A LIFE-SAVING TANK

Evening Star, Issue 20312, 22 October 1929, Page 11

A LIFE-SAVING TANK

INVENTION FOR SHIPS FLOATING IN A SMOKEROOM An ingenious invention for the saving of life from sunken ships, and whoso chief characteristic _is its simplicity, was demonstrated in a tongue of the Canning Dock by its inventor, Mr Joseph Kelly, of Bootle, who claims that if submarines and all kinds of sea-going craft were fitted with this device there need he no _ fear of a recurrence of tragedies similar to that of the Vestris, or the recent collision of submarines, writes a correspondent in the Manchester ‘Guardian.’ The invention, the principle of which is known as the “Kelly Eeloasc Gear,” has been patented in lour countries and submitted to the Admiralty, who have not yet replied, but it has been inspected by experts. The invention is simply this: A water-tight tank which houses the passengers and crew and is detached from the deck when the ship is under water, when it immediately rises to the surface. No elaborate machinery is employed. A half-turn of a screw seals ami releases the chamber Irom the deck, and two bolts are withdrawn by manual or hydraulic power. The process occupies only a few seconds. There are no intricate controls, and tlio mechanism is apparently foolproof. Before a crowd of interested spectators Mr Kelly floated a model boat in the dock and showed the tank simply but securely fastened to the deck by moans of holts. A fluttering bird was placed in the chamber and battened down, then the miniature craft was sunk to a depth of 2oft. Manipulating the device with strings, Mr Kelly pulled back the bolts, and the tank rose quickly to the surface. The bird was liberated and flew joyfully away, none the worse for its adventure. , The experiment was repeated with white mice as passengers, and with the tank illuminated with an electric torch. This time the tank was allowed to remain under water five minutes before being released, and when opened one mouse—to use Mr Kelly’s expression—was “warming itself on the electric light.” One hitch occurred in the experiments, and that was when the tank rose to the surface upside-down; but that, Mr Kelly explained, was because it was not properly balanced. There would be no fear of such an incident if the chamber were loaded with passengers. An obvious objection to the invention is its bulk, hut Mr Kelly pointed out that lifeboats on a liner or mercantile boat would be unnecessary, and the tank—or tanks—would ho in the form of a lounge or smoke room. At the first signs of disaster passengers and crew would he ordered into this compartment, doors and windows—specially prepared—would he sealed, and when the liner had sunk the bolts would be released. The smoke room or lounge would then be converted into a lifeboat, and would drift on the water until help arrived. Such a device would avoid ail panic and boat drill, and would en'sure —so the inventor claims—absolute safety. The danger of launching boats from the side of a heavilylisted ship would bo dispensed with. A much smaller tank, of course, would be used on a submarines, and would ho placed abaft the conning tower to preserve the balance. Mr Kelly said that the chief objection of experts who have considered the device is that it would take a submarine thus fitted about thirty seconds longer to submerge; hut this objection seems trivial in comparison with the many advantages for saving life. > Mr Kelly, who has been engaged on the invention about two years and a half, has been a stevedore thirty-one years, and closely associated with the sea all his life. So confident is he of his invention that he offers to act as a passenger if money can be found to construct a model big enough, and he will stay ten minutes under water.