SHOT AT VESSEL

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20950, 1 November 1939, Page 8

SHOT AT VESSEL

MASTER’S LIFE LOST INQUEST RESUMED STORY OF SURVIVOR (By TelegTaph.—Press Association) CHRISTCHURCH, Wednesday The inquest concerning the death of F. J. Brasell, owner and master of | the trawler Dolphin, was resumed at Lyttelton before the coroner, Mr F. F. Reid. Brasell met his death on October 12 when the Dolphin was shot at from the port battery and sunk. Brasell received injuries f which prevented him from saving himself, and he went down in the trawler. His companion, Mr W. H. j Willman, a seaman, was rescued. Captain James Plowman, Harbour ; Master at Lyttelton, giving evidence said he was the chief examination officer. Two advertisements had been inserted in the Christchurch newspapers giving instructions to fishing craft to stop. If the examination vessel were not at its station the man in charge of a small boat should await its arrival. Instructions had been received that the vessel was to come into port each day. No provision had been made for relief when she was off station. Brasell had called at his office and, had been told what was required, and was fully aware of. the procedure. Request for Instructions Mr S. Thomas, for Mrs Brasell: I Knowing your allegation that some fishermen approached you before the accident for instructions, Mr Martin, i of the Seamen’s Union, called a meet- ' ing of all fishermen in port. The men present said they had not asked you for such instructions before the < accident. Captain Plowman: I remember some fishermen approaching me. In evidence William Henry Will- | man said the Dolphin was returning to Lyttelton about 1.45 pm. “As we proceeded down the harbour,” said witness, “we were on the look-out for | the patrol boat. We could not see anything of the vessel, so we decided to steam towards Battery Point for the purpose of calling out to those in charge at the battery and giving our identity, as well as to inquire if it would be all right for us to proceed into Lyttelton. We were not flying any signals, as the examination vessel was not present and we did not know what signals we were required to fly. Men Waving Flags “At that time I could clearly see the men at the guns at Battery Point. I could also see some of the men were waving flags, and I took it to mean they may have been calling on us to stop. We had been steaming at an angle towards Battery Point for a distance of about two miles before there was an explosion on board. “When the explosion occurred we would then be approximately 75 yards off the point. Following immediately on the explosion Brasell spun round and said, ‘they shot me.’ He then drew my attention to the fact that the port side had been shot away amidships. Witness saw Brasell’s left leg was bleeding profusely. Brasell drew witness’ attention to the fact that the launch was sinking fast. “He asked me to take my sea boots off,” witness said, and added ‘we are done, she’s sinking by the bow.’ ” Washed Into Engine-room “Brasell then fainted. The launch sank and I had to grab the mast. The last I saw of Brasell was as he was being washed into the engineroom. _ , “I came up among the wreckage and then saw a buoy, to which I clung until rescued by members of the examination vessel about half-an-hour later. During the last war, if an examination boat were not present they approached the fort, witness told Mr Thomas. Brasell was very nervous of being shot at, but had not said anything of asking Captain Plowman for instructions. Signal to Stop Second-Lieutenant V. A. Smith, of the 23rd Battery, said he was on duty at the battery observation post on October 12, when the trawler came inside the Heads and approached the examination area. He instructed the signallers to send “Stop,” with both lamp and semaphore, and to send it slowly. The trawler did not make any indication that he had seen the signal, but continued on over the examination area. Witness telephoned Major Mitchell and received instructions to carry on. He gave the alarm signal and carried on the normal procedure. The orders were: “Target, trawler moving right; plugged shell; right deflection, 20 minutes.” This was corrected by the Sergeant-Major at the command post, who gave: “Right deflection 2 degrees.’ Witness did not think it necessary to cancel his last order, as he heard the Sergeant-Major give the order. Order to Fire Witness then sent the order to fire, and observed the shell strike the vessel. He communicated with the Navy Office, continued witness, and the examination vessel after several minutes came into the harbour. He did not see anybody on the trawler. Two degrees was the standing order. He expected the reading on the sights to be two degrees, in accordance with his orders. No Means of Assisting No efforts were made to render assistance from the battery, as they had no facilities, added witness. He had confidence in the gunlayer, but he did not know much about the gun setter. If the orders had been properly carried out the shot would not have hit the vessel. Mr Thomas: You really have no doubt that some human error crept in? Witness: I would not be prepared to say that. (Proceeding)