www.mcdoa.org.uk Recharge your own cylinders with the Siebe Heinke Type 50 Air Compressor Save expense, time and in- Type 50/165- working pressure convenience with your own 165 atmospheres club compressor. For full particulars of the Slob° The ' Type 50' illustrated below Gorman Type 50 air compressor is extremely simple, efficient and write to the address below. cheap to operate. Price £131.5.0. The three stage air-cooled Please quote reference No. 9700 compressor is powered by a when ordering. Clinton four stroke petrol engine and has an output of 1 cu. ft. free air per minute to a pressure of 3,000 lbs. per sq. in. It can charge the new Siebe kE Heinke 1,875 litre cylinders in Siebe Gorman & Co. Ltd., approximately one hour and the Davis Road Chessington, 1,400 litre cylinders in 40 minutes. Surrey. The unit weighs only 60 lbs., is ir easily portable, and will fit in Free — The ' Blue Book' of ..... ......iiinummid1111111111111111111 the boot of any motor car. If Underwater swimming! If you ordering direct, it is necessary have not got your copy write to to specify which pressure us now. It contains a complete setting is required. catalogue and guide to everything Type 50/120—working pressure you need underwater, together 120 atmospheres with other useful information for Type 50/200—working pressure both the novice and the 200 atmospheres experienced enthusiast. Is•Pi The Anglo-French Sink-Rate Trials #i,/, E-. ..,,,, See page 43 ,,NNAk . re let :4 I leus imminsumnimim 'fit,, Vi lompo,"""'"" 11,..............imiti 141111111111111110111111111110mmmomIll 6 ,:' millri""m""111 .;\„).01, Printed by Coasby & Co. Ltd., St. James's Road, Soutbsea, I hot, www.mcdoa.org.uk We specialise in EVERYTHING FOR THE UNDERWATER SPORTSMAN including the latest designs and all the better makes of LUNGS DIVING SUITS SWIMMING GEAR & EQUIPMENT Stainless steel Rolex Oyster, £37.10s. See it at your Rolex jeweller's now YOU WOULD BE PROUD TO WEAR THIS ROLEX OYSTER THE ROLEX OYSTER is a watch which any man would be proud to own. I ts permanently scaled Oyster case is 100% waterproof, dustproof and dirtprool. It is superbly accurate. It is elegant- --you can see that. • but actually handling it will tell you far more ... and this is exactly what your nearest Rolex jeweller in- May we send you our vites you to do. ('all on him yourself, today or write to the address below for a free, fully illustrated UNIQUE. The Oyster is the NEW LIST and wile watch with the 100% catalogue and his name and lItitirCHS. The catalogue ellective screw.down winding folder of illustrated leaflets? shown the full range oh Oyster watches, including the button that Ores 1)00 II L6 FREE—of course Tudor Oyster from £24.5a. protection where It Is most needed,helpsmahe the Oyster the finest waterproof watch. ROLEX OYSTE R The official watch for Royal Navy Divers 126 HANWORTH ROAD THE EOLLX WATCH COMPANY LIMITED (Founder, H. Wilsdorf.) HOUNSLOW, MIDDX. OREEN STREET, MAYFAIR, LONDON, W.I. Tel. HOUnslow 67 2 2 'PAY-AS-YOU-DIVE' DEFERRED TERMS ARRANGED • www.mcdoa.org.uk1 www.mcdoa.org.uk Contents R.N. Diving Magazine rdge EDITORIAL 3 EDITORIAL STAFF Editor .. P.O. R. W. LLOYD ST. PAUL'S ANGLICAN CATHEDRAL, MALTA Cartoonist .. .. P.O. M. J. BRASSINGTON LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 5 Secretary and Treasurer .. Lt. E. W. J. SMITH, R.N. Photographic Adviser Mr. R. FORDHAM THE LOOK AHEAD 9 PORTSMOUTH COMMAND B. AND M.D. NOTES .. 12 Vol. 10 Summer 1963 No. 2 RETIREMENT OF 'MR. MAC' .. 13 Two NAVY DIVERS FIGHT TO SAVE FRENCH TRAWLER 15 Editorial H.M.S. `KEPPEL' 16 N the last issue the Editor, P.O. Dickie Radford, thanked his PROMOTIONS AND ADVANCEMENTS • . 19 Ipredecessor for his first class turnover, but obviously the pow- TORNADO AMPHIBIOUS CARTRIDGE HAMMER 21 ers that be think that Editors shouldn't get too comfortable in PORT DIVING UNIT, LONDONDERRY .. 22 their chairs. For I now have to THE WET AND DRY COMPRESSION INSTALLATION thank him for his excellent turn- 26 over, he having sustained a draft SCOTTISH B. AND M.D. 28 chit to the Naval equivilant of the Siberian salt mines as Cox'n of EMERGENCY UNDERWATER ASCENTS FOR THE AMATEUR DIVER 31 H.M.S. Flockton in the Persian Gulf! 37 For the last few weeks I've had nightmare's, visualising the Mag. !'RAIN TRIVIA 39 being published with blank pages interspersed with adverts, but just 1111 AN(,1() I WINCH SINK RA El: TRIALS • • 43 before printing time things picked up and material came in. Many . 1 )1 1 I, WA II le SPURTS R1,1)1( I 49 thanks to those who have con- R.M.S. IN 1940-41 My Invo Jun 53 tributed to this edition. Of course you'd think I'd be [Pm [Ovum 56 able to rest on my laurels for a while, but already I'm wondering where on earth articles will be coming from for the Christmas edition! Pavia! Address: The Magazine is always open to new ideas or suggestions, for instance Tur Einrolt, R.N. Diving Magazine, it has been suggested that we have a 'Personality Page' where 'characters' of I I. M .S. 'VERNON', PORTSMOUTH, HANTS, the branch would have their history laid out much the same as 'This is Your Vt' Life' accompanied with a photograph of the person. It would seem a good ENGLAND way of putting things on record as would team photographs: when you write about the team send a 'photo of them, then you'll be able to look back and say 'There's old so and so'. www.mcdoa.org.uk www.mcdoa.org.uk With the exception of H.M.S. Keppel, with her unique rescue by her divers of a sinking French tralwer, we have no ship news and nearly every ship has a diving team of a sort, so let's be hearing from you. Letters to the Editor Due to the increased cost of production the price of blazer badges has From C.P.O. Jim Henderickx of tank and miles of rope and sinkers, now gone up to 30/-, ties are, still 12/6 plus,6d. postage which is good value the Belgian Navy, whose name has in fact everything except the kitchen as the ties are Terylene. become quite familiar to us in the sink. When the loading was com- Magazine. Thank you Jim we are pleted we left Ostend, this was early We are unable to get the Siebe Gorman Manual Deep Diving and always glad to hear from you. morning, arriving at Robertville at Submarine Operations at a reduced price, but on request we can obtain them twenty-three hundred the same day. at £3 3s. Od. each EDITOR. It all started on a very cold day in The Army had built a diving April, a man on a bicycle was passing pontoon for us so we dumped all our a lake called Robertville in Belguim gear on this then drove to the when he noticed car tracks in the barracks which was another 30 miles St. Paul's Anglican Cathedral, Malta snow leading down a hill through onward, arriving about 2 o'clock in some broken bushes and disappear- the morning. Being typically Army VER a hundred years ago, but we must now appeal to a far ing into the lake, he reported the there were no beds or tea or anything Queen Adelaide built at her own Wider public. matter to the local constabulary and organised at all; after a long drive Oexpense a very fine church, now it was later found that a woman who this went down very well with the The Cathedral enshrines memorials called St. Paul's Cathedral, to pro- owned a cafe in a nearby village was team. to all those who died in defence of vide a worthy place of worship for missing; she had been seen earlier Malta during the last World War. Next morning work commenced at British families working and living in in the evening of the previous day, There must be many who would wish 7 o'clock and it was freezing cold, it Malta. Many thousands of civilians being given a lift in a van by a friend, to see such memorials preserved. took us about an hour to drive to the and Servicemen have since used and so the identity of the van and missing There are others who have regularly lake, then diving started. come to love this Cathedral. couple was established. worshipped there or who have family Four shot ropes were lowered and During the last World War Malta connections with the Cathedral. The water of the lake was used for we started working down a gradient survived a long siege by a relentless There are also those who value and drinking purposes so when there was in 15 metres of water working about enemy. The Cathedral was damaged, profit from the British connection no sign of the bodies the Mayor of five to ten metres a time moving the though not seriously. Today it has with Malta. Robertville asked for the assistance pontoon towards the centre of the of a civilian diver to see if he could lake. A boat hook 30 feet long was been attacked by another equally The Duke of Edinburgh and Sir relentless enemy a beetle — which find the van. The diver had no luck used in a circular motion to see if Winston Churchill have taken the in his search, so the Belgian Army anything could be felt as the visability has so seriously damaged the roof lead in contributing to the Fund.