H.M.S. AUDACIOUS.

Oamaru Mail, Volume XL, Issue 12541, 12 May 1915, Page 7

H.M.S. AUDACIOUS.

Concerning the many mysterious reports which have been circulated regarding 1-1..M.5.. Audacious, the' "New York Herald'' of February 14 says:—

"The Audacious, one of Great Britain's finest and most powerful battleships of the. super-Dreadiiuu.dll. class, will rejoin the. Grand Fleet nest week. She will leave the shipyards of Harland and Wolff, Belfast, without a flaw in her hull or armament.

■'ln the light of the news received here, the Audacious, although badly crippled either by a German torpedo or mine, was nut sunk. With her wounded hull bound in collision mats. ;<id the gaping hole below the waterliue adequately plugged, she remained afloat, and was safely guided into dock.

"When the Audacious, appeared lo ■>. foundering", following the explosion which rent her keel, a swift inventory of the damage wrought was made by the engineers on board and also by experts from other naval craft, which soon were along'side. At first it. was believed that the great fighting ship, was doomed. Almost before the the tremendous explosion had died away, the collision mats were overboard and lashed over the hale left by the explosion. Meanwhile sandbags were piled into the ra.gged aperture from, within, and with an elaborate .system of bulkheads .the tremendous inflow of water was practically cut off. "By this time, of course, the great vessel had shipped an enormous quantity of watev through her torn bottom, and was very low in the sea. 11. was in this condition that the photographs were made that depicted her in what was believed to be a- sinking condition. "At first it. was decided to tow (he wounded battleship into the Laird Shipbuilding, Yards at Birkenhead, a suburb of Liverpool, on the. other side of the .Mersey. From Lough Swilly. on the Irish coast, where the. disaster occurred. to Birkenhead, however, is a run of 190 miles. The crippled condition of the Audacious, upon further examination, was believed to be too serious to permit of such a run. It was accordinglv decided to tow (he vessel into Belfast" 140 miles nearer, being about fifty miles from the mouth of Lough Swilly. "It. is believed that'of her crew of 1000 m'eri. few were killed or injured by .the explosion on board the Audacious. Those who wnrc nor taken from the vessel by the boats of the cruiser Liverpool and the smaller British war craft which stood in close to the Dreadnought after she showed signs of distress were taken off.in the Olympic's boats and (hose cf the battleship herself." A letter from an employee of one of the shipbuilding yards on the - Clyde.'recently published in the "Auckland Star." stat-d that the Audacious was built in the yards in which, he is employed, and only a few- days prior- to the report- of Tier loss left on her trial .trip before being handed owe- lo the. Admiralty. She returned some time later, and was d-oeked while repairs worn made to her hull. The ship had apparently been damased in action.