The December 12th Brisbane Times of Australia reported that the departure of the expedition looking for the sunken hospital ship Centaur was delayed a few hours while David Mearm's and crew tested equipment. They will be searching a 50 kilometer area about 30 kilometers east of Moreton Island.
The Centaur sailed unescorted from Sydney with a crew and normal staff on May 12, 1943. It was also carrying the stores and equipment of the 2/12th Field Ambulance. On the early morning of May 14th, a Japanese submarine sank it at approximately 27 degrees 17 seconds South and 153 degrees 58 seconds East about 30 miles east of Brisbane.
Earlier, I had reported that the ship had also been carrying wounded, but I was incorrect. The 64 survivors spent 35 hours on rafts before rescue.
On December 14th, it was reported that the expedition was expected to reach the site of the sinking by noon. Their ship, the Seahorse Spirit, loaded with millions of dollars worth of sonar equipment left Brisbane late Saturday night.
Sunday, they reached the wreck that had once been thought to be the Centaur and tested the sonar equipment. They conclusively confirmed that this wreck was too small to be that of the Centaur.
And the Excitement Builds. --Cooter
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