SALVAGE TRIUMPH.

Hawera Star, Volume XLVI, 4 June 1926, Page 8

SALVAGE TRIUMPH.

DOVER HARBOURMASTER’S FEAT The London Daily Telegraph says the raising of the ship (Hatton from the bed of Dover harbour is a triumph <jf salvage work. With the exception of the Italian battleship Leonardo da Vinci, the (Hatton is the heaviest vessel that has ever been lifted, whilst she is the only ship that- has ever been salved and” carried inshore a- distance of about 1400 feet at an angle of .60 degrees with all her guns (two 9m and four 6in) and equipment intact. The scheme for raising this vessel was that of Captain John Iron, the Dover harbourmaster, who personally supervised the salvage. _ The work was started m May, 1920, the firsft. slteps ‘being, to have a rehearsal survev bv divers to ascertain the position and” condition of things under water. The Glatton was found to have turned over to an angle of 66 degrees, a,t a depth of 40 feet, and to he apparently resting on the barbette of the starboard Gin gun. the upper edge of the boat deck, and the top of the conning tower. Before this could he fully ascertained, however, 12,000 tons of mud that had collected under the decks, between the port gunwale and the ground, had to he cleared away. Thisf on account of wreckage, could only be clone, by centrifugal pumps, unci took ni considerable 1 lime. The tripod wiia/st, four feet in diameter. of Iralf-i.ncih steel, and the two struts, two feet in diameter, .also of iiailif-iijjdh. steell, were found to. be ibueikled into .a V-<sihaipe, 'but not broken; and these had to ibe out through in two places by acetylene submarine cutting plant, and the strengthening bans inside blown out with (.small explosive charges. The tunnel and bridge had to be cut .away by the same means 1 , and everything” cleared aiWja.v that extended ibeloiw ” the armour-plated conning tower, which was then. 35 feet below low-water neap tides. Eight pairs of 9,in wi rest were' then passed under , the wreck, in. isucih positions asi to take the armour-plating. To get these wires' through in; some places, ways hiad to be made for a length, of 52 feet, by water jetsi end. pumping. The difficulty of getting air all through a vessel with so many watertight compartments was overcome, by fitting ;ai 4io air-pipe the entire length of the wreck. between, the bilge and shelll plating., with, branch, pipes leading from, it into .as many, compartments as possible, capable of taking air at 70,000 cubic feet pen* hour. All the manholes on, the- open-bo-the-sea. bilge were closed and anlade perfectly (airtight; all the light ports in the 1 port .side, were closed by .steel plates secured by .strongbacks, ‘bolts and nuts; all hatches, iskylighits. ventilatoris, doors, etc., on the -port side, as. far ais the centre line of the monitor, were aiksio closed and made (airtight by the divers. The tarbertte of the 6i.iv port midships gun. the gun muzzle, .sight holes in the barbette, etc., were also made, as airtight as possible. A trial was. then made with air, which was pumped into the wreck at the rate of 70,000 cubic feet per hour by two compressors, and on getting a 101 b pressure it was found that the wreck had a decided tendency to turn back towards upr.ighting. To prevent this, two pairs of 9in. wires ■were placed round the barbettes of the 9in guns and passed under the starhoard gunwale, _in readiness l to be placed over the lifting lighters. When all this preparatory work had been completed and the weather became suitable, the four lifting iliighitors 1 hired from the Admiralty were towed to the wreck, the Din wires were passed across them, and at low water the lighters were pinned down and n.i.r pumped into the wreck. As the barges rose with, the tide the Glatton came up with them, the wires round the guns holding her in the same position as when on the ground. Tt was then found that the; air under compression gave her sufficient buoyancy to relieve the lighters of 50 per cent, of the weight. After a few minor 'difficulties, which generally happen in this kind of work, the Glatton was moved 1400 feet in two tides, and within 200 feet of the west pier of the Submarine Harbour. When the question of raising the wreck was under discussion in Parliameit. two estimates of cost were mentioned. one of £60.000 and one of £40.000. Captain Iron estimated £SOOO. hut owing to the, huge quantity of mud to he removed the actual cost will work out- at something between £IO,OOO and £12,000. All the materials for the! salvage work were made at the Dover Harbour Board’s own workshops, under the superintendence of Mr P. G. Sutton, the works superintendent.