SINKING OF WOOMERA
Court Martial Of Captain Begins (Rec. 10 p.m.) SYDNEY, December 8. The captain of the supply ship, H.M.A.S. Woomera, which sank at sea on October 11, had broken regulations by attempting to dump shells and flares together, a naval Court Martial was told today. Two men died when the Woomera caught fife and sank. 23 miles off Sydney, while dumping obsolete ammunition. The Woomera’s captain. Lieutenant - Commander Douglas Alfred Marshall, was charged before the Court Martial with having. through . negligence, allowed the Woomera "to be lost or hazarded.” He also was charged with having failed to exercise due care in the dumping of aircraft flares, and with having allowed aircraft flares to be embarked in an unboxed state. Marshall pleaded not guilty to all charges. The Judge Advocate (Commander F. B. Nolan! in outlining the case against Marshall, said that during the dumping operation a flare had exploded, causing a Tu' o,ent outbreak” of fire. The fife, and a later explosion had caused the loss of the Woomera.
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Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29383, 9 December 1960, Page 17
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171SINKING OF WOOMERA Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29383, 9 December 1960, Page 17
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