RESCUED MEN IN GOOD SPIRITS

Southland Times, Issue 23827, 26 May 1939, Page 7

RESCUED MEN IN GOOD SPIRITS

Joyous Greeting From Wives OFFICER’S TRIBUTE TO CREW’S COOLNESS (United Press Assn.— Telegraph Copyright) (Received May 25, 10.40 p.m.) NEW YORK, May 25. The first 15 men to be rescued were brought to the surface in batches of seven and eight respectively. ' Contrary to the traditions of the sea, one of the officers, Lieutenant John C. Nichols, was brought up with the first seven men to report on the accident, on the condition of the remaining survivors and on the submarine, and possibly to help in the rescue work. When 25 survivors had been brought to the surface —the third trip bringing up 10—it was disclosed that the men appeared to be in good condition, although two were taken to ambulances, apparently suffering from exposure. The crew of the Falcon continued to work feverishly, hoping to rescue the remaining eight survivors before night ended and possibly to obtain confirmation that the other 26 were undoubtedly dead,” thus accounting for the entire 59 aboard the Squalus. The wives of many of those rescued, who had spent the night together in the house of a ranking naval officer at Portsmouth, danced with joy when they saw their husbands, who waved to them joyously on their way to the base hospital for examination. Lieutenant Bland, one of those rescued, in a statement to the Press said: “We knew something was wrong a minute after diving. The captain came below as the water began coming in the ventilation lines. An unidentified sailor pounced upon and slammed the watertight door leading to the affected area. It took suner-strength to do that. I do not know how he did it. because we took on a terrific upwards angle at least 45 degrees—by the bow. We lost all power almost immediately and all communication with the aft part of the the long day on Tuesday and the night none was excited. We tried for hours to attract the attention of those in the aft department by means of the telephone, but we never got an answer.

CAUSE NOT KNOWN “We do not know what it was that happened. It could happen to any mechanism that requires complicated parts. I never saw men handle a situation any better. The captain was perfectly cool; he gave orders calmly, and his orders were performed perfectly by each and .every man.” The bell bringing the last eight survivors to the surface was stalled at a f- depth of 150 ft, apparently becoming • fouled in some lines. Divers descended to assist clearing them, and after four hours the bell rose to the surface. The last contingent of eight survivors included Lieutenant Naquin, commander of the Sflualus. All were placed in a "decompression” chamber, where they are expected to remain for the night because of their longer immersion in the bell. „ , .... . It is planned, if all the men still in the Squalus are dead, to seal the hatch and bring up the submarine by the use of pontoons. A naval officer said that even if the water in the Squalus did not rise above the heads of the men in the flooded compartment the terrible ! rush of water when the ship tilted upwards as it struck the bottom had undoubtedly crushed them; any who might have survived immediate drowning or fatal injury would undoubtedly have succumbed to exposure. .The water temperature at the bottom is 36 degrees. /