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rtrapasso -> RE: Torpedo Magnet "Record"? (6/21/2006 2:50:22 AM)
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quote:
ORIGINAL: Monter_Trismegistos
quote:
ORIGINAL: rtrapasso
Photos of the hull showed the armor, etc. was bent dramatically INWARD (photos which were still floating around on the web at one time). Rickover came up with a theory that water rushing into the hull caused this... put how armor is going to bend hull plates in like this is a nice trick. i do not believe this theory, and lots of other folks (including naval engineers) do not either.
It was not water itself, but shock wave reflected from bottom made this.
Sinking of French predrednaught Liberté, where it was quite known how it happened, showed the same syndrom: hull was bent inward. So in general that theory is quite plausible.
i am trying to find the photos - i remember reading the report some time ago (several years) so i guess i got the details of the theory incorrect.
HOwever, here are some problems with the coal explosion theory:
"The Maine never had an instance of spontaneous combustion on board, as did so many other ships of that time, and out of all the ships that had experienced spontaneous combustion, none was reported to have sustained serious damage. The type of coal carried by the Maine was New River coal, which is classified as low volatile bituminous coal and was not generally known to spontaneously combust. Bunker A16 was not situated by a boiler or any other external heat source, and normally spontaneous combustion does not occur unless there is a heat source to speed up the process. When Bunker A16 was inspected the morning of the disaster, the temperature was only 59 degrees Fahrenheit, and the Maines' oversensitive temperature sensor system did not indicate any dangerous rise in temperature. The discipline on the Maine was excellent, and regular inspections of coal bunkers for hazards, as well as the implementation of precautions for preventing bunker fires, were diligently carried out under the supervision of the cautious executive officer of the Maine, Richard Wainwright. These idiosyncrasies related to the coal bunker fire theory are what give rise to the constant debate of this argument’s legitimacy."
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