Shortly before low water, a wire was placed round the Thetis, but it slipped, cutting away the indicator buoy.
The submarine was again located after some hours, and by this time deep-sea divers from Scapa Flow had arrıved, and diving operations were again carried out.
It was then clear that there was no further possibility of saving life, and they proceeded to the- task of salvaging the vessel.
It was while adjusting the trim of the submarine after diving, Mr. Chamberlain declared, that the flooding of the forward compartments occurred.
The main ballast tanks' were immediately emptied by compressed air, with the intention of bringing the J Thetis to the surface, but she continued to dive, took an angle of 35 degrees and hit the bottom at 130 feet.—Reuter,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.