THETIS DISASTER.

Auckland Star, Volume LXX, Issue 152, 30 June 1939, Page 11

THETIS DISASTER.

FAILURE TO RESCUE

TREMENDOUS DIFFICULTIES,

WHY SUBMARINE COULD NOT

BE OPENED. t I'niiii i icir i '..ip - ] •■• tnl. nt.) I.l»\|)l)\. ,lun P ;, Ib-und tin. o ;;ni . ~, ||„. sulimnriiuI llrti- 111.11 ke.| Im i| -~hl 11 \ lillov hear in- II'" -ii.-.-lc u,,|,| ••Wreck." lift,.,-M ttar-lup- ~,,,1 sahage w-scls wire hili-iii :»■ grouped ><■ -1. t >i;i.. . Nin I in- -hip,- lav a gn.it -iif-nk of "'I Hii"»'i "p li Hi.- - 1 hiiiih of Hi" ninety Mini' nit-ii |\ in» ~\ ~|- |;;n ...... l„|,,u. ><"•"-.' 'i'l'- are hamperiii". salvage'-w-.rk. Iliu-r, rcp<„| U,.,! ||„, Thetis is iviiip wild 1,,-,- keel all suspended i. (>'w t.-.-i iilxii.. Hi,- ~,-eai! l„,|, facilitating <'"' '■"•'•iiiik »r tin- hull with steel hawsers. Questions Answered. Tl "' "dl-Hing an- an-wers ~, a numl""' ••' •|'i''-H"ii- lli.ii h.,w- 1,,.,.,, raised "',''""- '' i; ' lll " s r 'tr.v an.l in many ""''•'•- U > Hi.- di-a-lc, |„ ,!„- Thetis. I ■I' I '"' in-u.i- |,a ii- 1,,.,.n fmni-heil (~. ,h " ', N ""- '"' -"" N-.X..1 .^,..,,,,1 I ■••<■ I' i-mi.-I" M.-.Miii-i ic. „ 1,,, is ...[jt. ■( of "•'"■'••" . l-'i-Mlui-j Shi,...' tli- -Undard "'"' k "' r»'ti-rfiu-i- on |I, L - navies of tile » urtil. '• ''""''l I'"' "tern |~m . 1,,.,.,, ~,„.„,.,! ■"" "■ , ' I ''- 1 -"' Hi,- liiipii.Mii,.,| „„.„•; >"• ! '»■ portion ~f ii.,- M-„ M -| above «'•''■•' "I I" * title is entirely ncci mini I'.v tniiiiiiiny tank-., ami I In- work i-i>ii|,| ll'it lime I"'.-ii completed lii-f.,i-e the tide ru-f -• — * iti ~ii,l .-au-i-,1 fiinhiM- ll..ollin<r. '-'■ l.i\.-rj 1 Hay. slated hi he sl'cwil « ill' « reeks, a suitable urea for mil marine dials? Il is lll'' area inwiriably used for (lie In.lis i,|' ..til.Hutnii.-~ Imili'at ISirkenlieail II nil 11. ii row , forming llir ma jorit v of lh,. Navy's niidi'i -water vessels. |' t j,. in diet, ii" more u reck strew 11 than the ini'i mound Portland, in uhirh submarined are constantly exercising. Accompanied by Tug. 3. Was a tug tin- imwi suitable vessel to a,-. oiiipauy I In- submarine '! It is ipiite 11-11,il for a in; to go out w i (| i -i submarine mi trial, not only as a matter of coiiM-nieucc hut bccause of the possibility of a tow lieiii,- needed should (he submarine's engines develop defects. Apart from this, there is no 111 ire justification for a surface vessel to i-41-ni'i a submarine at ecu than there would he for a motor a inl.iilance to 0,-company every car on the road. 4. What means of i-oiuniiiuii-alion had the tug %\ i 111 the ■"iiluijarine V Apparently none, beyond t lie ordinary vi.<unl MijuiiH llililr iuetli.nU while the siilimarine W a - on the surface. .">. Could the submarine have been towed to shore? N'ot in her waterlogged condition. With the water in the flooded forward compartments her dead weight may have heen a* much a<* 2000 tone. t>. Was there delay in sending rescue vessels?

immediately the news was received that the submarine was missing a flotilla of destroyers steamed at high speed through the night from Portland to the scene of the mishap, averaging about 31 knots throughout the passage. Tugs and salvage vessels, were also dispatched by the Liverpool and Glasgow Salvage Association and the Mersey Pock and Harbour Board. The diving tender Tedworth, with decom pressing apparatus, was sent t,o the scene from Portsmouth.

Hatch Near Surface. The real tragedy of the Thetis is that when the four survivors escaped .by means of the Davis apparatus on Friday morning they were not followed to the surface by every one of the ninety-seven other men on board. It is easy to form an opinion that the Davis escape apparatus had failed, and there is no denying that in the case of Jf.M.S. Poseidon only four lives were saved by this menus, while there were no survivors from M 2 anil no men escaped from it he U.S.S. Soualus by menus of the American version of the artificial lung. The question seems to aggravated by the fact that for several hours the after escape hatch of H.M.S. Thetis was only a few feet under water.

The Davie apparatus has, however, saved lives while it is being tested and re-tested every week when the men of the suhmarinc service undergo training in its use. The failure is, therefore, more likely to have been something to do with the escape compartments and hatches' by whicli the men using the apparatus can emerge from the submarine. When H.MS. Poseidon was lost, the only means of using the Davis apparatus was to flood one of the large compartments of the submarine to such an extent that the internal pressure equalled or exceeded the outside sea pressure and allowed a hatch to be opened. To-day all modern submarines are fitted with special escape chambers built into bulkheads forward and aft. Men make individual escapes through these chambers. What went wrong in H.M.S. Thetis after four men escaped? Unless the vessel is raised it is improbable that we shall over know. Jt seems clear, however, that one of two things happened. Kit her one man about to escape was drowned in the escape chamber and his body jammed the hatch, or it was decided by those inside the submarine to abandon this form of escape. It is possible that this decision was made, since it was known that salvage craft were in the vicinity, and since escape by this means might well havo involved placing the remainder of the men in danger.

Chlorine Peril. The escape chambers work perfectly I well if the submarine is on anything Approaching an even keel, although ea"h escape means that two tons of water enter the submarine. If a submarine is at an angle of over thirty degrees, as was the Thetis, it might be impossible to confine that water to the bilges. The situation might hnve arisen in which the ingress of any more water would hflve flooded the electric batteries'. This was to be avoided at all costs, since sea water, if it comes into contact with electric batteries, produces chlorine gas. Those engaged on the salvage attempts were faced with a most difficult task. The tide* run strongly around the Grc«t

Oi me Head, and it was only for about forty-live minutes every six hours that the tidal stream was sufficiently slack to allow of divers working. The Hist consideration of divers was to get air into the submarine. This would be a task of difficulty at the best of times, hut witli a submarine standing on its noscri. and swinging i'l the tide the difficulties were magnified enormously.