SUBMARINE A 7

Evening Post, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 15, 19 January 1914, Page 7

SUBMARINE A 7

ANOTHER SHOCKING TRAGEDY FOUNDERS IN WHITESAND BAY ELEVEN LIVES LOST, SALVAGE EFFORTS FRUITLESS. (By Telegraph,— Press Association.— Copyright.) LONDON, 17th January. During naval manoeuvres in Whitesand Bay, west of Plymouth Sound, submarine A 7, under Commander Wellman, foundered in seventeen fathoms at midday. Salvagers are endeavouring to raise her. The crew were still alive a.t 6 o'clock. When the flotilla was ordered to the surface, the submarine did not rise. A warship communicated ' with the Crew wirelessly, and divers also communicated by "tapping," but received no answers after 6 o'clock. The catastrophe is attributed to disabled pumps. The salvagers returned to port, and will resume in the morning. The death-roll is two officers and nine petty officers and men. The victims include Commander Wellman and Sub-Lieutenant Robert Morrison. \ The sea was' moderate. The submarine Was accompanied by the Pigmy, which Was attached to the seagoing de-pot-ship Forth. The submarine dived for the purpose of firing torpedoes. She remained an unusual time underneath, and the Pigmy's officers became alarmed and endeavoured to communicate with her, but elicited no response. There were ominous bubbles upon the smooth swell over the rocky bottom. The Pigmy placed a buoy to mark the spot, but the buoy drifted and was not found. Prompt salvage efforts were continued, but fruitlessly. _ The searchlight officials stated that it was practically hopeless. The oxygen supply Vas only sufficient to last for six hours. 1 Two hundred persons have perished in ten years in seven British and nine foreign submarine accidents. The newspapers, commenting on successive disasters to the A class of submarine, consider the frail hulls Unfitted even for the elementary duties recently assigned to them,*" namely, exercising within easy reach of the shore. The Admiralty is urged to supersede them forthwith. Search for the submarine Was resumed at daylight. The department forbade the opening of the conning tower, as the inrush of water would prove disastrous. Destroyers swept on Sunday, trying to locate the sunken submarine. VESSEL NOT~LOCATED. announcementlby admiralty. LONDON, 17th January, The Admiralty announces that the submarine has not been located, thus contradicting the statements of local correspondents as cabled. The Admiralty believes that the submarine lies four miles from Rame Head. SISTER SHIP SUNK IN 1905. LONDON,' 17th January. The sister ship to A 7 was sunk at Plymouth with all hands in 1905. She was launched at Barrow on the same day.' POWERS' CONDOLENCE. (Received January 19, 8.30 a,m.) LONDON, 18th January. All the foreign Powers have condoled with Great Britain over the submarine" disaster. _ The A Class of submarines, which originally consisted of the unlucky number 13, are regarded as unlucky by the Navy, The following are some of the previous submarine disasters :: — • 1904 (March 18).— Al (British) run down by the s.s. Berwick Castle off the Nab lightship. Lives lost, 1904 (June 29).— Delfine (Russian) sunk at Cronstadt Dock. Lives lost, 23. 1905 (February 16).— -A5 (British), explosion of gaaolene in Queenstown Harbour. Lives lost, 6. 1905 (June B).— AB (British) sunk whilst manoeuvring in Plymouth Sound (Cawsend Bay). Lives lost, 15. 1905 (July 6).— Farfadeb (French) sunk off Tunis, Lives lost, 14. 1907 (June 11).— A4, a leakage of petrol whilst the A 4 was at Portsmouth caused an explosion which threw Lieut, Hart among the working machinery with fatal results, 1908 (March).— Ventors (French), whilst manoeuvring at Cherbourg, suddenly plunged, and struck the rocks at a depth of ten fathoms. The hull was extensively dama-ged, her propellers useless, but the coolness displayed by the officers and crew enabled all to make & miraculous escape. 3908 (July).— A9 (British). Through a leakage of gasolene the whole of the crew, who were below at the time, were found unconscious by the officers in the conniug tower. No loss of life. 1909 (April 26).— -Foca. (Italian) damaged by explosion. Lives lost, 9. 1909 (June 12).— Kambala (Russian) dunk in collision. Lives lost, 3. 1909 (July 14).— 0il (British) run down by the e.s. Eddystone, Lives lost, 13, 1910 (April 16)— No. 6 (Japanese) sunk in Hiroshima. Bay. Lives lost, 15. 1910 (May 26).— Pluviofle (French) run down by the s.s. Pas d^ Calais. Lives lost, 27. 1910 (May).— AB (British), whilst manoeuvring at Plymouth, dived to a depth of 200 ft, and only rose to the surface after considerable labour, lasting for an hour. No loss of life. 1910 (August 6).— Al (British). An explosion of petrol whilst at the Portsmouth Dock severely burnt the crew of two officers and five men ; the coxswain had his leg broken. 1911 (January 17).— U3 (German) sunk at Kiel. 1911 (September).— Al (British), whilst employed in experimentaJ lifting tests at* Portsmouth, was carried out of her course and lost. There was no crew on board at the time. 1912 (February 2).— A3 (British). Sunk through collision with H.M.S. Hazard close to the spot where the Al came to grief in 1904. The A3 was afterwards raised, towed to sea, and the battleship St. Vincent, at 2000 yds range, sank her at the third shot. Lives lost, 14. 1912 (June 8). — Vendemiarie (French) sunk through collision with the French warship Sauit Louis. Lives lost, 26. 1912 (October 3).— B2 (British) sunk through collision with the HamburgAmerica, liner Amerika (22,622 tons). Lives lost, 15. 1913 (December).— Cl 4 sunk about 20 miles off Plymouth through collision with a dredge. The crew avere all aayed,