DANGEROUS WORK

New Zealand Herald, Volume 80, Issue 24542, 26 March 1943, Page 4

DANGEROUS WORK

AERIAL MINESWEEPING ACHIEVEMENT OF PILOT I Tlio story of the mine-sweeping Well- : ington bombers which played an outI standing part against the German niugI netic mine early in the war, has been I released by the British censor. A photoigraph of the machine used, equipped ' with its metal "halo," was published j in the Hkr.u.d 011 March 9. a The investigations begun when the j magnetic mines were first encountered ; | resulted in the finding of two methods !! of' sweeping the mines before the de'jgaussing equipment was designed. One I was the non-magnetic minesweeper and I the other was the Viekers Wellington I. fitted with a Jford V 8 engine driving a generator in the fuselage. The electricity generated was sufficient to activate magnetic fields radiating from circles of iron, 18in. wide and 48ft. in diameter, attached to the undersides of the Wellingtons. When the bombers flew 60ft. above the mines the fields were strong enough to deflect the detonator needles and explode the mines. For four months before the first non-magnetic minesweepers were introduced the pilots flew their dangerous routes above the Channel and surrounding waters without losing one of the machines. This was done in spite of the deterioration in the handling qualities of the heavily-loaded craft and the danger of being caught in the dome of water thrown up by the exploding mines. In 1.941 the spasmodic mine-dropping raitls of the Tlegia Aeronautica changed the pilots' sphere of activity to the Suez Canal. There they dealt with the problem for two years before they were again superseded by more _ modern methods, still on the secret list. The full story of their achievement is yet another minor epic of the Air Force in I this war.

INTOXICATED TN CAR TAXI-DRIVER CONVICTED TERM OF IMPRISONMENT Charges of being intoxicated in charge of a taxicab and using obscene language on March 1-5 were denied by a taxidriver, Clarence .John Williams, aged Ml (Mr. Dickson), before Mr. F. 0. Levied, S.M., yesterday. Evidence was given by Constable Goodall that at 10.20 p.m. on March 13 he saw accused drive his car through a crowd of pedestrians at the crossing of Victoria Street East and Queen Street. TJis car then struck the back of another car twice in Victoria Street. When apprehended he attempted to strike the constable and used obscene language. His passengers left tbe cab and accused got out. He refused to let the constable drive the taxi to the police station, but allowed another taxi-driver to drive it. A bottle of beer fell out of the back of the taxi when accused mistakenly opened the back door in attempting to get into the front seat. Accused's breath smelt of liquor and bis speech was blurred. Constable Bird said he had hcen unable to get a doctor and accused had not satisfactorily passed tests at the watch-house. Accused said he had had a bottle of beer with his dinner that night and had none later. He was not drunk and did not use obscene language. Another taxidriver said he saw accused at 10 o'clock that night and he did not notice that he was under tbe influence of liquor then. Evidence was given that accused was a very excitable man. "From the evidence I have come to : the conclusion that this man was under tlie influence of liquor," said the magistrate. who added that accused had not : seemed excitable when giving evidence. There was only one punishment for such an offence and accused would be sentenced to seven days' imprisonment. His ; driving licence was cancelled and he was i prohibited from obtaining another for I 12 months. For using obscene language he was fined £2.

UNION BUSINESS TIME OFF PROHIBITED The action of the district manpower officer, Mr. C. G. S. Ellis, in warning the branch secretary of the Auckland Freezing Workers' Union, Mr. J. Harris, not to absent himself further from work in order to attend meetings of union delegates, was discussed at a mid-day meeting of employees at the Westfield freezing works yesterday. It was decided to request the Minister of Industrial Manpower, the Hon. A. MeLagan. to permit reasonable time in working hours for the transaction of union business, which, it was stated, included efforts to eliminate habitual absenteeism. Commenting 011 the resolution, Mr. A. G. Bryan, manager of the works, said that all absences had to be reported and neither the award nor the Industrial Manpower Herniations contained any provision for holding meetings of union delegates iu working hours.