Evening star., 1925-01-30
46 SAILORS SAVED
FROM GAS-F|LLED
LEAKY SUBMARINE
Coast Guards Rescue Men
From Small Compartment
of Stranded Ship.
HULL PUNCTURED WHEN
VESSEL STRIKES ROCKS
Crew Landed Near Portsmouth,
N. H., With Clothes Frozen and
III From Exposure.
BY the Associated Press.

BY the Associated Press
PORTSMOUTH, y. H.. January 80.
Crowded together in one compa rt-
ment OF their vessel to escape the
fumes of escaping chlorine gas, the
46 officers and men OF the submarine
S-4s, which struck on the rocks off
the entrance to Portsmouth Harbor
early last evening, were rescued to-
day by coast guardsmen. For hours
through the night it was thought the
vessel had foundered, but at dawn
hashlight signals summoned the res
Cuers to new efforts
The hull of the submarine was
punctured by contact with the rocks
of Jaffrey Point and her forward
compartments became flooded. Early
today huge wave swept her from
the rocks and drove her into the
safe shelter of Little Harbor. There
she rested on sandy bed when day
dawned, but the crew faced a new
danger in the escape of gas. Urgent
signals flashed by means of a pocket
lamp told coast guardsmen on shore
that their services were still needed.
Taken in Small Boats.
With high seas running, 1t was i'm
the submarine, so in dories and small
power boats the Coast Guard crews
of Wallis Sandst and Wood Island
went alongside and took off the crew
Several men were so exhausted by
exposure in frozen clothing and so
affected by gas that they had to be
carried on board the rescue craft. At
Fort Constitution, where they were
taken, Army physicians said that none
rNf hA
the experience.
Because of the leakage of chlorine
gas the members of the crew were all
crowded together in one compartment
of the submarine when rescued, accord
ing TO coast guardSmen. Throughout the
night, when there was hope that a lire
might be sent on board, several seamen
lashed themselves to the rigging so that
they might receive the line and make it
fast. At noon the officers and crew were
still at the Army base at Fort Consti-
tuition recovering from their hard ex-
perience. 1t was said at the navy yard
that no attempt would be made to pull
the S-4S off until her condition is sscer-
tanned. 1t is known.th the hull was
punctured in the forward torpedo cham
ber and the crews quarters forward,
these compartments being flooded. The
vessel is resting easily on the sand near
Frost Point
Crew Suffering From Exposure.
The crew OF the submarine was
taken off by coast guardsmen at $50
o'clock this morning. They were suf-
fering from exposure and their cloth
ing was frozen. as the submarine
had been leaking badly, coast guards
men said.
The crews from the Wallis Sands
and Wood Island Coast Guard sta
tions which had Striven Intellectually
all night to reach the stranded yes
sci as it pounded on the rocks off
Point Jaffrey had better success to-
day when the subsiding seas left the
S-4S resting on a bed of sand in
Little Harbor.
Three In Bad shape.
The members of the crew were
taken on a tug to Fort Stark, where
they were warmed and fed before be-
ing transferred to the navy yard.
Three of the men were SO benumbed
by the cold that they had to be car
ried aboard the tug, but they revived
quickly and after they had been at
the fort for a short time all the men
appeared in good condition.
1t was thought possible here that
in the binding storm early today the
taken a red light at Jerry's Point, at
the entrance to Little Harbor, for an
other red light at the entrance to
Portsmouth Harbor. The submarine
S-51 and the naval tender Chewink,
which had accompanied the SIS
from New London, and which an
chored outside when the S-4S ground
ed. came into Portsmouth Harbor
safely today.
Considered Among Finest.
When commissioned at Bridgeport.
Conn, in 1921. the SIS, which cost
s5,0O0,0 600, was regarded as one OF the
finest submarines in the world.
On a trial trip her nose was inn
bedded in mud outside Bridgeport haT-
bor. Peter Dunno. a member of the
civilian crew, was pushed through a
| torpedo tube, swan to the surface
! and released a hatch, resulting in the
rescue of the rest of the crew. The
S4S is 240 feet long and 81 feet abeam.
Commander Bray in Charge.
Lieut.. Comdr. Stewart E. Bray of
| New London, Conn, is commander OF
| the S4S. The only other officer now
| known to have been on board was
Lieut.. W. A. Swanton, whose home is
| in Ohio.
On January Is the submarine Sl9
piled up on the outer bar of Orleans
! Harbor, Cape Cod, in dense fog'
| The crew was taken off safely but
| the vessel has resisted all efforts OF
| powerful tugs to free her from the
| sand. The S4s, the SOL and the tender
! Cbewink were all to have undergone
/ reftting at the navy yard here.