TORPEDO ON ROCKS
Accidents During Practice
An unrehearsed incident occurred while H.M.S. Diomede was engaged in torpedo practice in the Hauraki Gulf on Friday. Eleven torpedoes had been successfully fired, and subsequently recovered with the help of a New Zealand Air Force seaplane, which “spotted” their whereabouts from above, whejj the twelfth torpedo accidentally struck the rocks ou the coast of Tiritiri Island. The seaplane, in accordance with it= practice, immediately dropped a flare to indicate where the torpedo had come to rest, but the light set fire to the grass on the island, and a party from the warship, sent to recover the torpedo, landed and extinguished the flames. Little damage was done to the torpedo, which is worth about £2OOO. For practice purposes the- high explosive' warheads of torpedoes are replaced by practice heads, filled with cork, so that no explosion occurs when an object is struck. It is presumed that the torpedo was sent out of its proper course by a failure of the gyroscopic compass, which is capable of keeping the weapon speeding on a straight course for about eight miles, but this cannot be definitely ascertained until an internal .examination has been made. The torpedo had travelled approximately seven miles when it struck the rocks.
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Bibliographic details
Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 105, 28 January 1931, Page 3
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210TORPEDO ON ROCKS Dominion, Volume 24, Issue 105, 28 January 1931, Page 3
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