The disaster which befell the U. S. submarine Squalus a few days ago, has, almost been duplicated in the case of the British Navy by the failure of the submarine Thetis to come tothe surface of the sea off Birkenhead six and a half hours after she had made a dive in the course of her acceptance trials. According to a statement issued by the Admiralty at 11 p.m. on Thursday the Thetis dived in Liverpool Bay at 1.40 p.m. and failed to reach the surface at the time intended, namely three hours afterwards. There was a crew of five officers and 48 ratings on board, together with an officially unas¢ertained number of builders and technicians, reports bringing the full total of men involved in the accident somewhere in the neighbourhood of 100. The Thetis, in accordance with naval practice since the loss of the Poseidon in Chinese waters in 1931, was fitted with two -specially-constructed escape hatches, sufficient sets of Davis submerged escape apparatus supplying oxygen was provided for every member of the crew, while it is to be presumed that the Thetis, as is the case with all other British submarines, was fitted with two special indicator buoys, capable of being released from inside the vessel, to rise to the surface showing its whereabouts. H.M.S. Brazen was apparently early on the spot where the Thetis was last reported, and though R.A.F. patrols were active prior to nightfall, there was nothing in the Admiralty statement to indicate that the whereabouts of the missing submarine had been discovered, while the addition, that operations would be resumed at daylight, yesterday suggests that that indeed was the case. The Thetis having been in commission since March 4, it is to be presumed that she was fully equipped with all the necessary life-saving devices, and the fact that her whereabouts had not been discovered before the Admiralty statement was issued gives ground for fear that the indicator buoys could not have been released, though it must be remembered that these would be somewhat difficult to see from the aeroplanes on patrol, while the Thetis may have travelled quite some distance from the point where she dived, before misfortune befell her.
Anxiety was naturally felt over the official fear that the submarine, while under water, may have struck some submerged object which may have had the effect of putting the electrical gear of the vessel out of commission, At the time of writing this had not been confirmed one way or the other, and the fact that she had not been found last night seems to suggest either that her marking buoys had not been released, or that the vessel had covered rather more ground after diving than had been anticipated. Perturbation was increased by the reports that there had been several wrecks in the vicinity of the spot where the Thetis dived, for, had she struck a serious obstacle it is quite apparent that she might have been reduced to a state in which escape from the vessel would have been well-nigh impossible. With an air supply on board capable of supplying the needs of a vastly-increased personnel for only 36 hours there was the danger that, unless the vessel were quickly found, and rescued from the deep, the whole of the people on board would have been in peril of their lives, or at the very most dependent upon the escape apparatus which might, in the event of the electrical gear beibg useless, have proved inoperable. The news which has come to hand that the Thetis is safe, and that some men have already been rescued from her is the most welcome information that has come concerning what might have been a most depressing business. The knowledge according to a report received that all on board are alive will be received with the greatest possible satisfaction in a port such as Shanghai where the drama of the Poseidon is still so poignant a memory, and there will be a sigh of relief that, by the goodness of that Providence which shapes men's ends, these men who have been in the direst peril, have been vouchsafed further years to be of service to their couniry and the ideals for which it stands.
Tt is a portion of the price which any nation has to pay for preparedness against war, that lives have to be sacrificed in times of peace. In the air and~beneath the sea the [risks "are in "peacetime i jo greatest, and, though in both media'huge strides have been made towards securing safety, human error, the danger of experimental periods must always demand a certain amount of life without which progress cannot be made. Thus while a great deal of knowledge has been acquired by the process of sheer reason, there is always a time when discovery, especially in the direction of improvement, has to proceed by means of empiric test, a time when danger is the greatest. On land and the surface of the sea the risks which have to be run in normal times are not so great, and nothing but admiration can be felt for the men who daily take their lives in their hands in order that they may prepare themselves adequately to defend their fellows in times of war. The history of the British sailor in times of such adversity is something of which the Empire may well be proud. The story of the courtageous behaviour of the men of the Poseidon is an epic, that of the crew of the U.S.S. Squalus no less a one, and it may be that until rescue came displays of equal fortitude were to be seen in the Thetis. Of this the world can be certain, that if the worst had to befall these men, they would meet it with that hardihood and endurance for which the men of the British navy have been famous throughout its long history. They were fortunate enough to escape from their predicament and there will be devout gratitude that such proved to be the case. But whichever way things might have turned out, it has to be remembered that as matters are in the world at present such misfortunes are to some extent unavoidable. They would be completely avoidable if the nations were not practically at each others' throats, and if wiser counsels could prevail to do away with this instrument of war. That does not seem possible, and while these dramas of peace pale against those of war, they ape nevertheless dramas of which the world would gladly be rid. 4
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.