New Britain herald. [microfilm reel] (New Britain, Conn.) 1890-1976, 1921-12-08

Ne" OTht LEG. 6.--NbS lHe ASSp-
ciated Press Fifty one members of
the crew of the submarine S-4S, who
escaped through torpedo tubes after
their craft had made a nose dive off
Bridgeport harbor yesterday and stuck
to the bottom, told a remarkable story
of rescue on their arrival today at the
| New York navy yard
Stranded 10 Hours
According to a report made to the
commandant. they lightened one end
of the submarine, until it appeared
above the surface and then sat perch
ed on this pinnacle for more than ten
hours, until after darkness had fallen.
/ Then, by lighting matches. they at
tracted the attention of a passing
tanker which picked them up and
brought them here.
Several of the men, as well as Lieut..
Francis Adams Smith. were found to
be suffering from the effects of chlor-
inc gas created by salt water flooding
storage batteries after examination
| however, only three were detained at
| the hospital.
rails to Come Up
The submarine left Bridgeport at
| 1928 Il. m. on a trial trip. About one
mile off the entrance to the harbor.
after making a nose dive, she failed
to come up and her commander re-
ported that the presumption was one
of her hatch covers had not been
properly fastened allowing water to
seep in.
Salvaging operations already have
been started. The submarine is believ-
ed not to have been damaged
Mattresses Burned
When night came on some of the
81 officers, sailors and mechanics went
down into the sunken craft and haul
ed out mattresses to burn in order to
get a brighter signaling flare than
tiny matches could give.
One by one the mattresses were
burned at the tip of the outstanding
bow, the 81 sitting around their fam
ing signal, There was stiff wind and
the water of the sound were becoming
more rough, Just as the last mattress
was burning, about 1880 o'clock the
standard Oil tug No. 2S sighted the
submarine and came alongside.
Praise for Rcscuers
A small boat was lowered from the
tug to gather in the men huddled to-
gether on the tip of the submarine
Lieut.. Smith in the hospital here
praised Captain Olsen of the rescuing
tug for splendid seamanship" in get
ing the stranded men off the undersea
craft and aboard his own vessel with
the waters of the sound swishinY
heavily
Three in Bad Shape
None of the 81 men was overcome
by the chlorine gas, but all were ex-
posed, the crew reported. 1t was said
at the Brooklyn hospital that of the
three men who suffered the worst,
none was in a serious condition.
The submarine was taking one of its
daily trial trips under command of
officers from the Lake Torpedo Boat
Co, which built her, and the five naval
men aboard acted in the capacity of
observers They were in charge of
Lieut. Commander Stanley Haas,
No Explanation Yet
Any official explanation of why the
submarine suddenly slid down. by the
stern to the bottom of the sound must
come from officials of the construction
company which manned her. naval
officials said. These aboard the craft
attributed the backward drop to an
open hatch.
The three men held at the hospital
for observation and treatment "forf
acute gas poisoning due to chlorine
gas" are Lieut.. Smith of California;
Chet Electrician Michael Augustus
Fritz of New Jersey and Peter Frank
Dunno, bridgeport, civilian employe
of the builders, All of them were able
to sit up, eat and talk,
The remaining As departed by train
for Bridgeport before noon.
The three men in the hospital said
the SIS went down about five miles
of shore For almost four hours
everyone remained inside the sub
marine. Fearing the bow would settle,
leaving the craft fiat on the bottom
they shifted everything movable from
the forward end to the stern. The
water entered only the two aft COM
partmcnts.
Dunno was the first to crawl out
of the torpedo tube which was four
feet above water. From there he reach
ed the deck, and plunged into the
cold water and swan to the anchor
chain. Grabbing that, he pulled him.
self to the deck, and dropped line
by which the others pulled themselves
on deck Dunno later went below to
put on dry clothes. Exposure in the
cold water Increased his sutferings.
Plan to Remove Crown