726 THE SUBMARINE BOAT. 



motors will be so perfected that they can be substituted for this spe- 

 cial work. Statistics show that the loss of life due to gasoline explo- 

 sions is appalling. Careful investigation proves that these explosions 

 can be ascribed to spontaneous combustion or to molecular changes 

 due to special conditions. It is true that thousands of gasoline 

 launches are in use, but these launches are nearly all open boats, and 

 the gasoline tanks are often pipes which are placed on the outside of 

 the boat something similar to a keel condenser. 



In the submarine boat you have the storage battery in close prox- 

 imity to the gasoline reservoirs. The switches, fuses, and electrical 

 contacts necessary for the operation of the incandescent lights and 

 various motors must of necessity be open to the air. Sparks form 

 when these electrical appliances are started or stopped, and a single 

 Hash may be all that may be necessary to explode gasoline fumes. 



GASOLINE TANKS SHOULD NOT BE KEPT WITHIN THE HULL OF 



SUBMARINE. 



Gasoline is a great searcher, and as long as the tanks of gasoline are 

 kept within the boat itself it will be practically impossible to prevent 

 some leakage. In starting the gasoline engine some of the gas is 

 likely to escape through stuffing boxes, cheek valves, and joints. It 

 would not be necessary to have much free gasoline in the boat to 

 cause an explosion. In the case of oil-carrying ships, it is when the 

 tanks are well nigh or quite empty that explosions are most likely. 

 The record of accidents to oil-carrying ships proves that explosions 

 nearly always occur when the vessel is in port, and that the danger is 

 greatest when the tanks have the least oil in them. It is not the 

 amount of gasoline carried that constitutes the danger. It is the 

 leakage which is the greatest menace, for when the liquid volatilizes 

 and combines in certain proportions with the air, and is followed by a 

 spark, it is quite certain that an explosion will result. In fact this is 

 the action of a gasoline engine. 



Where the gasoline is kept within the hull the reservoirs are often 

 built-up tanks, i. e., tanks which are built between the frames. It 

 will be extremely difficult to make these tanks perfectly tight, on 

 account of the difficulty of properly calking the seams. It is well 

 known that gasoline is ordinarily kept in cylindrical reservoirs where 

 there are but few seams to leak. 



The danger from gasoline is not imaginary. The crew of the Hol- 

 land were almost asphyxiated from this cause. Constant trouble from 

 inhaling gasoline is being experienced with the French boats. The 

 Engineer, of London, in its issue of June 20, 1902, makes reference 

 to an accident of this character: 



" Life in French submarines is not apparently " all beer and skittles.' 

 The submarine SUure recently went out on trial, and the crew began 



