Boats / Sailing / Ships

Sep. 09, 1955 - British Official photograph (Admiralty) Issued by central office of information. Crown copyright reserved .Navy's Trails cruiser Returns to Britain. Anti Atomic warfare tests have been carried out off Malta by the British trails cruiser Cumberland, which arrives at Davenport today ( Sept., 28th). photo shows Water sprays fitted round the ship thoroughly washing the decks and superstructure, a method of protection, which would be used in war to keep ships free of radioactive particles. This method of protection known as ''pre-wetting'', would be employed in ships operation in the ''fall- out'' area or on the outer fringe of a region affected by an atomic explosion. It involves the continual washing of all weather surfaces of the ship during and after exposure. Experiments have shows that fission matter is less likely to adher to a surface while it is subjected to a system of salt water wash-down. while the system is operation, the ship's weapons and ''Con'' the ship from between decks, All openings are closed and would remain so until conditions on the upper deck had been ascertained by Geiger -counter. An officer concerned with the technical problems of ''ore-wettoing' has stated ''our aim was to produce a local rain storm exceeding the heaviest tropical downpour. (Credit Image: © Keystone Pictures USA/ZUMAPRESS.com)