SAVING OF LIFE

Hawke's Bay Tribune, Volume XXIV, Issue 77, 13 March 1934, Page 5

SAVING OF LIFE

SUNKEN SUBMARINES Davis Apparatus Adopted SALVAGE ABANDONED (British Official Wireless.) (Received 13, 12.30 p.m.) RUGBY, March 12. In important decision taken by the Admiralty in regard to the problem of saving life from sunken submarines was announced by Sir B. Eyres Mon Sell, First Lord of the Admiralty, in presenting the naval estimates to the House of Commons. He stated that after the fullest consideration, tho conclusion had been reached that tho raising of a sunken submarine iu time to save life by that means was not a feasible operation, aud that the most certain and, indeed, the only practical method they knew of for life saving was the use of the Davis submerged escape apparatus now fitted on all submarines, atid on which it was proposed to rely in futureThis conclusion had been reached only after the most careful investigation of all the sumbarine disasters in the British aud foreign navies, and in the light of the experience gained by the United States Navy in comprehensive trials. If it were thought by men imprisoned jn a sunken submarine that attempts were going to bo made to raise the submarine, there would be grave danger that in spite of their training in the use of the escape apparatus they might be tempted to await tho result of tho salvage operations instead of saving themselves by means of the apparatusorders were therefore being issued to the effect that the salvage organisation for the sole purpose of raising submarines will not be retained. A signal was being introduced which would tell the crew of a sunken submarine that surface vessels would be present to rescue them when they come up by the Davis escape gear. “The Admiralty had to face the facts,” said the First Lord. “There is no hope of saving life by salvage, and we have come to our decision because it is in the best interests of the submarine personnel.”