Kookaburra2011
Mar. 1942: entry holes from ther disintegrating 6-inch practice shell in the corner bulkhead of HMAS TAMBAR's radio shack - courtesy Philip Spry-Bailey, AO.
6933. the bulkhead of the upper deck radio shack on the auxiliary minesweeper HMAS TAMBAR is shown pockmarked with fragments, large and small of the 100lb 6-inch naval shell fired at the ship from Brisbane's Fort Cowan Cowan on Mar. 4, 1942. The damage shown in this rare photograph - published in Scottish historian Craig Mair's new book on the ship - is testimony to the lethal power of the practice shell, filled with plaster of Paris, when fired at the small vessel from a range of only 3,500 yards [3,200m]. Also lethal was its flat trajectory: it had reached a maximum height of only 102ft. [31m] over that distance and passed across decks or through superstructure of two thirds of the ship's length, leaving a trail of death and injury. When TAMBAR had failed to respond to a three-times repeated signal challenge from Fort Cowan Cowan just before 9.30 am that morning, the Port War Signal Station's commander, Lieut. Eric Jeanes requested the fort's Examination Battery gun to fire one shot across the bows of the little ship to 'wake them up.' As a Court of Enquiry heard later, the Battery's No 1 gun was supposed to fire 2.5 degrees left of the ship and the shell to land 600yards [550m] beyond it. Inexplicably however the gun's setter, Gunner R.L. Hancock - arriving late at his post from a grenade practice session - failed to place any deflection on the gun's direction dial, and, loaded with a full 33lb explosive charge, it fired low and straight into the little ship from an unmissable range. According to Peter Nunan, of the Queensland Maritime Museum, writing on the incident many years later, an Army enquiry into the incident, declined to take any action against Hancock. 'The Army found that the gun setter 'failed to take any action to ascertain whether a deflection had been ordered' Nunan wrote. ' However, it could not decide whether this was wilful or culpable negligence, or forgetfulness, or inadvertence. Consequently the gun setter was not punished in any way.' A separate naval Board of Enquiry issued a mild reproof against TAMBAR'S captain, Lieut. Dixon, for failing to maintain an adequate lookout as he approached Fort Cowan Cowan, and the incident was buried, along with its victims. Dixon was later promoted to Lieutenant Commander and given command of the corvette HMAS KAPUNDA at the end of 1942. After repairs in Brisbane, HMAS TAMBAR took part in the searches for survivors of lost ships in the Battle of the Coral Sea, but was then passed over to the Commonwealth Salvage Board and out of naval service on July 14. It was as if the Navy could not get rid of the little ship fast enough.
Photo: photographer unknown, this image [which appears in Craig Mair's book at p136], has been kindly supplied by Philip Spry-Bailey, AO, of Melbourne, whose father was an engineering officer on HMAS TAMBAR at the time of the incident. 'A Lucky Ship: The Nine Lives of the Australian coaster TAMBAR', softcover, 240pp with index and appendices, 160 photographs, maps and ships plans, is available from the publisher, the Nautical Association of Australia, PO box 237 Leopold Vic. 3224, $29.95 posted in Australia for members, $36.00 posted in Australia to non-members. Visa or Mastercard accepted.
Mar. 1942: entry holes from ther disintegrating 6-inch practice shell in the corner bulkhead of HMAS TAMBAR's radio shack - courtesy Philip Spry-Bailey, AO.
6933. the bulkhead of the upper deck radio shack on the auxiliary minesweeper HMAS TAMBAR is shown pockmarked with fragments, large and small of the 100lb 6-inch naval shell fired at the ship from Brisbane's Fort Cowan Cowan on Mar. 4, 1942. The damage shown in this rare photograph - published in Scottish historian Craig Mair's new book on the ship - is testimony to the lethal power of the practice shell, filled with plaster of Paris, when fired at the small vessel from a range of only 3,500 yards [3,200m]. Also lethal was its flat trajectory: it had reached a maximum height of only 102ft. [31m] over that distance and passed across decks or through superstructure of two thirds of the ship's length, leaving a trail of death and injury. When TAMBAR had failed to respond to a three-times repeated signal challenge from Fort Cowan Cowan just before 9.30 am that morning, the Port War Signal Station's commander, Lieut. Eric Jeanes requested the fort's Examination Battery gun to fire one shot across the bows of the little ship to 'wake them up.' As a Court of Enquiry heard later, the Battery's No 1 gun was supposed to fire 2.5 degrees left of the ship and the shell to land 600yards [550m] beyond it. Inexplicably however the gun's setter, Gunner R.L. Hancock - arriving late at his post from a grenade practice session - failed to place any deflection on the gun's direction dial, and, loaded with a full 33lb explosive charge, it fired low and straight into the little ship from an unmissable range. According to Peter Nunan, of the Queensland Maritime Museum, writing on the incident many years later, an Army enquiry into the incident, declined to take any action against Hancock. 'The Army found that the gun setter 'failed to take any action to ascertain whether a deflection had been ordered' Nunan wrote. ' However, it could not decide whether this was wilful or culpable negligence, or forgetfulness, or inadvertence. Consequently the gun setter was not punished in any way.' A separate naval Board of Enquiry issued a mild reproof against TAMBAR'S captain, Lieut. Dixon, for failing to maintain an adequate lookout as he approached Fort Cowan Cowan, and the incident was buried, along with its victims. Dixon was later promoted to Lieutenant Commander and given command of the corvette HMAS KAPUNDA at the end of 1942. After repairs in Brisbane, HMAS TAMBAR took part in the searches for survivors of lost ships in the Battle of the Coral Sea, but was then passed over to the Commonwealth Salvage Board and out of naval service on July 14. It was as if the Navy could not get rid of the little ship fast enough.
Photo: photographer unknown, this image [which appears in Craig Mair's book at p136], has been kindly supplied by Philip Spry-Bailey, AO, of Melbourne, whose father was an engineering officer on HMAS TAMBAR at the time of the incident. 'A Lucky Ship: The Nine Lives of the Australian coaster TAMBAR', softcover, 240pp with index and appendices, 160 photographs, maps and ships plans, is available from the publisher, the Nautical Association of Australia, PO box 237 Leopold Vic. 3224, $29.95 posted in Australia for members, $36.00 posted in Australia to non-members. Visa or Mastercard accepted.