INQUIRY OPENED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 59, Issue 223, 4 July 1939, Page 5

INQUIRY OPENED

LOSS OF SUBMARINE THETIS.

CAPTAIN ORAM’S EVIDENCE.

COURAGE OF MEN PRAISED

(United Press Association-Copyright.) (Received This Day, 10.55 a.m.) LONDON, July 3.

At the opening of the inquiry into 'the sinking of the submarine Thetis the Attorney-General said that' before the Thetis submerged Lieutenant Woods noticed that the document known as the 'trim chit indicated that torpedo tubes 5 and 6 wore full. If this wore so the bow-caps should have been closed before the submarine left the harbour. Lieutenant Woods noticed that the submarine was slow in submerging and decided to see if the tubes Were full. The test cocks indicated that No. 6 was half-full and No. 5 showed no sign of water, but when the door was opened water poured into the compartment. With difficulty the men escaped from the compartment and shut the water-tight door, but water still came in the next compartment. The result was that the ship hit the bottom.

The Attorney-General described the dramatic efforts of Lieutenants Wood and Chapman to close the doors, but they were unable to stand the pressure. The food was in the flooded compartment. The air started to become foul at midnight, producing physical distress. Cammed Laird and Company’s men pumped out 10 tons of fresh .water during the night, bringing the stern to the surface at 7 a.m.

” Realising that nothing could he done without outside assistance it was agreed that a man. escape by l the Davis apparatus. Captain Oram (commander of the submarine) ■ volunteered to go up with salvage instructions in a watertight can. Two stokers and two of Cammed Laird’s men were also put in the escape chamber, but three of them died, and the other man was unable to explain what happened. Arnold and Shaw escaped later, but it was impossible to say whether weakness or accident prevented the others emerging.

The Attorney-General then outlined the attempts at salvage. Captain Oram gave, evidence that the submarine struck the bottom at an angle of 40 degrees and settled; down half an hour later, 150 tons of water having flooded the compartments. He described the heroic but unsuccessful attempts by Chapman and Woods, two ratings, to close the rear door of the number five tube to enable the water to be pumped out. By 7 a.m. many men were stretching and yawning, consequently to avoid thei danger of the men not having the energy to escape, it was decided to use the Davis apparatus. When lie came to the surface he was entirely hopeful of the others escaping as escape ; presented no difficulty to him. The- three'who were drowned must have operated the sets incorrectly. He added that he could only assume that the major disaster occurred in the submarine after the escape of Shaw and Arnold. Captain Oram expressed the opinion that cutting a hole in. the submarine would' be most dangerous as it might mean complete flooding. He added that the men talked and joked until foul air imposed silence. They showed quiet bravery. It was not unusual for a submarine to dive with the torpedo tubes flooded when not carrying torpedoes. ' Captain Gram said lie did not v think the number of persons aboard interfered with the efforts to bring up .the Thetis, exbept that they were breathing air. Captain Oram said that the compressed air in the submarine: could not be used because the men were suffering from carbon dioxide poisoning, which, causes lassitude and eventually death, but which becomes much more lethal if breathed under pressure. There were already 3i inches pressure and if air had been released from the high pressure bottles it would have made the carbon dioxide more fatal. However, “we discussed it.” * The inquiry was adjourned. .