NEW AUSTRALIAN DESTROYER

Press, Volume LXXXVIII, Issue 26671, 4 March 1952, Page 7

NEW AUSTRALIAN DESTROYER

VOYAGER LAUNCHED AT SYDNEY

(Special Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 7 p.m.) SYDNEY, March 3. H.M.A.S. Voyager, which slid down the ways at the Cockatoo dockyard, Sydney, on Saturday afternoon, is the first all-welded ship to be built in Australia. In spite of criticisms of this form of construction which have followed the loss, by structural failure, of a number of these vessels in storm conditions, both the Admiralty and Australian Navy officials believe that welded ships have many advantages over those put together by the timehonoured riveting method. The' Voyager and her sister ships may wellprove the truth of this contention. The Voyager is a large and powerful fighting craft, 390 feet long, 43 feet Wide and will displace 3500 tons. Her armament will include six 4.7 inch guns carried in three twin turrets, six 40-mm. anti-aircraft guns, several 21 inch torpedo tubes and many new and secret anti-submarine weapons. Such a long, harrow and heavily-loaded ship, driven by powerful engines at speeds of more than 35 knots, will fully test the new construction. She must be prepared to manoeuvre at high speeds and withstand the shock of her own and Other depth charges when engaged in antisubmarine work.

The Voyager, which was the first British fighting ship to be launched in the reign of Queen Elizabeth 11, has really opened a new era in Australian shipbuilding. Instead of being built from a framework in the slipway, as are conventional vessels, she was constructed in sections upside down in various parts of the yard and then joined together. There is scarcely a handful of rivets in her whole construction. Every precaution was taken to see that the welding process produced no inherent defects. As each watertight compartment was .completed, it was pumped full of water to check for leaks. Every inch of welding has been X-rayed in search for crystallisation, carbonisation, or other formations which might cause weakness.