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History of the Atlantic Cable & Undersea Communications
from the first submarine cable of 1850 to the worldwide fiber optic network

CS Restorer
by Dirk van Oudenol

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| Home | Contact Email | Prologue | 1901 - 1904 | Joint Reports 1903 - 04 | Early Operations | First World War | Peace | Second World War | 3rd Naval Armed Guard Report | Winter Cable Laying | 11th Naval Armed Guard Report | Peace Again | Home And Back To Work | C.S. Restorer's Final Days Part 1 | C.S. Restorer's Final Days Part 2 | Services Rendered by C.S. Restorer | The End For C.S. Restorer|

The End for C.S. Restorer

Over the next five months after returning from its brief trip to Guam in Feb., 1950, C.S. Restorer was stripped of everything of possible value, especially the rented electronic equipment. In June, 1951, arrangements were completed with ship-breakers Walter Johnson Co. of San Francisco who were to scrap the Restorer. On 28/6/1951, the faithful old ship was shackled to the deepsea tugs Island Sovereign and Pacmar. The ship's bell is in the British Columbia Maritime Museum in Victoria, two beautiful carved panels of the CPCC, from the Officers Salon, went to the Princess Mary Restaurant in Victoria, and the original teak panels from the Officers Salon were said to have gone to the Trader Vic's Restaurant in San Francisco (now closed), but this is not confirmed.

On the fateful morning of 29/6/1951, as C.S. Restorer left on her last trip south, an elderly Master Mariner, Captain A. W. McDonald who had served faithfully on the old ship for more than 20 years, was seen looking from a promontory, standing smartly at attention and giving a prolonged smart salute as the old ship that in her lifetime had laid some 5,000 miles of cable from San Francisco to Singapore, Attu to Australia, and China to Fanning Island, became part of maritime history.

Copyright © 2006 by Dirk van Oudenol


Here are some links related to C.S. Restorer:

https://atlantic-cable.com/Article/Combe  This link to Captain Basil  C. Combe, CPCC's first Master of C. S. Restorer gives a stunning understanding of 1895 cable work by C.S. Dacia, of which he was then Chief Officer.
Voyage of a Merchant Sailor, Part Three Lists Chuck Betsworth's experience with C.S. Restorer.
https://homepages.rootsweb.com/~capstick/captwill.html Describes life of Capt. Livingston, the Master of C.S. Restorer during 1924-26.
https://www.bcarchives.gov.bc.ca This is a great source for first class photos of C.S. Restorer.
[email protected] This is a great source for wartime trip logs for USAT ships.
https://www.KilroyWasHere.org A great site for WW II and Korea
https://users.ev1.net/~gpmoran/WakeIslandHistory.htm Wake Island history
[email protected] Illustrated article on C.S. Dellwood
https://atlantic-cable.com/CableCos/ComPacCable Great site for cable and cable ship information
Main Menu
| Home | Contact Email | Prologue | 1901 - 1904 | Joint Reports 1903 - 04 | Early Operations | First World War | Peace | Second World War | 3rd Naval Armed Guard Report | Winter Cable Laying | 11th Naval Armed Guard Report | Peace Again | Home And Back To Work | C.S. Restorer's Final Days Part 1 | C.S. Restorer's Final Days Part 2 | Services Rendered by C.S. Restorer | The End For C.S. Restorer|

Copyright © 2006 Dirk van Oudenol

Last revised: 22 July, 2006

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