126 COLLAPSE OF TEXAS TOWER NO. 4 



form was pretty well along and work on the legs was in its initial 

 phases. 



By and large, in the discharge of my responsibility, I adhered to 

 the original plans and specifications under which the contract had 

 been let. There were, however, two changes and one installation in- 

 juiy repair which I approved and which I believe are pertinent to 

 these hearings. 



DEVIAnON FROM DESIGN IX PERMUTING INCREASED TOLERANCES IN 

 PIN CONNECTIONS 



Shortly after I took over, and before moving to the site, the con- 

 tractor requested increase in tolerance between the diametei'S of the 

 holes and the pins which comprised the connections to the bracing 

 and to the legs. Specifically he requested an increase from one sixty- 

 fourth of an inch to one-sixteenth of an inch for all pins except those 

 which required placement under water. For the latter the contractor 

 requested a difference in diameter of one-eighth of an inch between 

 the pin and the hole. This request of the contractor grew out of 

 difficulties encountered in the insertion of pins through holes in some 

 of the pin plates because some of the pin plates which were welded 

 either to the braces or the legs became slightly out of line in fabrica- 

 tion. The one-eighth-inch tolerance requested for some of the other 

 plates relates to the fact that they were to be inserted at the site and 

 therefore under water which, at best, makes for difficult insertion. 

 This request of the contractor was ultimately approved by me after 

 consultation with the design engineers. 



REDESIGN FOR COLLAR CONNECTION TO REPLACE BROKEN BRACES 



The second and last change which took place at the site involved the 

 correction of the bracing casualty which was suffered after arrival 

 at the site area during a 1-day storm, followed by 1 day of rough 

 weather immediately prior to upending. The braces in question were 

 the two K braces in the AB plane which were to connect the lateral 

 brace at the 25-foot level to the legs at the 76-foot level. 



Senator Saltonstall. Mr. Chairman, could the commander point 

 those out by referring to the model ? 



Senator Stennis. Yes, if you vrill. Commander. 



Commander Foster. That is these two braces right here [indicat- 

 ing], sir. 



Senator Saltonstall. In blue? 



Commander Foster. These two blue braces in the top panel here, 

 Senator Saltonstall. 



Senator Saltonstall. That is on which side ? 



Commander Foster. This is the AB side. 



These two braces were tied together by metal couplings for and 

 during the tow in order to permit the platform to be floated into jack- 

 ing position after the legs were on the bottom. One brace came off 

 sometime during the storm. The other came loose and came off during 

 the course of towing the tower to its exact position. During the storm 

 and rough weather we were anchored. I went out to the site 2 days 

 before the legs arrived to set and mark the erection site. I trans- 

 ferred to the platform in the late afternoon of its arrival and was in 



