LONG SEARCH

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 45, 23 February 1942, Page 3

LONG SEARCH

AT 70 FATHOMS

DANGEROUS WORK

PLUCK AND RESOURCE

While searching for the Niagara, the chief diver of United Salvage Co., Mr. John Johnstone, of Melbourne, made a world's diving record when, in the observation bell he went to 628 ft, a depth only surpassed by Bleby's bathoscope. On February 2, 1941, the wreck was located and on October 13 two gold bars, each £4230 in value, were salved from the sea. Two days later, when the Claymore put into Whangarei, £84,600 worth of bullion was loaded into the bank vault.

With success in their grasp the men of the Claymore shared in the satisfaction of having done something towards the solving of deepwater problems that had baffled mankind from the time that the first humble craft fell victim to the sea.

Supervising the demolition of the Niagara and the raising of the bullion, the divers worked almost continuously at a depth of 73 fathoms, creating yet another record. In recovering the Egypt's gold (£1,054,000,) Italian divers of the Sorima Co. were occupied for over four years working at 396 ft down.

The United Salvage Co., under the supervision of Captain J. P. Williams •nd Captain James Herd, and with a personnel comprising Australian and New Zealanders, completed a more difficult task in less than 12 months.

The treasure, too, far surpassed any other recovered from anything approaching such a depth. The Egypt's salvage off Ushant almost pales into insignificance compared with the achievements of the Australian company. In 1922 naval divers lifted all but £44,000 of £5,000,000 worth of bullion from the Laurentic sunk during the last war, but the Laurentic was covered by only 120 ft of water, and diving suits could be worn, whereas on the Niagara job the limbless observation bell was the only "eye" of the ■hip. On her lonely salvage ground the Claymore fought out many a storm, but Nature's chief problems to be overcome were the terrific underwater pressure and the use of explosives at such a depth that little previous data was available.

Added to aU this was the deadly hazard of mines, both floating and moored, for the waters in which the Niagara met her doom were festooned with these deadly objects. Particularly during the period of search the Claymore and her men h»'' many hair-breadth escapes.

When all is taken into account, the exploit of this gallant band of 18 ranks among the most brilliantly executed and daring in Britain's sla story. The Niagara Searchers A new world record was established by the Australian, Mr. John Johnstone, when, prior to locating the Niagara, he made three descents to a depth of 528 ft. The two brothers John and William Johnstone in all made over 316 descents and worked continuously well over 400 ft below the surface during the first nine months of operations off the Northland coast.

Whereas the Genoese divers who were lost when Artiglio 1 met disaster on another job were in their twenties, non-smokers and drinkers, and men of great size, the Johnstone brothers are in their forties, lead the lives of normal men, and while being of good physique are wiry rather than heavy.

Senior diver of five employed by the United Salvage Pty., Ltd., John Johnstone stands sft lOin, and is only list in weight. Liverpool born and British Navy trained, the Johnstone brothers have devoted their lives to gaining the experience which has enabled them to play such a prominent role in their recovery of the Niagara's millions.

To-day they stand unchallenged at the peak of their profession. Both possess in a degree above the ordinary the essential faculties of a diver —a sense of direction, memory for constructional details and steady judgment.

Experience as a shipwright and in the draughting office of ship construction yards at Liverpool and later at Manning River, New South Wales, enabled John Johnstone to follow from his position in the diving bell the designs of the Niagara as she lay on the bed of the ocean. He was also able to construct a pasteboard model of the midship section of the Niagara, where the bullion lay. Over this an enlarged photograph of it elaborating in greater detail the master plan of the Niagara possessed by the managing d ir ector of the company, Captain J. P. Williams, who was in charge of operations throughout, the underwater men spent hours memorising the various features of the wreck and visualising the problems which would confront them. The Directing Hand Six weeks after the sinking of the Niagara Captain Williams in his office in Normanby Road, South Melbourne, 5.C.5, answered a telephone ring from the Australian Naval Intelligence. "Will you undertake work in 400 ft of water?" he was asked. It was a thunderbolt, but the imperturbable captain promptly replied, "Yes, we will."

Afterwards in conversation with friends Captain Williams freely admitted that the only reason for taking on the task was the knowledge that Italians had done it previously, and in the belief that "Britishprs could do it equally well if not a bit better."

As one of the principals put it, I "At that time we had no experience, no gear—nothing, except a highly-

talented dress suit diver. The job of recovering the gold was not salvage in the accepted sense of the word—none of the ordinary gear none of the usual facilities were of any use."

. That Britishers did do it and do it in infinitely shorter time, and without major misadventure of any kind is due in very large measure indeed to the leadership of Captain Williams, who personally supervised every aspect of the tremendous undertaking.

He has come through with flying colours, not only because of his great knowledge of the sea, gained mostly in the hard school of windjammers, but because of those very British qualities of unruffled complacency courage, determination and powers of extemporisation, inherited from a Welsh father and an English mother.

Forty-five years of age, he was born in Hull, England, and spent his boyhood at Lower Carmarthen. Wales. At the age of 14 he answered the call of the sea, strong in every Welshman's blood, and most of his time was spent on sailing ships around the Chilian coast.

In 1921 he came to Australia where his bride-to-be was resident. Two years later he joined the United Stevedoring Pty., Ltd.. of which he is now the general manager. He is also managing-director of the Fleet Forge Engineering Co., Fleetways Transport, and a gold mining company, and manager of United Ships Service Pty., Ltd.

Serving with him as directors of the United Salvage Pty., Ltd., are Messrs. W. A. MacKay, of Sydney (director of the Union Steamship Co.), W. H. Swanton and J. A. Graham. For the Empire War Chest Upon the outbreak of the present war Captain Williams was posted by the Australian Navy to a responsible position ashore. His taste, however, was for duties of a more active nature, so he managed to get his commission transferred to the A.I.F. The navy claimed its own again, and he had just been selected for a job after his own heart—command of a corvette—when the Niagara salvage job presented itself. Most interested in the furnishing of what would be—if successful—an exceedingly valuable contribution to the Empire's war chest, the naval authorities immediately released Captain Williams. It was from this aspect of a war effort rather than from any hope of pecuniary gain or personal distinction that Captain Williams and the men of the Claymore approached their hazardous mission.

Such a spirit explained in large measure why exacting duties and long hours of work in all kinds of weather were undertaken so uncomplainingly.

Often among members of the crew the remark was heard, "The boys over there and in the navy are facing worse. Why shouldn't we carry on and get the job through?" Specialists Get Together The formation of the United Salvage Company brought together the recognised experts in this class of work. Captain Williams, a Welshman by birth and a lieutenant in the Royal R.A.N.R., who became managing director, was the general manager of the United Stevedoring Company, Melbourne, the largest concern of its kind on the Australian waterfront.

Immediately the Salvage Company came very favourably under the notice of the Postmaster-General's Department by surveying the underwater telephone cable between King Island and Tasmania in the Bass Strait. To examine 11 miles of cable at a depth of from 70 to 120 ft entailed the diver, J. Johnstone, walking the seabed for 27 miles in five months.

Shortly afterwards negotiations were completed with the United Salvage Pty., Ltd.. for the salvage of the Niagara gold.

The contract was signed in early October, the Australian Navy releasing Captain "Williams for the special task. The Royal Australian Navy also made available the services of its senior diver, William Johnstone, aged 43, and one of their experts in deep-sea diving.

On account of his specialised knowledge in explosives, Diver William Johnstone proved invaluable in this aspect of the work on the Niagara. It was he who acted as the eye of the ship in directing the highly delicate operation of placing the charges when the demolition stage was reached, and so excellently did the gear function that it was possible under good conditions to place and fire a shot in 18 minutes from the time of his leaving the ship. Special Diving Bell The "eye" of the Claymore was a steel cylinder observation bell incorporating improvements on that used by the Italians when they retrieved the Egypt's gold. Designed by Messrs. David Isaacs and George Ellis, of Melbourne, working in the closest collaboration with the managing director, Captain Williams, and the chief diver of the United Salvage Company, it more than fulfilled expectations. Fortunately for the company, the bell was already under construction for cable survey work when the contract for the Niagara became available.

Working at such a great depth the use of an ordinary diver's suit was out of the question. The wearer, should he have ventured much below 300 feet, would have been crushed by the tremendous pressure of the water. While denying the power of movement and ability to do manual labour, the steelcased shell has the great advantage of enabling the diver to carry out his observations in conditions which are as nearly natural as possible.

The expedition bell was a steel cylinder with a manganese dome weighing two tons and three quarters and capable of withstanding a water pressure of 3501b to the square inch, representing a depth of over 750 feet. It afforded ample room for one man to stand or sit, surrounded by a barrage of instruments and gauges. Vision was gained through a ring of observation windows one inch and a half thick round the top of the dome. Even with perfect visibility objects could not be defined more than from 10 to 20 feet distant. Speaking "Through His Neck" Should an emergency have arisen, it would have been possible for the diver, breathing the same air over and over again through a purifying respirator and carrying his own supply of oxygen, to have remained below for 10 hours under ordinary atmospheric conditions. Occasionally, however, so engrossed did the divers become that the CO2 solution used to detect the presence of foul air sometimes changed colour before the canister was changed. The result invariably was a headache, the men being saved from more serious consequences only because the soda lime in their "ontainex* >*•»** *ulnlled > its mission.

The longest submersion was five hours 20 minutes. As he worked alone well over 400 feet below the waves uninterrupted, contact with the surface was imperative for the diver, not only for his own preservation, but also the successful prosecution of his work, as he gave orders for lowering the explosives and hoisting the salvage. Wearing an oxygen mask the diver could not speak into a telephone mouthpiece in the usual way. This difficulty was overcome by research workers in the laboratory of the Melbourne Postmaster-General's Department, Melbourne. They devised a most ingenious larynxaphone which when placed over the diver's Adam's apple, transmitted the vibrations of his speech with surprising and uninterrupted clarity, even from the greatest depth. Ballasted with 6001b of cast iron the buoyancv of the bell was controlled as for a submarine. The first testing of the bell was cm Boxing Day, 1940, and on December 29 the bottom was reached at 458 ft a depth deeper beneath the surface of the waves than man had ever before ventured. While the search for the Niagara was continuing in January this record was surpassed with a descent of 528 ft. Monotonous Search On Decernoer 15, 1940, when the Claymore headed for the scene, began a most trying and monotonous period of searching.

"The first step was the buoying off of an area of nine square miles for sweeping by the Claymore and the 10-ton diesel-burning Betsy. The western boundary was under the shadow of the most seamost Chicken, rising 1400 feet sheer from the sea.

Sweeping was with a form of trawl by means of which a wire liin thick was stretched out along the bottom by two boards acting in the water much as do kites in the air. As the ship towed them along the resistance of the boards and the angle at which they are slung causes them to spread fanwise from the stern, and, at the same time, to run to the bottom. A wire connecting the two could then be expected to catch anything rising from the sea bed.

"The continued lack of success the apparent futility of handling close on two miles of wire every two hours from dawn to dark was apt to get on our nerves." commented one of the leaders. "There were wires on the hatches, wires on the deck, grease and coils of wire everywhere you moved," he said. "You went to bed at night with your hands cramped up from handling wire, you woke up in the morning with them stiffened into shape to start hauling again. That's what it meant in the early days of our hunt."

The sweep wire was stretched between the two vessels which, nosing ahead at the rate of three knots cleared a lane of 500 ft wide. The work was commenced at a depth of 400 ft and fortunately the sea bottom in this locality was found to be perfectly fiat. Soundings and drag grapnels were employed continuously.

Sweeping in a circle until an area of roughly a mile was covered was considered to be the most effective method of locating any large sunken object. After completing a number of circles it became clear that the wreck was not in the position indicated.

One of the deck hands on the Claymore, Ray Neilson, was aboard the Niagara on her last ill-starred trip. Patches of oil, some a mile in extent, were tantalising -nut meant little, as much as the fuel from the Niagara's bunkers for months past had been washed ashore on Northland beaches many miles from the scene of the disaster.

Stormy weather frequently interrupted the work, necessitating sheltering in Whangarei harbour. At times the gear was considerably damaged and in one furious gale the motor launch Rosie smashed against the stern and sank. Skippers Williams and Herd won complete confidence by the manner in which they handled the ship in every situation. So the monotony of sounding, taking in wires, paying out wires, shifting ship and taking bearings continued.

_ After nine weeks of patient searching came the compensating thrill of discovery. On Sunday, February 2 the bell was put over the side at 4.22 p.m. So perfectly was the larynxaphone functioning that Diver J. Johnstone in his descent could hear the screech of the forward winch above the skipper's orders. The pressure gauge rose steadily, indicating the depth of the water, and at 72 fathoms (432 ft) bottom was reached. Visibility so late in the afternoon was poor, but through the sheets of unbreakable glass round the top of the dome Diver Johnstone spied* dark objects here and there. First an oil drum took shape. Sweet Confirmation As the bell anchored itself in the mud the diver's eyes gradually became accustomed to the peculiar light. Darting fish momentarily took his mind from his mission. Overhead he could hear some one asking Bill Johnstone the all important question: "Do you think it's her?" Unidentifiable objects littered the sea bed, so, on instructions from the diver the bell was swung over near a darker mass looming at the extreme range of vision. To quote Diver Johnstone's own words:— "The bell sounded as it fouled something on the sea bed. Within two feet of No. 1 starboard window I could see a boat davit with a ship's rail close handy.

"Below this on the mud line was a port hole.

"The ship's side was before me before I realised it. Out of the port window could t>e seen a ventilator lying face downwards. This completed the picture. We bad found the Niagara.

"I stood and peered at objects for identification but the failing light, it being 5.10 p.m., decided me that it was enough for the day, and so the ascent with the news ended the thrill of thrills. The crowd applauded, for-

getting their own great effort and that each one had been a cog in the wheel."

Under the keel of the rusting decrepit old Claymore lay a ransom sufficient to purchase many tanks, planes and guns for Britain.

Early Salvage Troubles

Preparations for gaining entry to the bullion room were then put in hand. During a fortnight at Whangarei extra lifting gear, winches, etc., were fitted. 83 cases of explosives were placed on board, and the complement was increased by three.

Stability of the vessel on a rolling sea meant much to the man in the observation chamber. In a rolling sea he might be dragged along the bottom, at the same time rising and falling with the motion of the vessel above. Under such circumstances the observation bell, it was feared, might be dropped into some cavity and held there, breaking the diver's cable as the ship rose again. The less the bell moved the more clear and accurate did the observer's work become. Until application of an ingenious device of Captain Williams overcame the bouncing of the bell, it rolled at times as if careering down a mountain side, causing bumps and bruises galore to the man inside.

To gain the desired end of stability, six concrete blocks, each weighing about five tons and attached to 100 fathoms of 2i-inch wire supported by a buoy, were placed in position on the sea bed. Despite their great weight, supplemented by additional anchors and link cable, the moorings dragged, and it became necessary several times to re-establish the position of the wreck.

In one storm no fewer than three of the moorings came adrift and hours of tension followed, it being feared that the Claymore's propeller might foul the buoys or other drifting gear.