the incompressibility of the water, does not, according to experiments, diminish in inverse proportion to the square of the distance. Another important phenomenon, to which great weight should be attached in this case, on account of the peculiar nature of the harbor, is the presence of dead fish on the surface (of the water), usually caused by the rupture of the natatory bladder. The action of torpedoes on vessels is very variable, and depends, besides, on the resistance of the hull which it strikes, the quantity of explosive matter, and the distance. No known case has yet been recorded where the explosion of a torpedo against the side of a vessel has caused the explosion of the magazines. As is seen by the plans (diagrams), there was nothing but powder and shells in the forward magazines of the Maine. It appears from the examination of witnesses: Don Julio Peres y Perera, naval lieutenant of the first class, states in his deposition that he was in his shears house (casa de la machina), about four hundred yards from the said vessel, when, at about 9.35 p. m., he saw an enormous blaze of fire rise toward the zenith and to a great height followed by a terrible explosion. He adds that almost the whole of the ironclad was covered by a thick smoke, that the illumination was instantaneously extinguished, and that an infinite number of colored lights passed away into space. The moment after the explosion all was dark until, a little later, the awful scene was illuminated by the brightness of the fire, which was certainly caused by the explosion The witness says that other explosions, apparently of shells, followed, which continued until two o'clock in the morning, at which hour the fire began to diminish The witness saw the bow sink a few minutes after the explosion, and he asserts that there was no column of water nor the least movement in the water (mar), and that there was no shaking of the land on the shore The other depositions of witnesses confirm the description of the explosion given by this officer, and they all agree that they noticed no movement in the water, and that they felt no shock of the water, although some of them were on board vessels as near the Maine as the Alfonso XII. During the early hours of the morning the undersigned, accompanied by the secretary, made a close examination of the bay without finding any dead fish, or injuries of any kind on the piles of the piers. Don Francisco Aldao, the head pilot, testifies (page 80 and back) that the harbor of Havana abounds in fish, and that there are persons who devote themselves to this industry with profit, and the technical assistant of the junta of the harbor works, Señor Ardois, who has been engaged upon them for many years, states that, without any exception, whenever small blasts have been made with charges (of powder) varying from five to twenty-five pounds, for the purpose of blowing up hulls of vessels, loose rock, and even shoals in the bay, a great number of dead fish have been found inside the hulls or floating on the surface of the water. For the purpose of procuring the greatest possible number of data, several experiments were made, to which the diagrams at pages 160 and 161 refer. In continuation of the investigation, on the 16th February the United States consul was requested, through your excellency, to procure the attendance of some of the surviving officers and sailors of the Maine, in order to receive such testimony as they might see fit to give with regard to the occurrence. On the same day, through the same medium, permission was requested to examine the bottom of the vessel. On the 18th February I again applied to your excellency to procure from the commander of the Maine, either directly or through his consul, exact information as to the quantity of explosives still existing in that part of the vessel which had not been burnt. On the 21st I went to the American steamer Mungus (?) for the purpose of having an interview with Mr. Sigsbee, the commander of the Maine, who expressed to me his wish that the Spanish investigators might be present at the operations of the American official diver. On the same day I again wrote, asking for permission to proceed to the examination of the ironclad. On the 22nd I repeated my visit to the Mangrove. On the 19th February the authorities had replied, stating that by agreement with the commander of the Maine and the United States consul-general the examination requested in my letter of the 18th would be made as soon as those gentlemen received the appliances and divers whom they had asked for. On the 24th I received an important communication, dated February 17, enclosing one from his excellency the Governor-General of this island, stating that the commander of the Maine, upon being consulted as to the steps necessary to the success of this investigation, had replied that he expected to execute all the operations necessary to the examination of the vessel which had been under his command under his own supervision, in accordance with the provisions of the regulations of the American Navy. It was at last possible to make use of the new mode of investigation offered by the work of the divers, as it was discovered from what they have accomplished up to this date that the hull of the wrecked vessel is apparently buried in the mud, and that the examination of the outside is impracticable, but that it may be possible to examine the inside when the multitude of articles of all kinds which are lying in confusion in it have been removed. The divers, having been instructed to examine and describe everything that they might notice at the bottom of the bay and nearest to the sunken vessel, reported that they had not found in the mud which forms the bottom any inequalities or fissures-such as the examination of the bottom of the bay at the place occupied by the Maine and the hull (calado) of the vessel would doubtless have brought to light, on the supposition that a torpedo had been the cause of the catastrophe. This imaginary explosive apparatus (artificio) must necessarily, in this case, have been placed at the very bottom of the bay or very near it, and when it exploded would have caused the gases to react upon it, and, at the same time that it produced a greater effect upon the water upward it would have made large fissures (deformaciones) in the mud. It appears from the examination of the wreck of the Maine, part of which is afloat, made by the undersigned, the commandants of artillery, the commandant of engineers, and the commander of the torpedo brigade, the report of which appears at page 24, that whatever may have been the original cause of the disaster, there is no doubt that there was an explosion in the forward magazine, which entirely destroyed the decks and bulkheads, which now display the appearance of a shapeless mass of boards, bars, and pipes of metal, very difficult to describe. In particular, may be noticed a large fragment of the forward deck, which must have been raised in the most violent manner and bent double toward the stern by the forward stack house, like an immense sheet of iron, with a considerable inclination to starboard, which, upon turning over, hurled out of the ship the forward turret containing two guns, which was situated on the starboard side, and another gun with a shield which was placed within the ship on the second deck. When the deck was bent double, as has been said, the smokestacks must have fallen. On the present upper side of this deck may be seen the beams and the knees which fastened them to the sides of the ship. The whole stern is submerged, with the mainmast in place and intact, so much of it as can be seen above the surface of the water, including the lights (glasses) of the skylights of the cabin hatchways, and the glasses of one projector (proyector). The gentlemen above mentioned assert that the injuries described could only have been caused by the explosion of the forward magazine. In order to give a better idea of the general appearance presented by that part of the ship which has been described, photographs were taken, which are shown at page 125 and following. Notwithstanding what has been stated, it is proper to insist upon the fact that there is not a single instance on record, as has been already said, where the external action of a torpedo against the side of a vessel has caused the explosion of its magazines, although many vessels are recorded as having been totally destroyed by torpedoes, as may be proved by C. Sleeman's work entitled Torpedoes and Torpedo Warfare, published in London in 1889, in which treatise there is a detailed account, extending from page 330 to page 338, inclusive, of the principal events of this nature which have occurred from 1585 to 1885; and this inventory of marine disasters includes a great number of United States men-of-war which destroyed Confederate vessels by means of torpedoes. H. W. Wilson's treatise, Volume II, published in 1896, and entitled Ironclads in Action. Naval Warfare from 1855 to 1895 may also be consulted on this subject. On the other hand, there are recorded in the history of all the nations in the world, and especially in modern times, a proportionate number of events sufficing to prove the comparative facility with which ships of war are liable to become the victims of unknown and fatal accidents, owing to combinations which may result from the various and complicated materials employed in their construction and armament, as it is, in many cases, impossible to guard against them except at the cost of terrible calamities. The knowledge of the spontaneous combustion of the coal in the coal bunkers is within the reach of all, and there is not a navy officer who can not relate some sad episode attributed to this cause. This danger is increased when the coal bunkers are separated from the powder and ammunition magazines only by a bulkhead of iron or steel, and it becomes imminent when the heat developed in the coal is conveyed to the magazines, as has happened in several cases. To prevent them recourse has been had to the study of a ventilation sufficient to prevent the accumulation of gases and the development of caloric, taking, in addition, the temperature of the coal bunkers at proper intervals. In spite of all this, cases of spontaneous combustion have occurred repeatedly, and it is astonishing that the powder and shell magazines should still continue to be placed in immediate contact with the coal bunkers. Don Saturnino Montojo, an illustrious lieutenant in our navy, relates a very remarkable case which happened to the unfortunate Reina Regente when she was being built at Clydebank. Señor Montojo says that the shafts of the screws passed through several water-tight compartments, which together formed a tunnel for the passage of the shaft. The compartment on the port side of that of the wheel of the 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. |