AN EPIC OF THE SEA

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 45, 23 February 1942, Page 4

AN EPIC OF THE SEA

THE greatest Individual salvage feat In the whole history of recovery ~ om „ the f«;a— apart, of course, from such collective tasks as the raising of the German fleet from the bottom of Scapa Flow—was accomplished when the divers lifted gold valued at over two and a quarter millions from the wrecked liner Niagara. Never before had divers worked at so great a depth or had so much bullion been raised in so short a time. The previous record was that of the Artigliero Brothers l™°n, wnrl 8 *^ 110 "^ 0 .? the sunke P EgyDt off Ushant, after four £FiM. «Jm3& fron ? * de P. th ° f near, y 'orty-two feet less from that in which the Niagara lay; and those last seven fathoms mean an immense increase In pressure and in difficulty of working. The wreck lay in the S""'"' mWdic of a minefield from which mines were broking ,r,ft ; Pl herß { *£ ,ch were fou,ed ln the co"«e of the operations threatened hourly disaster. Only when the sea was flat calm could the diver go down, and even under the best of conditions he was frequently driven to the surface by muddied waters lifted above the liner by the ground swell coming in across the broad Pacific. Blasting a wav through -"hiltf'J 8 ' deCk , "2.V. 1 the Btr °nßroom was reached was a task involving a high degree of skill, courage and tenacity. An "overdose" of exnlosivet S^ t « a , t . an ?t. tim^ have J wrecked the enterprise by hurUng thl the •»" m«d in which the vessel lay, whence it could never have been recovered, but by patiently experimenting the salvage team SUXSSS . llmitS °' Mfety ' an * with improvised tS they performed their task in a manner which has made history. Their epic u£?£S FS 6 ' '," ° ne °'fascinating interest, and of ta.SE ance too. If one-half of the losses suffered through mines and toroedoes could be as quickly recovered there would be enough finance avaUable to run the war for a long time to come. avauaoie