Evening star., 1921-09-27
SUBMARINE. SINKS
|NPAC|F|C HARBOR
Two Men Drowned as R-6
Floods and Goes Down in
Sixty Seconds.
BY the Associated Press.

| A's eue AssoSiuteu freSS.
SAN PEDRO. Calf. September
27.-Three men are believed to
| have lost their lives when the
United States submarine Rs sank
f, In the outer harbOr here last night,
the result OF an unexplained acci-
| dent, 1t was stated at the subma-
rine base here today.
/ LOS ANGELES, September 27.-The
submarine R-6, attached to the Pa
cific fleet and anchored in the outer
harbor at San Pedro, sank at 1890
o'clock last night. according to in
formation received by the Los An
geles Examiner early today. 1t is be-
lieved the disaster was caused by
water rushing into the submarine
through an open torpedo tube
Two members of the crew, j. Dref-
fen, a seaman, and an electrician
named Spaulsberg. are believed to
have drowned when the accident oc-
Cured.
A landing party from the flagship
New Mexico told the Examiner that
they were unable to give detailed
account of the sinking, but they be-
lieved that while members of the
crew were filling cylinder with al
cohol the tubes of the vessel became
opened in some unaccountable man.
ner and she sank within sixty sec
onds.
Lieut.. l. R. Chambers, who was in
command of the submarine Rs, is
reported to have been the last man
to make an escape from the craft
when 1t sank.
After Lieut. Chambers left the sub
marine he Immediately began to aid
to
to get to lifeboats and pieces Of
floating timber.
Tied to Sister Ships.
According to story told by wit
nesses of the accident, who were
aboard the tender Camden and the
sister ships. the Re- was tied up at
6 o'clock last night with two hawsers
binding her to three sister ships and
two hawsers connecting the string of
submarines with the mother ship.
Prior to the disaster the entire
crew. it is said. was inside the hull
getting torpedoes ready for battle
practice. Suddenly the rear torpedo
tube apparently yielded to sea pres
sure and opened. The vessel began to
fill rapidly and the members of the
crew rushed for the coming tower.
One of the first men to reach the out
,
the hawsers releasing the other sub
marines.
Just as the man believed to have
been Spaulsberg, who was reported
drowned, reached the coming tower
ladder there was what seemed to be
gas explosion and it is said the man
was thrown clear of the tower. a
stream of water following him. The
man believed to have been J. Drefen.
reported drowned, never reached the
tower ladder, it is said, and he is be-
lieved to have gone down with the
boat.
The Rs was of the Holland type.
built in 1918. Lieuts S. D. 'Jutt and
]. M. Steel were junior officers.
Twenty Men ON Board.
The crew of the Rs included twenty
officers and men,, 1t is said that the
submarine went down bow first AS
soon as the alarm was sounded search
lights from all ships of the fleet lying
at anchor in the harbor were turned on
to the scene of the disaster.
According to the Examiner executive
officers Of the submarine base and the
Pacific fleet were Immediately called
into conference aboard the flagship New
Mexico. Advices regarding the reported
sinking were telegraphed to the Navy
Department at Washington and prepara-
tions were made for rescue work.
Naval officials stated that an investi-
CATION would be started Immediately to
determine the responsibility for the
sinking of the vessel
Divers were working in thirty-five
feet of water this morning alongside
the RS, endeavoring to fix hawsers
to the craft, which would make it
possible: to raise her to the surface.
It was possible, according to naval
men, that any one inside might have
escaped to an alright compartment,
in which life might be sustained for
forty-eight hours.