Divex staff help recover bell from WWII warship Expedition to HMS Prince of Wales brings together divers from the commercial, military and sport-diving worlds Four staff from the commercial dive equipment and chambers manufacturer Divex recently joined a unique expedition to dive and recover the bell from the WWII warship HMS Prince of Wales, which lies upside down at a depth of 70m in the South China Sea. The expedition is thought to be the first time that serving Navy divers and civilian sport divers have collaborated on a demanding diving project. Divex staff taking part as volunteer sport divers were George McClure, Divex's Senior Project Engineer; Paul Haynes, Military Sales Manager; and Bob Thomson, Senior Technician. Video Derek Clarke, Divex Managing Director, was also present and remained aboard the cover vessel, helping edit video footage shot by the divers' handheld video cameras. Divex granted the men the time to take part, and covered their expenses. It also shipped out helium and rebreather soda lime for the entire sport diving contingent, hiring a container to carry their gear aboard the Royal Navy's chartered project vessel. Operation Reclaim was launched by the Royal Navy after sport divers on a previous expedition in June - which included George McClure - reported finding the bell lying on the sand beside the wreck. Prince of Wales survivors have reported that the bell had been stowed below decks, normal procedure while a Navy vessel was sailing. It would appear that the bell somehow fell from its storage and out of the ship as it turned turtle during sinking. The ship is a war grave and the divers elected to leave the bell in place until permission could be obtained to retrieve it and return it to the Royal Navy. However, when informed of the find, the MoD took the initiative to mount a recovery. Survivors the Divex team prepares to dive sport diving team member Gerard Punch inspects the scrubber of his Inspiration. Three different makes of rebreather were used on the expedition. a portable recompression chamber was carried in a container. In the foreground lie three underwater scooters and a dismantled Inspiration. a diver enters the water to descend down the shotline, set into the wreck not far from the bell. It took the view that recovery of the bell would be significant to the Royal Navy and to the ship's survivors association, which was concerned that the bell would be taken as a trophy by locally based divers known to have removed items from the wreck. The Royal Navy decided upon a joint Service/civilian operation, inviting sport divers including some members of the June expedition to take part. Included was Gavin Haywood, a London stockbroker who was one of the pair who had located the bell. The Royal Navy's Superintendent of Diving, Commander Simon Nicholson, was put in charge. A team of divers from HMS Excellent and the Royal Navy Fleet Diving Squadron was assembled to work with the sport divers. A support vessel was chartered from Singapore to carry all personnel, equipment and supplies, including an onboard recompression chamber and a Hyball ROV, hired from Hydrovision and equipped with sonar. Both Prince Charles and Tony Blair were kept informed of progress throughout the operation. The dive boat spent 1.5 days over the wreck site, each diver averaging two dives on the wreck. All used closed-circuit rebreathers, the sport divers employing Inspirations except for the Divex group, who used the company's own Stealth unit, as sold to the military. Underwater scooters were also used. CDBA The Navy divers were equipped with the Clearance Divers Breathing Apparatus (CDBA), manufactured by Carlton in the US. Underwater conditions proved challenging, with a 2.5 knot current running continuously. Visibility was reduced at depths deeper than 60m. Bell discoverer Gavin Haywood told UCI: "The first dive to relocate the bell was extremely difficult. "Our plan was that I should mark the bell's position with an SMB, enabling the Navy divers to go down and attach lifting equipment. But it took us more than one dive to achieve the lift because of the difficult conditions." After the bell was raised, the team held a service of remembrance on board. Later, two divers descended again to set a Royal Navy Ensign on the wreck's propellers. The team next spent two days over HMS Repulse, which lies some eight miles from the Prince of Wales. Lying on her port side at a depth of 55m, she was sunk in the same Japanese airborne torpedo attack. Located It was hoped that the Repulse's bell could also be located and raised but, despite each diver making three to four search dives, it was not found and is presumed to remain inside the vessel. Another commemorative service was held, divers again deploying an ensign. Commenting on the benefits of Divex's involvement in the expedition, George McClure told UCI: "It was extremely valuable to be there, not least because Divex has a strong tradition of having divers - commercial and sport - on its staff. "Technically, of course, the expedition represented a great opportunity to communicate with the Navy divers, directly and under operational conditions, allowing us to gain valuable information on what they require of their diving equipment."

© 2002 Underwater World Publications Ltd.