BATTLE CRUISERS IN COLLISION
. THE AUSTRALIA-NEW ZEALAND INCIDENT.
Details of tho collision which occurred early in 1916 between the hattie-cruisers Australia and New Zealand wore given by Chief-Stoker Reg. -Stephens, uiio was a member of tho crew, and who has just come out to Australia to take up work 'as Y.M.C.A. representative among the Australian naval men.
A, big section of the fleet was out in the North Sea, travelling at high speed, Suddenly a thick fog came down, and some sort of confusion seems to havo ((risen. Hon- the battle-cruisers Australia and New Zealand came to be going in' nearly opposite directions, or who was to blame for the mishap, are things never made clear, but the fact remains that at about '1 p.m. a terrifio collision occurred between the two Dominion cruisers, tho two huge' vessels, travelling at great speed, meetiug almost bow on. The Australian seems to have suffered most. Jler "bow was stove in, and the whole armour -plate to abaft the bridge was shifted. The hole in her side was 40ft. long. Of course, all on the Australia, at any rate, was confusion for a ,moment, mid this was added to by a farther accident. As the New Zealand turned away, trying to get cl?ar, her' propeller struck the side of the Australia and ripped a great hole in her bottom. The water rushed in, but the bulkheads held, and this did not develop into a disaster.
In accordance with the strictest Admiralty instructions, all the other warships immediately left the wounded Australia (It had been found that 6hips congregated round a crippled unit presented an admirable target for submarines.) Invostigations wore made. Chief-Stoker Stephens himself examined the hole mad 6 in the warship's bottom. and picked out bits of the New Zealand's splintered propeller, which were latej in great demand as souvenirs. Then the Australia set oft iit reduced speed for Newcastle. If the weather, had been rough, or if she had encountered a submarine, that assuredly would have been the end of her. As it was, during all that night she slipped quietly through calm seas, and soon aftpr daybreak reached Newcastle. She was repaired with marvellous speed, and three weeks later was out again in the North Sea—but a few hours late for the Jutland Battlp.
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Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 177, 22 April 1919, Page 4
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384BATTLE CRUISERS IN COLLISION Dominion, Volume 12, Issue 177, 22 April 1919, Page 4
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