Gold From The Sea

In 1940, the RMS Niagara while en route from Auckland to Canada struck a mine and sank, albeit slowly allowing for a full evacuation, and no loss of life. Unknown by the allies, the mines were laid only a week prior by the German cruiser Orion. Also unknown to all but the captain, was that £2,500,000 (value at that time) of gold ingots were carried as cargo.

In 1941, the Bank of England negotiated with Australian salvage company United Salvage Syndicate, led by Captain JP Williams, Captain J Herd and chief diver John Johnstone, assisted by his brother William. This book tells the story.

First a suitable ship for the salvage needed to be obtained, and it seems the only option was a rusting, out of service coaster named the Claymore. This was refitted, and equipped with the necessary equipment including various winches.

The navy initially swept to remove the mines, but didn't do a great job, as many more were brought up in the efforts to locate the wreck using draglines. Once located, the depth was confirmed at 125 fathoms (229 m), far too deep for divers, and so the diving chamber was necessary - basically a cylinder just large enough for a man, with small portholes, lowered by winch to allow directions to be given to the operator of the grab.

After resolving how to anchor the Claymore in position over the wreck, the placing of explosives commenced, to clear away the debris and to create an opening to the strong room. From then on it was the work of the grab. With Johnstone (one or other brother) giving directions to the ship above, the grab was lowered and began recovering loads of debris, and then eventually gold!
The salvage operation was declared over on 8 December 1941, at which time 555 of the 590 ingots had been recovered, representing 94%. Anything over 50% is considered satisfactory.

Not covered in the book is the second salvage, also involving John Johnstone, in 1953. This time, instead of a grab, they had what Johnstone called the “iron man”. This was described as having robotic arms and legs that could walk on the sea bed at depth, picking up heavy objects. It was operated directly from the diving chamber, instead of relying on an observer relaying instructions to an operator on the surface. They recovered a further 30 of the 35 ingots. The final 5 remain unaccounted for.

This book covers all stages of the story in detail, but retains the pace and interest really well. It describes the people involved as well as the physical action.
4 stars.