The Indianapolis times. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1922-1965, 1927-12-21
DIVERS WILL
TRY TO- Reach
SUNKEN Sub
Weather ModerateS, Giving
Hope That Work Can
Be HaStened.
NO TAPS SINCE 6 P. M.
Navy Men Doubt Six Held
in Trap Yet Can Be
Clinging to Life.
NO TAPS SINCE 6 P. M.
BY BOYD LEWIS
United Press stan Correspondent


Active efforts toward salvage of
the sunken submarine S-4 and re-
lief from the underseas tomb Of
the. forty men who went down with
her, were resumed today, with sea
and weather favorable.
The mine sweeper Falcon, base
ship for the operations, went to
its station beside the buoy mark
ing the spot where the submarine
went down, and with the mine
sweepers Lark and Ballard, began
maneuvering into position.
Divers were ready to go over
sides. Oxygen and liquid food were
kept at hand, on the outside chance
that there still was some life
aboard the submarines chance so
slim as hardly to be mentioned by
the salvage fleet.
Divers Soon Ready
Up to little before noon, as
near as could be learned, it still
would be some time before the
divers could go down.
Weather conditions continued
favorable, compared to the gales of
Monday and Tuesday, through the
morning.
Officers Of the Falcon, flagship of
the rescue fleet, in megaphone
conversation with the United Press
correspondent aboard the trawler
Beatrice, said divers would be put
down between and p. m.
The last hint that the six men
still were alive came shortly after
6 p. m. yesterday. Boats of the
salvage crews, through oscillators,
caught seven faint raps believed
'fT<H he sltikea submarine. i-.
Signals Very Faint
They were so faint they hardly
could be heard and officers say
there was no semblance Of the code
the entomed men have used in
signalling heretofore. q
Since then there has been moth
ing but silence from the spot where
the submarine rests on the oceans
floor.
All diving operations today de-
pended on the weather. Last night
two lights blinked from the 210-foot
granite memorial tower here. used
to display the weather bureaus
signals. They told the prediction OF
a northwest gale to come.
Rear Admiral Brumby sent out
orders for the rescuing vessels to go
into the harbor last night. Only the
So was believed over the spot
where the sunken craft is down.
The story of the last word from
the S-4 as the hour for the death
of the men had been passed was told
in a message from Admiral Brumby,
intercepted on shore.
Admiral Gives Report
weather bad all day and con-
tinues bad. Nothing accomplished
all day. Temperature of water at
bottom this morning, "a degrees" it
read.
"The following from S-8:
"'We heard seven taps shortly
after p. m, believe they may have
come from S-4, but cannot get them
to repeat or acknowledge our
calling"
The admiral was far from hold
ing vain hopes for the men.
The pounding seas of the last two
days, which made it virtually sui
cidal for a diver to attempt to de-
scend to the S-4, which is seventeen
fathoms below the oceans surface,
had given way this morning to slow
rollers which tossed the salvage fleet
in easy rhythm.
A stiff breeze still blew, but
higher temperature robbed it of some
of the sting of yesterday and ris-
ing barometers gave hope of further
abatement of the storm.
Thirty additional men, all ex-
perts in different branches Of the
job in hand and including three
more experienced divers, either had
arrived this morning or would be
here during the day.
At dawn another 100-ton derrick
barge was anchored OF the spot
where the S-4 went down. 1t hao
arrived during the night. A little
later a tug picked it up and began
towing it toward the harbor.
At the same time a tug prepared
to pick up the derrick ship Century,
a great, red hulk carrying huge
tripod crane, presumably to tow it
out to the scene of operations.