. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1914-1942, 1920-09-04
Toloing SIS ashore
PrODes Ordeal
Continued from PAGE One

Continued from Page One
preliminaries are being discussed Of tn,
Investigation to determine the cause o.
the sinking. Secretary of the Navy
\ Daniels is expected to convene q court
of inquiry, at which officers and mer
will testify, as soon as they have re.
covered
Naval officers at Washington said II
was likely the court would be held al
the Philadelphia navy yard, and all the
officers and men of the So summoned
before it to give testimony.
Failure Of an air intake valve of
large diameter to close automatically
when The So attempted "crash dive
sent the submarine to the bottom.
The cause of the disaster was re-
vealed when Captain Thomas Hart,
commander Of the destroyer Beaver,
one of the first of the fotila Of gov
ernment rescue ships to arrive. dis
patched in official report to the navy
authorities at Washington
The official report shows that the
-
afternoon, fifty-five miles of the Del
aware capes. The dive was made in
ordinary battle practice. Lieutenant
Commander Charles NJ. Cooke. Jr..
master of the So, gave the signal for
the dive. the men took their battle sta
tfons and the water intake valves were
opened. At the same time the "fins"
OF the submarine were manipulated to
shoot her sharply downward.
Tanks Failed to Work
Had all gone we'll the great tanks
would have filed swiftly and the sub
marine would have disappeared under
the surface on only slightly less than
an even keel. The So had been trav-
cling awash when the order to sub
merge was given. Fresh air for the
crew was pouring in from air intake
valves in the superstruCture. These
are arranged to close automatically when
the water intake valves are opened.
For some reason, not yet explained.
and possibly never to be known, one OF
these large valves failed to close at the
moment when the submarine. her tanks
almost full with the water taken on to
overcome her buoyancy. dipped beneath
the surface
To the horror of the crew water
valve. The men were imprisoned in
their craft, the coming tower hatch
screwed down and doubly sealed by the
weight of water overhead, with water
rushing in so fast that it rose in
Few moments over the gratings on the
floor of the sub.
Navy Discipline Told
Then discipline told. Without it the
men on the S-5 never would have
been heard of again, or at best their
when it was found. In the face of the
rushing water, fighting for life when
seconds counted. they manipulated the
auxiliary wheel controlling the valve
and managed to get it closed against the
terrific pressure of the water.
For the moment they were safe.
though every man knew that unless the
water could be expelled speedily and the
submarine brought to the surface their
plight was no better than before. worse,
II anything, for, instead of merciful,
swift drowning they would be choked by
the fumes of chlorine or poisoned by the
sitting dead air.
The next move attempted was to free
the submarine Of water. The S-5, like
other submersbles, was equipped with
huge compressed air tanks. filled with
air under pressure when the boat was
running on the surface, to be used to
blow the water out of the ballast tanks.
Danger from Chlorine Fumes
The air was turned on. and speedily
the water was blown out of the after
ballast compartments, the expanding air
from the tanks taking its place. At the
same time the pumps were set going to
expel the water that had come into the
submarine from the open air valve. As
the water from the after tanks was
blown out, the submarine began to lift
by the stern. Had the water in the
forward tanks been expelled at the same
time, the So would have risen on al
even keel, the fumes of the chrl0rire
could have been dispelled, and with life
giving fresh air streaming in again
through the coming tower hatch and ir-
take valves, the submarine could have
proceeded to port under the power OF
her great Diesel engines.
Instead. however, the forward tanks
refused to clear. As the stern rose
the water that had leaked in rushed 10
No. l compartment. adding to the weight
there, and anChoring the bow of the
submarine on the bottom. The >tcra
shot up so fast that the men had to
Chamber into the machinery cOmpNrt-
ments aft aud stand on the bukhcads
as the submarine ''stOOd on its head"
The position would have been Suf-
fciently pcrilous under any circum-
stances. 1t was made more SO by the
action of the seawater on the huge