The Kent History Forum
Maritime History => Harbours and Dockyards => Topic started by: castle261 on December 05, 2019, 10:42:47 AM
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While preparing for Navy Days, a Frigate fired its Squid mortar bombs, three of them, that were supposed to land in the water, to the east of No 3 Basin, from the west of No 3 Basin.
This was the day before, the start of Navy Days. Well everything did not go according to plan.
The mortars overshot, where they were supposed to land, and crashed down on the Store Berth.
A rapid re- calculation was needed to correct this. The next time all three landed, in the water.
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I suspect that someone had a bit of a "talking to" over this :)
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Yes Smiffy -- The Weapons Officer -- sent on a math`s re-fresher course -- I imagine
The pre war days of Navy Days were better than later ones, in my view.
A submarine used to dive in No 3 basin, up to the conning tower, then fire a practice torpedo.
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I can remember a submarine doing that in the 50s then a low level flyby by a Fairey Gannet with one prop stopped!
mmitch.
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My friend, Roy Barnard, was a Dockyard Apprentice. He'd done his time & probably about 1951/52, he was working on a sub. in dry dock when the caisson gave way & the dock was flooded, & the sub."unsettled". He was thrown over & damaged his wrist. At the sick bay, he was told it was only a sprain. It didn't get any better, so they started a course of manipulation. Still no better, so they decided to x-ray it- a fracture! So he couldn't carry on as a fitter & they moved him to Rate Fixer. I believe there were worse casualties- someone must know?
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Dave, you're referring to the Talent Disaster in 1954.
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Dave -- just put `talent disaster in 1954 ` with your cursor -- & read all about it.
I had just started in the Dockyard in 1953.
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A Midshipman from HMS Pincher (An Algerine class minesweeper M294) was in a phone box at the end of the dock talking to his mother when the submarine hit it and knocked it over. When the young man tried to explain all the noise by telling her that a submarine had hit the phone box she came to the conclusion that he was drunk and hung up.