A DECCA DEMONSTRATION CHAIN IN THE ADRIATIC
From Decca Navigator News , March 1969

Decca's research and demonstration yacht M.Y..Navigator arrived in Venice in early November 1968 as a finale to her Italian promotional cruise, which included the important fishing ports in Sicily and at Ancona and San Benedetto as well.

A low powered Decca Chain was specially set up to provide accurate fixing in the approaches to Venice and Trieste and the well known fishing port of Chioggia. The demo chain, which took only three days to become fully operational, had the Master Station set up inland at Piombino Dese and the Green and Red Slaves erected 20 kms south and east of the Master Station respectively at Contarina and Cavanella. (Refer to the map).

These demonstrations conducted in Venice, Chioggia and Trieste were held to show the Italian Government, ship owners and Adriatic fishermen the full potential of Decca equipment with special emphasis on the Decca Navigator System.

Poor visibility, severe storms and converging traffic are just a few of the problems besetting Adriatic navigators. The increasing number and size of tankers feeding the important terminal ports of Venice and Trieste are already creating a traffic routing problem. Moreover, in the Italian fishing industry which is expanding, there is an urgent requirement to establish a means of increasing productivity and to overcome the problems associated with the observance and practical implementation of international fishery limits. The company believes that the Decca Navigator System would be the most effective and economical aid to solve these problems. During these demonstrations, over 200 visitors saw Decca equipment being used aboard the M.Y.. Navigator under practical conditions.

The guests were invited by way of Decca's newly formed Italian affiliate, SICON DECCA. They came from as far afield as Sicily and Genoa and senior representatives of the Ministry of Merchant Marine travelled from Rome for these demonstrations and were enthusiastic about the capabilities of the system.

The Decca Navigator System was actively demonstrated in its many roles - for general navigation; fishing ground location; search and rescue operations; speed and manoeuvring trials and accurate navigation for territorial limits and avoidance of local isolated dangers.  The Track Plotter was showcased to  great advantage, and the versatility of Decca  coverage for harbour approaches,  both pelagic [1] and demersal [2] fishing operations and ferry traffic.

Many of the important visitors commented that the Decca Navigator System, if installed in Italy, would be of immense value, both for safety of navigation and improvement of the fishing industry as well as being of great economic importance to the country as a whole.

[1] Pelagic fish live near the surface or in the water column of coastal, ocean and lake waters, but not on the bottom of the sea or the lake.

[2] Demersal fish live and feed on or near the bottom of the sea or lakes

This map shows the north end of the Adriatic Sea and the relative location of Venice to Trieste. (Map courtesy of Google Maps)

The Adriatic demo chain was set up in the locations on this map. Venizia is Italian for Venice. (Decca Navigator News, March 1969)

This map illustrates the relative placement of the stations in the Rome demonstration chain. Click to enlarge. (Extracted from a Decca Navigator pamphlet)  Brian Kenny formerly of The Decca Navigator Co., remembers the NATO trials of the system aboard the FIAT G91, single pilot  fighter aircraft. The Master slave was located  between Rome and Naples and was set up on the beach almost the same way ut was in New Guinea, but without the parrots and the mosquitoes".

As reported in the November 1969 issue of Decca Navigator News, a low power Decca demonstration chain was set up in the small but important fishing port of Mazara del Vallo, located on the southwestern tip of Sicily. Demonstrations of the system commenced during the Easter holiday period of 1969.

Over 180 large trawlers were berthed here while the fishermen took their traditional leave during the Easter religious festivities. The Decca chain was specially set up to provide coverage of the Mazara coastal area. Marine demonstrations took place aboard M.Y.. NAVIGATOR, Decca's demonstration vessel and a Huey helicopter made available by the Italian Air Force. The intent was to demonstrate the value of the system to the Carabinieri and Air Force authorities.
 

This "Huey" from the Italian Air Force was used in the Decca demonstration. (Decca Navigator News , November 1969)

Sicily was an area where particular benefit could be obtained from the Decca system The old progressive fishing fleet, mainly trawlers operating in the Sicilian Channel and off the North African coast from Cap Bon area to Tripoli, could derive the same economic benefits as do their counterparts in other major fishing countries of the world. The systems would help solve the problems associated with the fishing limits in existence off the Tunsian coast.

Over 150 guests visited M.V. NAVIGATOR during these demonstrations and saw Decca equipment being used under practical conditions and featuring the many roles of the system . A new film, "National Assets" was shown prior to each demonstration outlying the many roles of the system.

Among the guests were General M. Battaglien, Chief Inspector of Italian Harbours; Dr. S. Paroletti and Dr. A Murzi from the Directorate of Fishing, Dr. M. Jandoli , Secretary of the National Fishing Federation all from Rome. Sicilian guests included Colonel C. della Chiesa, Chief of the Sicilian Carabinieri., Sicilian Harbour Authorities, Fishing Association representatives and fishing skippers from Mazara, Trapani and Marsala.

As a result of the Easter demonstration of the Decca Navigator system at Mazara del Vallo and the increasing interest of Italian fishermen, a visit to Denmark  for the express purpose of investigating the applications of the system for Sicilian fishing was sponsored by the the United Chambers of Commerce for Sicily and took place between September 8 and 14th , 1969.

Practical trawling using the Navigator system was demonstrated in the Danish trawler NORD TEX . The party inspected Decca Navigator installations in fishing vessels in the ports of North Denmark and discussed in detail, the use of the system with Danish fishermen. In 1969, there were approximately 1,800 Decca Navigator installations in fishing vessels in Denmark.

The party returned to Italy convinced of the need for a system but nothing further developed from it.

A group alongside the trawler Nord Tex. (Decca Navigator News , November 1969)

General location of the Sicily demo chain. The locations of the master, red and green slaves is not known at this time     (Image courtesy Google Maps)

Mazara, Marsala and Trapani are locations mentioned in the DNN article. (Image courtesy Google Maps)

This lattice chart, for the red/green demonstration chain in Sicily, was on the cover for the March 1969 edition of Decca Navigator News. One of the slaves may have been located near Campobello di Mazara.

As with all demonstrations, Decca's Planning Department produced a map of proposed sites along with the anticipated coverage area. In spite of three demonstration chains, Decca did not catch on in Italy. (Decca Navigator News, March  1969)

Contributors and Credits:

1) Santiago Insua <hwasp(a)hotmail.com>
2) Walter Blanchard <wb(at)g3jkv.co.uk >
3) Decca Navigator News, March 1969

Oct 29/18