PATROL From PLUTO

Cue (NZERS), Issue 29, 15 August 1945, Page 25

PATROL From PLUTO

4 BRITISH ng in rs an d scientist! -D have done some remarkable thing in this war, but there are fete that can surpass the feat of laying oil pipelines under the English Channel and supplying Field Marshal Montgomery's armies with more than a million gallons of petrol a day. The laying of the pipeline was carried out under the eyes of the Germans and in the most difficult and dangerous circumstances. It solved a major supply problem for the British Army just as the ’’Mulberry’’ harbours helped greatly in the landing of general military stores in the critical period after D—day. It is probable that in the days of peace the idea may be used on a wider scale.

'’Operation —Pipeline under the —was first thought of in April, 1942, during a demonstration of flamethrowers for Hord Louis Mountbatten, who was then Chief «cf Combined Operations. At the end of the demonstration, the Minister in charge of the Petroleum Warfare Department asked Lord Mountbatten if there was anything more that could be done on the petroleum side to assist in the continental operations which were then being planned. The reply was: ”Yes. Can you lay an oil pipeline across the Channel ?” The problem of supplying an invasion force with unlimited supplies of petrol was a tremendous one. The

delivery of bulk supplies of petroleum normally requires special harbour, dock and storage facilities. What was wanted was a more simple > way of carrying petrol to the beaches and having it always available. A method that would reduce the target area and be less vulnerable to enemy action would be of great advantage to the invading forces. And so the problem was handed: over to the experts. Their answer was that a pipeline across the Channel was impossible. But the idea was not allowed to drop. Mr. A. C. Hartley, chief engineer of the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company, suggested that it might be possible to make a pipeline somewhat like a submarine electric power cable, without the cores and insulation, and to lay this across the Channel. Experimental piping was made and trial lengths were laid in the Thames from a cable ship. The experiments were entirely successful and permission was granted for work to be continued on the project.

It was decided to lay a pipeline across the Bristol Channel where the currents and general conditions we it similar to those ruling in the English Channel. Two thirty-mile lengths of piping were ordered, and in December, 1942, a cable was laid across the Channel between Swansea and Bfracombe. Once again the experiment was entirely successful. But there were other difficulties, to be overcome before a pipeline could be laid between England and France right under the Nazis’ noses. A more flexible type of piping was required, one that could be conveniently laid. Through the efforts of the chief engineers of the Burma Oil Company and the Iraq Petroleum Company, a pipe was made which fulfilled all requirements. It was found that twenty feet lengths of three-inch steel piping could be welded automatically 7 into any required length and

wound on to a drum like cotton on a cotton reel. Providing the drum was at least thirty feet in diameter, the piping could be unwound more or less straight. The Admiralty then took a hand and designed H.M.S. Persephone a barge which was converted into one of the strangest craft afloat. On the ship’s deck was installed a huge wheel rotating on trunnions and capable of carrying many miles of piping and of paying it out into the sea. From the Persephone arose a second idea — floating drum which could carry the full length of piping required for a Channel crossing. Tests were carried out until a drum was evolved that could be towed like a large bob-bin,-paying out piping as it went. The floating drums, which were christened Conundrums, were moored in deep water so that 4,000-feet lengths of piping. might be welded into a continuous length of thirty or more miles and wound neatly on the drums as they were rotated. It is difficult to imagine the size of these drums, even when the measurements are provided. A Conundrum is ninety feet long and more than fifty feet in diameter and can carry seventy miles of pipeline. It weighs about the same as a destroyer. With the completion of the tests, the next step was to co-ordinate the whole scheme and form an organisation to operate it. The Petroleum War Department was presented with the new undertaking anid Force Pluto was formed. The new unit consisted of a number of vessels varying from 10,000-ton ships to- motor boats, with a total personnel of 100 officers and 1.000 men. Six Conundrums were built, new pipelines were run from the British supply system to take petro to the coast, and special high-pressure pumping stations were cleverly camo'll fl aged in an old -fort, a modern amusement park, and a row of seasi e cottages.

A few weeks after D-day, as soon as the mines had been swept from the approaches to the tip of the Cherbourg peninsula, Operation Pluto went into action. Several lines were established, 'and in no time petrol was being pumped from Britain to Normandy. Later, when Allied armies were sweeping into Belgium and Holland, the need for quick supplies of petrol in great bulk called for the laying of pipes nearer to the advancing troops. As soon as Boulogne was captured pipelines were laid, and, in the weeks that followed, (Pluto’s operations expanded rapidly until petrol was flowing along the pipelines from Boulogne to Antwerp, to Eindhoven, to Emmerich, and soon a million gallons a day were being pumped from the Mersey to the Rhine. The Germans were quite unaware cf what Pluto was up to, and they did not consider the harmless-looking Conundrums worth their attention. As secret weapons they looked far from impressive as they ploughed through the Channel pi the wake of fussing tugs. Pluto’s work was by no means easy, for it was often carried out under adverse weather conditions and in

strong spring tides. But by VE-day over 500 miles of pipeline had been laid and millions of gallons of fuel were made available by this ingenious method for the victorious British armies speeding into Germany. Operations Pluto not only contributed in no small way to a speedy victory, but showed a new method of supply which might be of considerable use in the days of peace.