Out in the bay the dredgers scooped a deep basin to enable her to turn over without fouling the seabed, and towards the end of January, 1921, the _Leonardo da Vinci_ was towed to the place where it was proposed to right her. Four hundred tons of solid ballast had been loaded into her, and the engineers made preparations for pumping 7500 tons of water into certain compartments on her starboard side. Being above the centre of gravity, this weight would make her so top-heavy that she was bound to overbalance and thus turn right side up again. [Illustration: UPRIGHT ONCE MORE AFTER BEING UPSIDE DOWN FOR FOUR YEARS. SHE RAISED A HUGE WAVE AS SHE SWUNG OVER, AS MAY BE SEEN FROM THIS PHOTOGRAPH WHICH WAS TAKEN FROM AN AIRSHIP] There in the bay lay the still stricken leviathan. The valves were opened to allow the sea to enter her compartments, and the salvage men scrambled from the upturned keel and pulled away from her in their boats. The water began to flow in, and by the time some 800 tons had entered she began to turn ever so slowly. Soon, as the weight of water increased, she swung over with a rush, raising a big wave as the deck swept clear of the water. For a moment it looked as though she would swing right over and finish upside-down again. But the engineers had worked out their calculations to such a nicety that the battleship finally came to rest with a slight list, just as they had foreseen. [Illustration: THE LEONARDO DA VINCI READY TO GO INTO DRY DOCK AGAIN TO BE REFITTED. A BRILLIANT SALVAGE FEAT IS RECORDED IN THESE REMARKABLE PHOTOGRAPHS WHICH ARE REPRODUCED BY COURTESY OF THE ITALIAN NAVAL ATTACHE] Across her deck, in big letters, was seen the motto of the famous _Leonardo da Vinci_: “Every wrong rights itself,” painted while the vessel was still upside-down in dry dock. It was a happy thought, and a pandemonium of cheering broke out as the legend came into view to tell of the most remarkable salvage feat ever accomplished. The salving of the ship and her final righting took four and a half years. It was a Herculean task, and from first to last cost the Italian Government £135,000. Unhappily, General Ferrati, who conceived the brilliant plan, did not live to see it completed. He was succeeded as director of operations by General Faruffini, who in turn was succeeded by General Carpi, but during the whole time Major Gianelli was in charge of the work and to him is due the credit for carrying out from beginning to end, and bringing to a triumphant conclusion, the most wonderful salvage feat ever performed by man. CHAPTER VIII