London, July 4. STATEMENT issued on the Thetis salvage operations in Liverpool yesterday says that no work had been possible over the week-end owing to strong winds and rough seas. In the morning the wind was light westerly, and the lifting craft, Zelo, was moored over the wreck by the salvage steamer Ranger. In a Parliamentary answer yesterday, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Admiralty, Mr. Geoffrey Shakespeare, said that operations would commence as soon as weather conditions were suitable.
'A moving tribute to the "very gallant behaviour of all men aboard" was paid by. Captain HLP.K. Oram, Commander of the Fifth submarine Flo and one of the four survivors, at the opening yesterday before Mr. Justice Bucknill of the inquiry into the loss of the submarine Thetis.
With tremor and emotion in his voice, he said "I saw no sign of panic at any time. ever there was any work to be done the men sprang to help. 1 heard the men talking and jo until foul air caused them to keep quiet.
They showed a quiet bravery, the memory of which wwill: live with me for ever." municated to those on the surface Captain Oram said that when they the vessel was found. were waiting for the arrival of 'Then, at 8 pin, when it was clear sous vessels, all food" inthe sub to those in the submarine that they had not been located, Captain Oram and It. Woods went' to the surface and were picked up by the destroyer hunges Brazen, and subsequently four men Describing the reason why no men were put in the escape chamber. went to the surface during the night Tt was not known what happened, of June 3, Captain Oram stated that but they did not escape. Three were there wasa strong tide, and it would found dead when the door was open-have meant certain death unless fed, and one man alive, but too ex-there were ships in the near vicinity. hausted to explain the circumstances.
By 7 pin. on June 1, he added, "Then two more men entered the was necessary to take deep dis-chamber, and they escaped and told tressing breaths even when not the Commander of the Brazen that active. Many men were stretching the rest of the crew was coming up. and yawning, and water from the eyes "was continuous. They felt a rear lassitude, and it required a. distinct mental "effort to ce-ordinate mind with action, was impossible to say why no more succeeded in escaping, and whether It was due to increasing weakness or some further accident. Reuter.
Rseape Appeared Possible Captain Oram added that when he reached the surface he felt entirely hopeful of others being able to cape, as his own escape had presented no dimeulty.
Tu his. opinion, the three men Arowned in the estape chamber must have "operated the apparatus incor Asked to suggest the reason why further men escaped, Capta! Oram said can only suppos that some major disaster occurred to the men inside the submarine "Asked about the possibility of cute ting a hole in the stern, the Captain declared that to cut a hole in the after-compartment was highly erous, as the compartment was only. just showing above water and the submarine was artificially held up by a single wire, In the course of his introductory statement, the Attorney-General, Sir Donald Somervell, gave a connected story of the events. leading up to the grounding of the submarine's bow in Liverpool Bay on June 1 and of the rescue efforts from early on June 2 until they were abandoned on the night of June 3, Tropedo Tubes Floode:
When submarine was on trial, she was without her complement of torpedoes, and in order to trim the vessel it Was not unusual to flood the torpedo tubes, Lieutenant F. G. Woods decided to see if No, 5 and 6 torpedo tubes were flooded. He opened the test cock of No. torpedo tube, and there was no sign of water through the test cock, but as the door was opened water poured into the compartment. It, Woods was so certain that the safely cap was on the tube that when waler poured in We thought that! there was some fracture.
'Men escaped from the compart ment with dim culty, and though they tried to close the' bulkhead, water entered the next compartment and, fas a result of the flooding, the ship hit bottom, Indicator buoys and smoke candies were released.
was found Impossible to blow any main tanks, and the only way to yet the bow off the bottom oppe ed to be to get rid of the water in the two flooded forward compart ments. This could only be done it the rear door communicating with the sea could be closed.
At the risk of their lives, Lieuten-fant Woods and Chapman made attempts to shut the door. They had to proceed via the forward Davis escape chamber, and this was a very complicated arrangement, involving the gravest risks owing 10 the flood-Ing of the forward part of the ship.
After several abortive attempts the scheme was abandoned, as the men were unable to withstand the pressure, and then it was felt nothing could be done without outside assistance.
Tt was arranged that a man or men should escape by the Davis. apparatus with a plan which could be com-
It. Woods Tells of Thetis Disaster London, July 5.
The Chancellor of the Exchequer, [Sir John Simon, occupied a seat on the bench when Lieutenant Woods; one of the survivors and "the only man who knows what happened" as the Thetis went down, gave evidence at the resumed inquiry into the submarine disaster yesterday.
It. Woods said that when wafer rushed in through the torpedo tubes, "some time was wasted in closing the watertight door." That was because he went to the assistance of a seaman who was being swept from his feet." He had to assist him out of the compartment before closing the watertight door.
It. Woods said he felt so positive that the bow caps were shut that he considered there must have been a fracture of the tube. Had he realized, as he did soon afterward that the bow cap must have been open, he might possibly have been able' to get at the operating lever and shut it, Desperate attempts were then made to get through the forward Davis escape chamber into the flooded compartments to shut a door, but these were frustrated,
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.