Post by Dave Homewood on Oct 16, 2023 18:11:17 GMT 12
This is a surprising story from The Press from the 15th of October 1957:
Has such a tow of a vessel by a helicopter ever been attempted in New Zealand?
Helicopter Tows 450-Ton Minesweeper At Five Knots
LONDON. October 13.
A Royal Naval coastal minesweeper of 450 tons was towed from the air by a Whirlwind helicopter in what “The Times" calls "a remarkable experiment.”
It was conducted by the Royal Naval Air Station at Lee-on-Solent, off the Isle of Wight. It was the first time in Britain that a helicopter had been used to tow a vessel of this size.
The aircraft towed the minesweeper about two miles at a speed of five knots from a height of 30ft above the water. A naval spokesman said that the experiment had many possibilities. It will be possible for helicopters to go to the aid of smaller craft — yachts, auxiliaries with engines broken down and drifting, and be able to get to them long before any lifeboat.
LONDON. October 13.
A Royal Naval coastal minesweeper of 450 tons was towed from the air by a Whirlwind helicopter in what “The Times" calls "a remarkable experiment.”
It was conducted by the Royal Naval Air Station at Lee-on-Solent, off the Isle of Wight. It was the first time in Britain that a helicopter had been used to tow a vessel of this size.
The aircraft towed the minesweeper about two miles at a speed of five knots from a height of 30ft above the water. A naval spokesman said that the experiment had many possibilities. It will be possible for helicopters to go to the aid of smaller craft — yachts, auxiliaries with engines broken down and drifting, and be able to get to them long before any lifeboat.
Has such a tow of a vessel by a helicopter ever been attempted in New Zealand?
