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navigation schools.
583
close to the Nab lightship, and the Swedish tugs, the Eol and the Styrbjörn,
the former of which sank in 1908 and the latter in 1912. All these vessels
were brought up from very respectable depths.
In recent years endeavours have been made in Sweden to work at greater
depths than formerly, when 30 meters was the greatest depth to which a diver
could descend. A remarkable invention for this purpose is the Waller Tube,
an ingenious diving apparatus constructed in 1895 by the Swedish engineer
P. A. Waller. It consists of a sheet-iron tube composed of several parts,
expanded at the bottom into a working chamber somewhat wider than the rest of
the tube; through this working chamber pass firstly, in a vertical direction,
iron rods, movable up and down through hermetically closed apertures, and which
can be turned in different positions from within the chamber; secondly, in a
horizontal direction, instruments projecting through ball-bearings, which, from
inside, through the wall of the chamber, can be pushed in and out, as well as
turned and adjusted in different positions. At the bottom the vertical rods are
fitted with hooks, so that they can be thrust down to grapple under the object
to be raised; at their upper extremities they are furnished with chain-couplings
which pass up to winches or cranes above the surface of the water. The
working implements projecting through the wall are intended for emergency
purposes, for which purpose there is an exterior semi-spherical opening, which can
be closed hermetically or opened, according to requirements. It was with the
Waller Tube that the Södra Sverige, a Swedish steamer (about 600 tons) which
foundered in the Stockholm Skärgård in September 1895, was raised in the
autumn of 1896 to May 1897 from a depth of from 55 to 56 meters, that is,
double the greatest depth from which it had hitherto been accounted possible
to raise a wreck.
Though primarily intended for wreck-raising at great depths, the Waller Tube
is pretty sure to be enlisted in the service of deep-sea exploration. With that
apparatus it is an easy matter for a diver to descend to a depth of two
hundred meters or more, and to remain below for any length of time.
Navigation Schools.
The origin of the Swedish navigation schools dates from June 4th
1658, when a school for training mates was established at Stockholm
by Royal Decree. Their present organization is based principally on
Royal Decree of April 7th 1841, while at present the Royal Regulation
of March 29th 1912 is in force. Four schools, comprising both a
navigation and an engineers department, are established at Stockholm,
Gothenburg, Malmö, and Härnösand, while one school, consisting of only a
navigation department, is situated at Kalmar.
The navigation department includes classes for masters, mates and first
skippers; the engineers department classes for first engineers (chief
engineers), second and third engineers. The Supervisory Board for the schools —
at present the Navy Board — is assisted by an inspector
appointed by the Government for a period of three years. An expert is appointed
by the Supervisory Board to conduct examinations and to assist in the
execution of certain work in the engineers departments. A board consisting
of five or seven members is appointed for each school by the local municipal
Government for a period of three years. An expert is appointed by the
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