Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1928-08-19
Performed Magnificently.

Performed Magnificently.
In this situation. the Italian divers
and sailors performed magnificently
The weather was BAG for floating der
ricks almost anything above a choppy
/ sea is bad for them, but they were
| rushed out. The divers passed lines
around bow and stern of the FLA.
aided by the fact that the bow was off
/ the bottom Meanwhile an airline was
| attached and vain attempt made to
| help the imprisoned crew with H.
Then the derricks hooked to the sings,
/ and Immediately there was demon
strated the futilitv III surface derricks
/ for rescue work THE men inside had
signaled the imperative need for haste
/ they we're being gassed by chlorine
! But those on the surface dared not
make the lift-~the weather was such
/ that the cables from submarine to der
| rick would snap under strain in that
| seaway. The signals inside ceased
! the men were unconscious, probably
/ dying, but still the rescuers were forced
| TO wait some eight hours till a hull came
| in the sea and allowed the derrick to
/ hoist. They hoisted. the partly flooded
! FLA rose TO the surface All hands
| were dead.
:
showing that If all conditions are right
/ even derricks can succeed, occurred
/ some years ago In Panama when q
merchant steamer sank our O-5, which
| went down with two men trapped alive
| in her torpedo room forward The O-5
a boat about ore and one-haIf times
as large as the FLA, lay on the bottom
completely flooded except for the tor
pedO room. From the nearby Panama
Canal, a large floating derrick was
brought The sheltered water per-
mitted It's use Divers passed cables
under the bow after some 20 hours
work The bow Of the O-5 rose, the two
men inside were removed, barely alive
but they ultimately recovered.
The FLA case merely adds proof tC
what is already we'll known Derrick'
are useless except on small boats In
relatively sheltered water
Offer Only solution.
As all small submarines have lone
since vanished from our active NAYS
list. the problem for us il 10 provide a
quick lifting means for large subina-
finea Our experience on the Sol anc
the S-4 demonstrates that submersible
stabilized pontoona offer the quickest
and most reliable method Ot submarine
:
IN weather that will keep derricks anc
lifting ships IN port The lift can b.
begun. II necessary, as soon as they are
attached, without waiting for calm sur.
face weather But while the pontOonl
are part Of the requirements, they are
not all Any lifting cable, whether
from pontoon or surface derrick, mus
be attached 10 the submarine. On TIL,
S-5i and the So, this required thu
! arduoug and desperate task Of tunnel
ing under the boat by divers. Luckil.
for the Italians. the Fla was touching
only a. her stern. 50 tunneling was un
necessary. so long as submarines. 9th
efs as we'll as ours are built Withou
lifting eyes, 80 long win the attaching
, / Of lifting cables OF chains take such Al
! extended period IS To make it impos
! sible IN large boats To save life b,
, lifting
! But With series nj lifting eyes aions
each side of the boat 10 Lake the pom
3 toor chains. rescue and lifting are hotl
fContiniled ou Fourth Page