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- HMS Devonshire 1964- 66 Commission
HMS Devonshire 1964- 66 Commission
- By Robby G
- Published 05/6/2008
- HMS Devonshire
- Unrated
The Diving Team
Of all the Ship’s Company, perhaps the happiest to be in the Far East were the Diving Team. In the warm seas around Singapore and Australia the possibility of encountering a shark was considered far preferable to the chill of English waters. Even better was the Mediterranean, where, on the passage out, we spent a pleasant day searching for Roman remains off Pausilippo in Naples Bay—though we found nothing except some possible foundations. Our several fishing trips around Hong Kong and Fremantle were equally enjoyable and just as unsuccessful—the total catch for the commission being two fish, four octopus, a number of crabs and a deck chair. Even an underwater demolitions exercise in Port Shelter failed to produce the rich haul we had hoped for.
In other respects, however, we have had a successful commission. Most of our diving has been routine training and inspections of the ship’s bottom, and on one of these dives P.O. Jamieson discovered serious damage to one of the propellor shaft bearings. The diving team worked
continuously for 36 hours to make temporary repairs, enabling the ship to sail on time and steam the 1,500 miles from Hong Kong to Singapore, where a two-week docking was necessary to put right the defect. There has been a variety of smaller tasks, from the inevitable retrieving of objects lost overboard—including the recovery of a Quarterdeck heaving line from the starboard propellor—to the extraction of parachutes from the main inlets and providing guinea pigs for the Flight’s helicopter rescue training. We like to think that as well as making nuisances of ourselves, we have been useful to the Ship from time to time.
Since we assembled at the beginning of last year we have carried out about 200 dives, a total of 180 diver-hours under water. If all our dives were added together we should by now have descended to 7,660 feet, but in fact our deepest dives have been to 120 feet, the maximum permitted for a Ship’s team.
Now a number of our divers will be leaving us. A.B. Smith and A.B. Hamley will shortly be going to start the Clearance Diver course, and A.B. Rose hopes to become a S.A.R. diver. We wish them luck.
Of all the Ship’s Company, perhaps the happiest to be in the Far East were the Diving Team. In the warm seas around Singapore and Australia the possibility of encountering a shark was considered far preferable to the chill of English waters. Even better was the Mediterranean, where, on the passage out, we spent a pleasant day searching for Roman remains off Pausilippo in Naples Bay—though we found nothing except some possible foundations. Our several fishing trips around Hong Kong and Fremantle were equally enjoyable and just as unsuccessful—the total catch for the commission being two fish, four octopus, a number of crabs and a deck chair. Even an underwater demolitions exercise in Port Shelter failed to produce the rich haul we had hoped for.
In other respects, however, we have had a successful commission. Most of our diving has been routine training and inspections of the ship’s bottom, and on one of these dives P.O. Jamieson discovered serious damage to one of the propellor shaft bearings. The diving team worked
Since we assembled at the beginning of last year we have carried out about 200 dives, a total of 180 diver-hours under water. If all our dives were added together we should by now have descended to 7,660 feet, but in fact our deepest dives have been to 120 feet, the maximum permitted for a Ship’s team.
Now a number of our divers will be leaving us. A.B. Smith and A.B. Hamley will shortly be going to start the Clearance Diver course, and A.B. Rose hopes to become a S.A.R. diver. We wish them luck.