CRUISER'S SCREW FOULED

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 68, Issue 142, 29 March 1948, Page 2

CRUISER'S SCREW FOULED

MISHAP WITH ROPE AT LYTTELTON (P.A.) AUCKLAND, March 27. When the Australian cruiser Australia was leaving Lyttleton on March 15 ” one of her four propellers was fouled by a wire rope. Before it was safe to stop the engine dozens of turns of the rope became jammed between the propeller block and the A-bracket which support* the screw. The Australia continued on her cruise, which included exercises in the Hauraki Gulf, on three engines. When the cruiser berthed in Auckland a diver from the Devonport naval dockyard began the task of freeing the propeller.

The hoisting of a red pennant from the yardarm of the cruiser showed that the diver had started his work yesterday. Using an under-water acetylene cutting torch, his first objective was. to remove the rope guard, a cowling built around the propeller shal't and, when this was finished, he began the slow job of severing and removing each of the tightly-jammed turns of wire. Good progress was reported to have been made up to last evening.