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"Drifted
on Beach"
Two
years after the submarine USS F-4 foundered, a brush supposedly
inscribed "R.L.Cooke USS F-4" was found washed
up on shore. A newspaper article described the finding of
the brush and erroneously reported that "Chief Electrician
Cooke was lost when the F-4 foundered during diving operations
off Honolulu". All 21 crew members perished (see articles
below). Doc's submarine was actually the USS K-7 (SS-38)...obviously
there was some wear to the brush and the K-7 was mistaken
for an F-4.
About the USS K-7
http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-k/ss38.htm
About the USS F-4
"F-4
was one of the first submarines assigned to the new naval
facility at Pearl Harbor in the years prior to World War
I. On March 25, 1915, the submarine vanished on routine
patrol, and was later discovered a mile off Fort Armstrong,
300 feet underwater.
No one had ever salvaged a vessel from such a depth before,
and Navy attempts proved fruitless for several months. One
diver was later awarded the Medal of Honor for rescuing
another diver at the crushing depths. Finally, using specially
constructed pontoons, the submarine was raised on August
31, 1915 and towed to Pearl Harbor.
After so many months underwater, only four of the 21 dead
aboard the submarine could be identified. The 17 remaining
bodies were sealed in four caskets and shipped to Arlington
National Cemetery, where they were buried in a common grave.
The headstone, the size of an individual marker, is marked
simply '17 Unknown U.S. Sailors Victims of the USS F-4 March
25 1915.'"
http://starbulletin.com/2000/06/22/news/story11.html
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
"USS
F-4 (SS-23) was christened SKATE and was renamed F-4 on
17 November 1911.
Joining the 1st Submarine Group, Pacific Torpedo Flotilla,
F-4 participated in the development operations of that group
along the west coast, and from August 1914, in Hawaiian
waters. During submarine maneuvers off Honolulu on 25 March
1915 she sank in 51 fathoms, 1 1/2 miles from the harbor.
Despite valorous efforts of naval authorities at Honolulu
to locate the missing boat and save her crew, all 21 perished."
http://www.csp.navy.mil/othboats/f-4.htm
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