COLLAPSE OF TEXAS TOWER NO. 4 91 



try to repair it under water, or take it back to port and complete the 

 repairs in the docks ; is that correct ? 



Captain Albers. That is right. 



Mr. Kendall. What difficidties would they be faced with in repair- 

 ing it under water that they would not be faced with in port ? 



Captain Albers. In the first place, they had to change the design 

 of the joint to connect it to a band rather than to plates that were 

 welded into the top. 



In the second place, it all had to be done by divers, rather than 

 men working in the air. 



Mr. Kendall. Was it necessary to give any increased tolerances for 

 the pins as a result of this ? 



Captain Albers. I do not think so, and I do not know that any 

 was. 



Mr. Kendall. About the X-braces, Captain, was not the installation 

 of X-bracing considered as part of the original design process? 



Captain Albers. That is correct, sir. 



Mr. Kendall. And it was rejected ? 



Captain Albers. It was rejected because we w^ere concerned with 

 how we could keep them from corroding under water. We were en- 

 deavoring to make a more permanent structure. 



Mr. Kendall. I have one further question that is really for clarifi- 

 cation. You testified I believe, that the legs were fractured above 

 the caissons ? 



Captain Albers. That has been my understanding. 



Mr. Kendall. Well, we need a little definition on the term "cais- 

 sons." We have been referring to the caissons as the entire leg ? 



Captain Albers. The caisson was the enlarged portion of the leg 

 that was in the ground. 



Mr. Kendall. That is vv^iat we have been referring to as the foot- 

 ing, I believe. 



Captain Albers. That is correct. 



Senator Stennis. That was put in after you got the tower in place, 

 was it not ? 



Captain Albers. No, sir. That was part of the leg and was sunk 

 down into the bottom. 



Senator Stennis. It went in though, as part of the leg, the interior 

 part? 



Captain Albers. It was the bottom part of the leg — actually it is 

 exterior. It is much bigger than the leg itself. 



Senator Stennis. I see. But it was actually a part of the leg ? 



Captain Albers. That is correct. 



Senator Stennis. I did not understand that. 



What was that you said a while ago when someone interrupted 

 you ? You said you were told that all of the braces were torn loose. 

 I suppose, if I heard you correctly, you meant after it collapsed, and 

 as it was found later ? 



Captain Albers, When this diagonal was broken, as I understand 

 it, you had no effective bracing system left on this side of the tower. 



Senator Stennis. Now, you have pointed in your answer to the 

 bottom bracing, the one that is marked. You pointed to that, did 

 you not ? 



Captain Albers. That is correct, sir. 



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