Dramatic Race Against Time Described At Thetis Inquiry

Northern Advocate, 18 July 1939, Page 5

Dramatic Race Against Time Described At Thetis Inquiry

(Received 11 a.m.) LONDON, July 17. At the Thetis inquiry, which was resumed today. Captain Hart, marine surveyor, who was aboard the salvage tug, described the dramatic race against time to gain an entry into the submarine when the stern was about 15 feet out of the water. This was shortly before the Thetis plunged for the last time. A wreck-master clambered on the Thetis to remove the outer cover and began to loosen the bolts of the inner cover. He reported considerable air pressure, whereupon Captain Hart ordered him to screw it up. 100 to 1 Against Rescue. The wreck-master jumped off as, the submarine swung dangerously. The

chances were then 100 to 1 against rescue. The weight strain during the unsuccessful lifting operations a week later indicated that the submarine had taken in 450 tons of water since the stern rose for the first time. The inrush probably caused the final submergence. Captain Hart agreed that when the destroyer flotilla arrived with drilling plant it would have been possible to drill a hole in the stern and attach an air pipe, but when the Thetis submerged it was certain that no diver in the United Kingdom could have descended at the state of the tide and drilled a hole or anything else.