EVERYONE BUSY.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIV, Issue 125, 30 May 1933, Page 9

EVERYONE BUSY.

WORK AT NAVY BASE.

DIOMEDE'S THOROUGH REFIT.

LOCAL CRAFTSMEN PRAISED

Never has the naval base at Devonport been busier than it is at present. The flagship Dunedin ie in dock for cleaning and painting, her sister cruiser Diomedc is out of commission undergoing her biennial refit, and the sloops Laburnum and Veronica are being overhauled in readiness for their departure for the Islands.

During this week no fewer than 310 local craftsmen are engaged at the dockyard. Of this number, consisting of shipwrights, boilerinakers, joiners, painters, plumbers, electricians, blacksmiths, fitters, bricklayers and tiler.*, nearly 200 are employed in connection with the relit of the Diomede, a work which in past years has necessitated a trip to England. About one in every three men engaged at the base is an ex-naval man, while 50 per cent of the total have their homes on the North Shore,

The biennial refit of the Diomede is regarded as one of the most important naval works yet carried out in New Zen land. In the past it has been the practice for the cruisers to go Home for the job, but this year it was decided, in the interests of economy, that the work should be carried out by local workmen, under expert supervision. The refit of the Diomede has been in progress, for ten days, and already considerable work has been done, although the ship will not be ready for leeommission until the second week in July. Huge Anchor' Cabls. Torpedoes, air vessels and the cruiser's main chain cable have already been dispatched to Sydney for testing at the Garden Island dockyard. The cable, by the way, is a ponderous affair, weighing over i) 0 tons. Apart from these items, all the other work in connection with the cruiser's relit is being done at Auckland. Yesterday and to-day the Auckland Harbour Board's big floating tvane Mahua was berthed alongside the Diomede giving a hand with the refit. The business of the crane is to lift the cruiser's guns and torpedo tubes a few feet in the air in order that they may be thoroughly examined. Once lifted; the guns and tubes are chocked up, so that a thorough inspection can be made and repair work is facilitated. Some of the guns and turrets weigh over 20 tons.

When tile Diomede goes into dry "dock on June 19 her hull will be scraped, chipped; and repainted. In addition, all under-water -fittings and sea connections will be examined. No plates in the warship's hull arc to be replaced, but one of her propellers is to be taken off and a new one fitted, while the shaft is to be drawn for re-wooding. The value of a single' propeller of the type that gives the Diomede a fine turn of speed is something in the vicinity of £1200, so that it is not surprising that the defective screw at, present on the cruiser is not to be put on tile scrapheap, but is to bn repaired at Auckland, a work that ill the past has been done oveisens. Furnaces Rebricked. ] .Both. pn. board the Diomede and on shore it ..is evident to the visitor that a .work of unusual magnitude is in progress. Workmen arc everywhere, and there is a great deal of . noise, even though the work is going on in the orderly way that one would expect in anything connected with the. Navy. From the carpenters' shop comes the shriek of saws; in another shop nearby the clang of hammers makes . hearing well nigh impossible. On entering the boat shed the visitor is assailed by an almost overpowering smell of paint. One would hardly expect to find that bricklayers are necessary to help with a warship's refit, but actually they have an important work to do in the way of rebricking the furnaces. Tilers are busy for jobs in such places as bathrooms. .' The refit of the Diomede is'being carried out under the supervision of Engineer Commander C. Marcharit, who has" been responsible for selecting the outside labour for the job. The tasx has not been an easy one, as will readily be realised when it is known that applications for engagements have totalled well over the thousand mark. Commander Marchant is highly pleased With the wav in which the refit is progressing, and he said to-day that the local workmen were as good as he had ever had under him, not forgetting those in the huge dockyards in England.