The dismay which was felt in Great Britain when it was learned that all hope for those remaining in the sunken submarine Thetis had been abandoned was duplicated here on Saturday morning when the news reached Shanghai. The despatches, which had been received until late the previous night, were more than optimistic, suggesting that there was every reason to expect that the whole of the crew, and experts in the vessel for the purpose of carrying out acceptance tests would be saved, and indeed the tone of the cables was such that that happy issue was taken almost for granted. Those hopes were dashed to the ground and Great Britain and the world were to witness one of the largest, if not the largest tragedy in the history of submarine navigation. The whole affair has already given rise to a great deal of criticism, much of it probably ill-founded and arising out of the natural sorrow for the deceased and their dependents, or based upon those imperfect reports which are inevitable in such a time of stress and agitation. For the time being it would be as well to suspend judgment until the fullest possible investigation has been made. No efforts should be spared to raise the sunken vessel, and take her to dock when it may be possible to discover how the accident happened, and why 97 men imprisoned in it were unable to follow the example of the four fortunate survivors who were lucky enough to effect their escape before something happened which denied the same to their fellows. The original cause of the accident has to be found, as well as the whole story of what happened in the submarine until all those aboard apparently succumbed, even before, it is suggested, the time for the expiry of the air supply available came round. It is reported that some of the survivors stated that at the time they left the vessel some of the older men were already groggy, and, if this indeed proves to be the case, investigation as to the cause and methods of averting similar occurrences in the future must necessarily follow.
There seems to be every prospect that this will be the case, for the latest messages report that hawsers have now been passed under the unfortunate vessel, and that, after a number of other preliminaries have been carried out, attempts will be made to raise her and tow her into shallower water, where it will be possible to refloat her and get her into dock. The present temper of public opinion in Great Britain suggests that it will not be satisfied until that has been done, and the most thorough investigation cagned out to ascertain the cause of it all. With the number of such vessels which the British Navy has, and which are operating successfully and with, fortunately, a minimum of accidents, the public will want to know if there were any experimental features in the vessel which increased the risk of the men aboard, whether there was any carelessness, or oversight by those in control of it, or whether it was just one of those accidents against which human ingenuity and care could not have provided. There have been suggestions that previously during the course of her trials the Thetis did not always behave satisfactorily, but it may be assumed with justice that those in control of the vessel, as well as the experts aboard her, were reasonably satisfied of the fitness of the craft to undergo the tests through which she was to be put. Men realizing the risks they were running would not lightly embark upon such manceuvres if they were not certain, so far as humanity ever can be sure, that the submarine was in a fit condition to meet all the demands which were to be made upon her, and what has to be discovered now is whether the accident was due to faulty design, negligence on the part of those operating the vessel, or merely one of those acts of God against which no precautions can prevail. Many will ask what happened in the escape hutches which prevented the others reaching safety in the same manner as the lucky four, and none of these questions can be satisfactorily answered until the vessel has been raised and subjected to that expert scrutiny which should enable the true facts to be ascertained.
Mishaps such as these are far too expensive. There is not only the loss of the crew to be considered, and the suffering caused to their families, but there is the loss of a number of experts who will be by no means easy to replace. Their combined experience was a valuable asset to the science of building submarines, and submarine navigation in general and much of it may take years to replace. Obviously the loss of approximately sixty men whose combined knowledge was necessary to judge the qualities of the new vessel is one which any technical service can ill afford to have inflicted upon it. It is some consolation, though at the present very small, that occurrences of this nature, properly handled and considered, add greatly to the knowledge of the science of undersea navigation. Thus the Poseidon disaster taught that it was possible to escape from a submerged vessel, and led to all the submarines in the British navy being equipped with the necessary apparatus. The experience gained by the American Navy in the manner in which so many of the crew of the Squalus were rescued, may in itself be a valuable contribution to the ensuring of greater safety for submarine crews, and it may very well be that these men, who have met their deaths in Liverpool Bay, have by their sacrifice in the course of duty made rich contributions to the same end. It is to be hoped that this is the case, for nothing is more repugnant to humanity than that life should be wasted uselessly. But it must always be remembered that these men have died for their country just as truly as if they had made the supreme sacrifice in the heat of battle, for, to change a quotation, peace hath her sacrifices no less renowned than war. It can bə accepted without hesitation that the dependents of those who have perished will be cared for both through governmental action and the public itself. That has always been the case in the past, and if a public fund is started in Britain there can be no doubt that it will be readily subscribed to.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.