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Show DEFECTS FOUND IN SUBMARINES All Boats of F Class Are Unfit Un-fit For Submerged Service. Washington, Aug. 31. Serious weaknesses common to all four of the navy's "P" type of submarines were pointed out In the report made public pub-lic today of the board of Inquiry which made an investigation at Honolulu Hono-lulu Immediately after the loss of the F-4 with her crew of twenty-two last March. So far as could be determined determin-ed before the boat was raised, the board found that every possible precaution pre-caution had been taken within the limitations of design, and the report pays tribute to the efficiency of the men who lost their lives. With the F-4 now In dry dock at Honolulu, a new board, headed by Rear Admiral Bousch, has been ap-' ap-' pointed by tho navy department to ascertain if possible tho cause of the disaster. Although the first board reported It could draw no conclusion as to the cause, the possibility that the. crew might have been killed by chlorine was is' Indicated in the findings find-ings that continue: "Sea water has at times seeped into in-to the cells of the storage batteries of the boats of the F class, causing the evolution of chlorine gas, which is quickly destructive of life." In connection with the principal findings of the board, it Is pointed out that each defective condition reported re-ported aB to the F-4 obtained in all boats of the class: "The structure of the hull of the submarine torpedo boat F-4 was regularly regu-larly Inspected and tho condition ns to repair showed a minor corrosion having taken place. "The structure of the hull had not suffered loss of strength by corrosion of hull plating. "The propelling engines (Diesel oil typo four-cycle) have inherent faults and are difficult to keep in repair, but were kept In as high a state of efficiency as waa practicable within the limitations of said design. Temporary Findings. "This unsatisfactory condition of the propelling engines had no bearing on the I088 of the submarine as this boat at the time of her loss was being be-ing propelled by the electric motors and storage batteries. "Tho electric motors were In good condition, having been repaired by the Bhlp force, assisted by the navy yard force at the United Statoa naval station, Pearl Harbor, territory of Hawaii. Ha-waii. "The storage batteries were always in a state of being more or less electrically elec-trically 'grounded, duo to the electrolyte electro-lyte or by capillary action of the electrolyte elec-trolyte or moisture and poor insulation, insula-tion, or bad electrical contact and these said 'grounds' have been notod to bo of sufficient Intensity at times to cause flame and tho fusing of electrical elec-trical connections. "The storage batterlos during the charging, evolving excessive quantities quanti-ties of hydrogen gas and further, during dur-ing the early stages of discharging quantities of hydrogen gas waa evolved and the fumes of hydrogen and acid became noticeable in tho Interior of the boat on long dives. Hydrogen Explosion. "On the F-4, March 6, 1915. while on electrical ventilator blower was stopped for a short period for minor repairs; probably from a 'ground in the ventilating blower's electrical circuit, cir-cuit, a hydrogen explosion took place which damaged tho battery deck and broke several separators of the cell of the storage batteries. "The conditions under which an explosion ex-plosion of hydrogen is always possible possi-ble obtain in all tho boats of the F class. "The covering over the storage batteries bat-teries or the batterj' deck, in accordance accord-ance with specifications, is to bo practically prac-tically gas-tight and water-tight, which condition does not obtain, as this so-called battery deck does permit per-mit water to seep into the batteries. "The sea water has at times seeped into the cells of the storage batteries of the boats of the F class, causing the evolution of chlorine gas, which gas is quickly destructive of life. "A comparatively small amount of sea water can cause the liberation of sufficient chlorine to asphyxiate the crew of a submarine while in a submerged sub-merged condition. "This condition obtains in all boats of tho F class and in the submarine torpedo F-l, a small quantity of sea water seeped into three of the colls of the forward storage battery, damaging dam-aging the cells and liberating quantities quanti-ties of chlorine gas. No fatalities or injuries to personnel followed as the boat was moored to the dock and the hatches were opened at the time. "The stearing gear of the submarine subma-rine torpedo boat F-4 had in the past given trouble, but had been repaired. The design of the said stearing gear is good and satisfactory. Inspected Regularly. "All Inspections of safety appliances appli-ances as far as can be ascertained, have been carried out, as required by the navy regulations and orders from the division commander of this division. di-vision. "All Inspections were regularly carried car-ried out by the commanding officer of the submarine "The F-4 was docked recently and the question of stability investigated by the officers of the navy yard and found to be satisfactory. In general the condition of the F-l compared favorably fa-vorably with the other three boats of this type. The boat was maintained at as high a state of efficiency as was practicable within the limitations and deficiencies existing in this type. "The action of the F-4 has, in common com-mon with the other boats of the same type, in diving or trimming down, been irregular, and tho depth to which such a submarine torpedo boat would descend Is uncertain, and the method of checking such a descend Is dependent depen-dent more upon' the skill of the commanding com-manding officer, than upon the mechanical me-chanical appliances of the boat "The officers and men of the F-4 were, in so far as can be ascertained, diligent and alert In the performance of their duties and no reluctance was shown by them In operating tho said F-4, even though the said officers and crew were well aware of the existing ex-isting defects." nn |