ERROR ADMITTED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 5 December 1939, Page 6

ERROR ADMITTED

SINKING OF THE DOLPHIN AT LYTTELTON DEFLECTION ON GUN SIGHTS ALTERED. OFFICIAL REPORT ISSUED. WELLINGTON, This Day. A summary of the circumstances surrounding the sinking of the Dolphin in Lyttelton Harbour on October 12 is contained in an official report issued by the Hon. F. Jones (Minister of Defence). Though it is admitted that an error was made in the manipulation of the delicate mechanism of the gun sights through tension of the gun numbers, the Government is satisfied that the causes of the accident have been traced to their origin and that no culpable negligence on the part of any member of the gun's crew has been established. The Government has decided that, as all the material facts relating to the accident have been placed before it, no public inquiry is necessary. The report states that at' Lyttelton adequate stops were taken to bring the regulations to the notice of all concerned and that every mariner using a port must be expected to make himself familiar with local requirements, especially in time of war. Although it was definitely established that deflection, sufficient to ensure that the plugged shot should pass harmlessly ahead, was calculated and applied, it seemed probable that, in the excitement of the moment, a change was made in this deflection prior to the gun being fired. Searcmng inquiry failed to disclose by whom this change in deflection had been made.