H.M.S. PROMETHEUS DISABLED.

Dominion, Volume 5, Issue 1413, 13 April 1912, Page 4

H.M.S. PROMETHEUS DISABLED.

ENGINES RUINED,

News lias leaked out Hint the warship

Prometheus recently prowled into Aniboymi (Dutch East Indies) with her boil-" ors and engines disabled. The warship is' equipped with eight Thoriieycrol't boilers, into which now

tubes had been lifted only a, year previously, and in order to clean out (ho inside'of (ho boilers and tubc-s, tho engineercommandor ordered IGOlb. of caustic soda to be put in them. The result proved disastrous, as the caustic soda caused the boilers io "prime," tho steam carrying wa(cr with it into tho main engines, feed water pumps, evaporators, condensers and auxiliaries, and it is reported (states Iho "OUigo Daily Times") that the powerful alkali practically ruined tho interior of most of tho steam machinery, disabling

tho pumps, piston rings, stuffing glands, and scored tho cylinders and piston rods very badly. Some of the moving parts of the engines were so badly cemented together that powerful screw-jacks could not move theiu.

An immense amount of fresh water was usod up owing to the boilers priming, and as the ovaporatorj got disabled through tho same agency, the water supply gave out, and the Prometheus drifted helplessly oil tho ocean for five days. During this trying time the heat in tho stokehold and engine room was so great that in place* the lend sheathing melted off tho elcctrio light wires, and in tho meantime the crew were reduced to an allowance of one pint of water per day. Eventually tho warship limped into Port Darwin, where somo of the machinery was repaired at) the railway repair shops. Shortly after Christinas tho Prometheus sailed for the East, and, according to tho last report, her machinery was in a bad' way by the time .she reached Ambovua. Tho wnrship's subsequent movements'are not recorded, but the above information leaked out at Port Darwin, much to the

dianrin of those 011 board, who had gone to some trouble to kern the matter quiet. [The Prometheus, like all cruisers of tho I' class (net excluding our lalo flagship are really n series of Admirllty 1 failures. Nearly all of them have ;iven I rouble with the boilers.]