PIG IRON SUPPLIES

Evening Post, Volume CXL, Issue 138, 8 December 1945, Page 8

PIG IRON SUPPLIES

Australian Strike Effect

P.A. DUNEDIN. This Day. Due to the extension of industrial troubles in Australia the freighter Karetu, which was to have brought urgently-needed supplies of pig iron tr New Zealand, will be unable to do so, and the effect will immediately be felt by from 200 to 300 iron foundry workers in New Zealand. It was forecast on November 27 that works might be forced to shut down before Christmas unless supplies were received, and this holds true, not only for Dunedin but all over the Dominion. At that time the Government interested itself in the position, but the efforts have been brought to nothing by the waterside troubles in Sydney.

filled with more Seafires for close cover if attack developed, and radar warning, followed almost immediately by visual ranging, sent the next flights down the flying deck, but, because the Corsairs had used the high country »o effectively, they were on the ships before the new flights of Seafires had formed up and swung to attack What the points were upon that phase was not announced, but the Corsairs certainly came in. a great show of all-out diving speed. The Seafires had followed them hard, and overhead in the next 10 minutes there was a grand mix-up of 30 or more planes in an ascending and distance dwindling dogfight, from which drifted down jettisoned empty long-range fuel Lanks. The Corsairs came in again in formation and set back to base. The Seafires circled for the landing on.

Most of them were aboard wiion the crash occurred. Flying-on, they are caught by arrester cables stretched across the deck a few inches above its surface; most of them caught the second and 'third cables. Ahead again is the double crash barrier—each barrier being a double steel cable, raised about seven feet above the deck. If a plane fails to hook an arrester cable it is caught by the barrier, which may write-off a propeller (or a plane sometimes), but is insurance for the machines which have landed earlier and have taxied to the foredeck.

The Seafire which crashed came in high, missed all the arrester cables, and the crash barrier by feet, swerved and ran a wing tip along the face of the control tower, 20 feet above the flying deck, somersaulted and crashed to the deck.

Again the complete efficiency of the aircraft handling crews shone out. Within seconds there was a swarm of them about the Seafire. Fire was a prime danger, but foam was smothering the engine cowling almost as the vyreck slid to a stop —cockpit crushed, tail assembly torn off, propeller missing altogether, both wings torn and twisted. The chances of the pilot, Sub-Lieu-tenant Ratcliffe, having escaped bad injury seemed slim, but when he could be reached he reported himself in one piece. His Seafire was so patently a write-off that it was pulled aside and out of the way for the time being, and when the rest of the planes had flown on was pushed over the side. Nothing of it, airframe, propeller, or Merlin engine, was in any shape for repair or salvage. The carrier this evening is anchored in the Bay of Many Coves, Queen Charlotte Sound, with a quiet day ahead tomorrow. No flying is to be done or other large-scale exercises. Most on board are talking about fishing. So far the only successful cod fisherman is Vice-Admiral Vian, who went off from the carrier on Wednes-

day afternoon and evening, and came back with a good catch.