Evening star., 1939-05-26
Navy Experts
To Decide How
To Lift Squa|us
Mckee and Mccain
Fly Here for PorIey
With Admr. Leuhy
b. the Associated Press.

By the Associated Press.
PORTSMOUTH, N. H. May 26.-
While ace Navy divers and salvage
experts stood ready for alternate
courses of action, two Naval COM
manders, highly skilled in SUBJ
marine work, left by plane for
Washington today for a hurried
conference with Navy Department
officials who will decide the method
OF raising the sunken submarine
Squalus and the 26 bodies in its
water filled hull.
Meanwhile, taking cognizance of
rumors, Capt. w. S. Amsden, captain
OF the Portsmouth Navy Yard, issued
this formal statement:
Despite certain statements in
certain papers of the press, there is
no evidence at this time to substan-
tiate any rumor of carelessness and
sabotage"
Greenlee Hits "oCnjecture."
Capt. H. R. Greenlee, manager
OF the Portsmouth Navy Yard, said
today: .Anything said about the
dnduction) valve is merely con-
jecture,p
1t originally was believed that an
open induction valve allowed water
to pour into the Squalus while she
was making fast dive. Yesterday
Alfred G.. Prien, 26, machinist's
mate, asserted the control board
lights indicated the valve was
closed.
mo one knows what happened, !"
Capt. Greenlee declared, because
no one has gotten down there to
see"
He said that every submarine
dives and operates with the as
sumption that the lights indicate
the proper condition of the valves
and that the Squalus had made 19
similar dives successfully.
Valves Designed by Navy.
The induction valves, he con-
tinued, were designed and con-
structed by the Navy, as was the
case in all submarines built here.
ut is not possible he added, for
the lights to be on if the induction
valve is not closed" explaining that
the electric contact which puts on
the light is at the base of the
valve.
Asked what was the possibility of
the valve opening once it was
closed, the captain said the ten
dency of valve once closed would
be to remain closed.
Admiral n q" rnla Aool,
the rescue ship Falcon after a brief
trip ashore, ordered preliminary
salvage work resumed, pending the
arrival from Washington of instruc-
tlons regarding final procedure
whether to blow out the water from
the submarine and attempt to float
1t through its own buoyancy or to
employ the huge pontoons, used in
similar disasters, to raise the vessel.
Divers Attach Line.
The impression among some OBJ
servers here was that the pontoons
probably would be used. However.
divers went down shortly before 9
am. to lay the ground work for the
attachment of air hoses in the event
IL was oeclded not to use the pom
toons. At noon divers went down to
attach a permanent descending line
to the gun deck of the submersible
and to clear away antennae or any,
thing else that might impede SAL
vaging.
Authorities announced that all
but 3 of the 33 survivors had been
discharged from Portsmouth Naval
Hospital this morning. The men
detained for slight colds were It.
John c. Nichols, gunnery and tor
pedo officer, Chicago; Charles S.
Kinney, yeoman second class Tulare,
Calf, and Charles A. Powell, radio
man second class, Leesdale, La.
Two submarine experts, Comdrs.
A. I. Mckee and A. R. Mccain. took
of for Washington at 1925 am. for
a conference with high Navy Off
cials who will decide the method of
raising the Squalus.
(Comdrs. McCann and Mckee
were expected to arrive at the
(See SUBMARINE, Page A-4.)