SUBMARINE DISASTER

Taranaki Daily News, 13 July 1929, Page 2

SUBMARINE DISASTER

SALVAGE EFFORTS ABANDONED. NAVY PAYS LAST RESPECTS. (British Official Wireless). Rugby, July 11. The Secretary of tlie Admiralty announces that after full consideration of the circumstances attending the location and salvage of the submarine H 47 it has been decided to abandon all further operations. The following facts have guided the Lords of Admiralty in reaching this decision: “The certainty that all those who are missing perished almost immediately the vessel sank.. The great depth of water and the risks from tides and weather in the locality where she was sunk would render the salvage of the vessel, even if an ultimate possibility, a long and anxious task, involving the divers and others engaged on the work in great and continual danger. Even if H 47 were salved the damage sustained from pressure and flooding would render her unfit for further service, and salvage operations of such difficulty would not be justified.” At sunset this evening H.M.S. Rodney, flying the flag of the Rear-Admiral Commanding Submarines and attended by an escort of destroyers and other craft, paid the Navy’s last respects to those who lost their lives in the H 47.