The Navy Vol_22_Part2 1960 - Navy League of Australia

Admiralty Floating Dock No. 59ADMIRALTY Floating DockNo. 59. which was laiddown at H.M. Dockyard. Portsmouth,011 1st January, 1959.was "launched" on March 31,I960, by Lady Carrington,wife of the First Lord of theAdmiralty.A.F.I). 59 has been constructedin a dry dock and was readyfor floating out after thelaunching ceremony, which entailedthe flooding of the drydock. The machinery for thisoperation was set in motion byLady Carrington.The dock will be capable oflifting all existing destroyersand frigates, as well as submarinesof the latest type, andwill be used initially in the fittingout of the nuclear submarineDREADNOUGHT.The Dock is 400 feet long.77 feet wide, and 65 feet high.and is an all-welded structurecontaining some 4,500 tons ofsteel. Extensive use has beenmade of pre-fabrication. andthe completion of the structurewithin fifteen months representsa considerable achievement.more particularly as tilework was carried out in a drydock which lacked many of thefacilities normally associatedwith a building slip. Assistancein fabrication of certain fittingswas given by Chathamand Rosyth dockyards.It will be fully equipped tocarry out routine maintenanceand repairs of ships docked init, and will provide accommodationand living facilities tothe latest habitability standards.including air conditioningand fluorescent lighting inall cabins and messes, for abouttwo hundred men.WATCHMANfor the Herald OfficeProm time to time positions asWatchman become available at TheHerald Si Weekly TimesLtd.These are worthwhile permanentpositions which would appeal to menof responsibility and integrity whomay be due for retirement in the nearfuture.The conditions of employment areexcellent and amenities include goodA push button control systemwill be installed for theoperation of the Dock, and themain pumps for controlling theraising and lowering of theDock will be capable of dealingwith over 200 tons of waterper minute. Instruments willbe fitted to record for the DockMaster's information thestrains coming on the structureduring the docking operation.Four main generators andtwo auxiliary generators supply1,320 kw. for the mainpumping machinery, lighting,etc. This power supply is sufficientfor the domestic load ofa vessel in the dock and powerand lighting for repairs in additionto the dock services.The Dock will be equippedwith special sliding keel blocksfor the docking of submarines.A 71 ton travelling crane issituated on. and runs the fulllength of. each dock wall.wages, superannuation after a qualifyingperiod, four weeks' annual leave,ten-shift fortnight, medical centre andcafeteria facilities.Applicants, who should be in perfectphysical condition and under 55 yearsof age, should telephone the StaffSuperintendent at MF0211to arrangean interview, or write to the StaffSuperintendent giving details of age.experience and personal history, togetherwith copies ofThe Herald and Weekly Time* Ltd.44-74 Flindera Stmt, Melbourne. MF0211.references.21 THE NAVYIDENTIFYING WRECKS BYTV CAMERAM.A. Ships. VAMPIREH• and QUICKMATCH, returningfrom exercises recently,located a strange "object" ontheir ASDIC.Located approximately 15miles off Sydney Heads in 500feet of water, the Navy tookno chances. For several daysVAMPIRE and QUICK-MATCH, assisted by H.M.Submarines, ANDREW andANCHORITE, and by GannetA/S aircraft from the FleetAir Arm base at Nowra, NewSouth Wales, kept the objectunder surveillance.Then, satisfied that the objectwas a wreck, the ships returnedto Sydney.Among the many suggestionsmade by the newspapers, wasthat TV cameras should be usedto identify the object.The use of TV for this purposeis not new—the most publicisedease was, of course,when a TV camera located andidentified the sunken Britishsubmarine. AFFRAY, in theEnglish Channel.The most recent case was inDecember last year when theR.N.Z.N. used this method toexamine the wreck of the merchantship, HOLMGLEN.Here is how a writer fromthis service described the operation.A year of unusual tasks forthe New Zealand Navy wasbrought to an appropriate conclusionby "Operation Holmglen,"an examination, at therequest of the Marine Department,of the wreck of thecoaster which foundered 20miles off Timaru on the nightof 24th November with all 15of her crew.Task Unit 329 was formedfor the purpose. It was a mixedforce which worked remarkablywell together. The FleetAuxiliary TUI, under her master,Captain R. W. Aylward, iscivilian manned, but for thisoperation a number of navalratings was added. She carriedthe portable decompressionchamber for the divers, a medicalofficer, an underwater televisioncamera, and the technicalofficers to operate it, and aphotographer. The second shipwas the diving tender MANA-WANUI, commanded by LieutenantT. H. Wick 111 a n,R.N.Z.N. She carried a teamof divers who had been speciallyconditioned to dives downto the 220-feet ui which thewreck was lying. The entireoperation was under CommanderJ. I'. S. Valiant, R.N.Z.N.,executive officer of the cruiser,H.M.N.Z.S. ROYALIST.After the divers had workedup at the Great Harrier, theunit sailed from Auckland andmade a brief visit to Lyttelton.Location of the wreck was expectedto be difficult; it provedto be dramatically swift. Theuuit steamed 108 miles southfrom Lyttelton with the landtotally obscured by cloud. Late011 21st December the shipsncared the rei orted site of thewreck. TUI slowed and begana search run. Within minutesthe echo sounder trace showedthat she had passed over theHOLMGLEN and that, of thousandsof square miles of ocean,she had found the exact smallpoint.The following day TUI laida web of moorings totallingsome 9.000 feet to hold herselfover the Wreck, and the underwatercamera was lowered.After a preliminary exploration,the screens in the shipshowed a litter of articles onthe sea-bed—a book, a saucepanand tools. Then, withstartling clarity—not to beequalled for the remainder ofthe operation—the wreck cameclearly into view.The "OBJECT" as shown on an Aidfc Trace.Juns, I960 2t