The Sunken German Fleet

Manawatu Times, Volume LIV, Issue 6628, 15 August 1931, Page 11

The Sunken German Fleet

SALVAGE WORK AT SCAPA FLOW During the past week I have been on board Messrs. Oox and Dank’s floating dock watching the final preparations for the raising of the 25,390-ton exGerman battleship Prinz Regont Luitpold, which, with the other interned vessels of tho German fleet., was scuttled on June 21, 1919 (writes a correspondent of the London Times. The ship lay upside-down in about IS fathoms between the islands of Cava and Hoy, in tho spot where she had been anchored since November, 191 S. There were between 33ft. and 34ft. of water over her bottom. Her salvago was begun early this year. Excluding 25 destroyers, on which work was begun in 1924, the Prinz Regent Luitpold is the seventh ship that tho firm has raised, the others being the battle-cruisers Moltke, Seydlitz, Hindenburg and Von dor Tann, the battleship Kaiser and a min'e-laying cruiser. The method of raising the majority of these vessels is as interesting as, I believe, it is novel ou so large a scale. Most of them lay bottom up, and tho first step was to adm t men to the hull through tho bottom fj seal up and make airtight the various compartments.

There is an eerie feeling in being in tho bottom of a capsized ship lit by electricity fathoms beneath the surface. Rather alarming stories are told of the peculiar effects caused by working under considerable air pressure, such as bleeding noses, pressuv on ear drums and a general feeling of swollen-headed-ness. But these men do not seem to mind these things and think nothing of their work. It is the isolation of tho various compartments and tho making certain of their airtightness that take most of the time iu these salvage operations. How the Work Began. Mr E. F. Cox, the managing director, give me some particulars of the origin, of his salvago work. In 1922 lie bought tho British battleships Erin and Orion for breaking up, and these were demolished at Queen borough, near Bheerness, in 1923. A Danish friend interested in shipbreaking suggested that ho should salve certain of tho German warships sunk at Bcapa. After inspecting them he first bought four destroyers from tho Admiralty, and started work in May, 1924. Then he bought twenty-one more,, and tho whole lot were successfully raised. Their sale did not quite pay for the necessary salvage plant. Mr. Cox’s fifth big ship, the Hindenburg, which lay right side up, with her gun turrets, upperworks, masts, and funnels above water, presented the greatest difficulty. All the work had to be dono below the armoured deck, and time and time again when floated by air pressure she was iu imminent danger of capsizing, and had to be resunk. Finally two huge concrete blocks had to be constructed under her stern to form a sort of cradle, and after months of work tho .ship was finally salved and taken to Rosyth for breaking up.

Mr Cox had lost £30,000 on the Hindenburg, and found himscif practically ruined. He managed to collect enough capital to start on the Von dcr Tann, which was successfully raised and now lies bottom up awaiting a purchaser. The firm has more or less paid its expenses now, and tho sale of the Frinz Regent Luitpold should represent profit. Tho trouble is that shipbreakers' yards in England are overstocked with obsolete British warships, which means a small demand for scrap metal.

Much of the non-ferrous metal and armourplate from these German vessels finds its way back to tho country of their origin, while some armour goes to America, where it is made into all kinds of cutlery goods. To give an idea of the cosh of the operation the tale is told of a diver who, while one ship was being raised, found himself sucked into an Bin inlet by the flow of water. Frrnly attached to the hull by the seat of his diving dress, he signalled to the surface, and the ship had to be sunk o,t an estimated cost of £4UU to release him.