helm was furnished with a register (registro) for the purpose of inspecting the shaft, and upon a workman attempting to draw out a small screw there was an explosion causing a small fracture of the side on the exterior, and filling the stern compartments of the vessel with water; but the ship did not sink entirely, thanks to the other watertight compartments and to the powerful pumps with which the ship was provided, which were set to work, and kept her afloat. This accident was attributed to the fact that the compartment in question had no ventilation. It is evident that gases are formed in any of the places mentioned by the electric action developed by the fatty substances combined with the paint, the water, etc. If there is any ventilation, these gases have an outlet, but if there is none they accumulate and finally acquire a certain tension, and when they are brought into contact with a light or sufficient heat their explosion follows, as frequently occurs in mines and coal bunkers. The eighty or ninety (coal bunkers) of the Reina Regente had each a ventilation pipe and a temperature pipe. If, notwithstanding all this, any accident should obstruct or clog the ventilation, or if due attention is not paid to the temperature, or even when such attention is paid, if its indications are not good, the adoption of urgent measures of safety will merely diminish the danger, without making it disappear entirely. The loss of the English vessel the Dotterel, which has been so much studied and discussed, was due to the use of a drier (drying oil) employed in painting and known under the name of the "zerotina drier." In trade some of the varnishes and ingredients used in the painting of vessels are now recommended by protecting them with patents as not liable to produce inflammable gases. The English scientific magazine The Engineer, No. 2189, of December 10, 1897, publishes an important article entitled "Shell accident at Bull Point," showing the possibility of the explosion of a shell, not by the fuse, but by the spontaneous breaking of the shell itself. The shell of which the author of the article speaks was made for a 4-inch gun, weighed 25 pounds, used the Leadenham fuse, and had a hardened point, tempered in water. These instances suffice to prove that, in spite of all the precautions that may be taken, there may occur on board of modern vessels, especially war vessels, many unforeseen accidents, arising from the combination of such diverse substances as those which are employed in their armament, so difficult and dangerous to manage, accumulated in large quantities and exposed to the action of heat and electricity almost constantly, each unhappy accident serving to regulate services on the basis of precautions, and to cause precautions to be taken, so far as possible, with every new agent which necessity compels us to accept in the most recent constructions. Consequently, in view of the result of the proceedings and the merits of the observations submitted, the undersigned considers it his imperative duty to state the following conclusions: First. That on the night of February 15 last an explosion of the first order, in the forward magazine of the American ironclad Maine, caused the destruction of that part of the ship and its total submersion in the same place in this bay at which it was anchored. Second. That it is learned, from the diagrams of the vessel, that there were no other explosive substances or articles in that magazine, the only one which exploded, than powder and shells of various calibers. Third. That the same diagrams prove that said magazine was surrounded on the port side, the starboard side, and partly aft, by coal bunkers containing bituminous coal, and which were in compartments adjoining the said magazine, and apparently separated from it only by metal bulkheads. Fourth. That the important facts connected with the explosion, in its external appearances, at every moment of its duration, having been described by witnesses, and the absence of all the circumstances which necessarily accompany the explosion of a torpedo, having been proved by these witnesses and experts, it can only be honestly asserted that the catastrophe was due to internal causes. Fifth. That the character of the proceedings undertaken and respect for the law which establishes the principle of the absolute extraterritoriality of a foreign war vessel, have prevented the determination, even by conjecture, of the said internal origin of the disaster, to which, also, the impossibility of establishing the necessary communication, either with the crew of the wrecked vessel or with the officials of their Government commissioned to investigate the causes of the said event, or with those subsequently entrusted with the issue, has contributed. Sixth. That the interior and exterior examination of the bottom of the Maine whenever it is possible, unless the bottom of the ship and that of the place in the bay where it is sunk are altered by the work which is being carried on for the total or partial recovery of the vessel, will prove the correctness of all that is said in this report; but this must not be understood to mean that the accuracy of these present conclusions requires such proof. Believing that I have fulfilled all the requirements of article 246, Title XIV, Chapter I, of the Law of Military Procedure of the Navy, in accordance with which, and with your excellency's orders, this investigation has been made, I have the honor to transmit this report to your excellency's hands that you may come to a correct decision on the subject. HAVANA, March 22, 1898. PEDRO DEL PERAL. [Rubricated.] DECREE. HAVANA, March 22, 1898. His excellency ordered the investigation intrusted to him to be closed and the proceedings to be transmitted to the superior authority for his action. His excellency gave this order before me, the secretary, who certify it. JAVIER DE SALAS. [Rubricated.] MINUTE. HAVANA, March 22, 1898. His excellency went, accompanied by me, the secretary, to deliver to his excellency the commandant general of the station, these proceedings, consisting of 181 written folios, without counting the blank ones or the covers. It is recorded, which I, the secretary, certify. JAVIER DE SALAS. [Rubricated.] The present evidence is transmitted by superior verbal order, which I, the secretary, certify, with the counter-signature of the judge, at Havana, March 28, 1898. Approved: JAVIER DE SALAS. PERAL. |