Fourteen weeks after work was first started, Commander Kay decided that the time had come to make the final lift and get the _Westmoreland_ to dry dock. The electric pumps were switched on and kept running until the waterlogged holds were cleared, and the torpedoed vessel rose off the sandy bottom and floated. Then cropped up the vital matter of balance. For weeks the divers had been fighting to rid the ship of water, and now, paradoxically enough, they found they had pumped out so much that her stern came up clear of the surface, while her bow was barely clear of the sand. It was useless to attempt to tow her to port under such conditions, for in a short while she would have been digging her nose into the sand and sinking once more. Before the journey could be essayed, it was essential to balance her properly, and this could only be done by leaving a sufficient weight of water in the after holds to balance the water in the forward hold. They had to trim the ship by using water as ballast. Calmly they allowed the after holds to fill again, then they set the pumps going until she rose on an even keel. The stumpy tugs fastened on to her and did not let her go until she was safely in dock. Altogether the Admiralty Salvage Section during the war salved nearly 500 ships, valued with their cargoes at about £50,000,000. While the submarine campaign continued, the British need for shipping was so great that all salvage efforts were concentrated on those ships that could be quickly salved and put into commission again. The easiest cases were dealt with first, and the more difficult cases were left until there was a reasonable opportunity of coping with them. A careful list compiled by the Admiralty after the war showed that there were 416 war wrecks lying in less than 20 fathoms, or 120 feet, around the British coast, and of these it was estimated that one in ten might perhaps be raised. Actually 51 war wrecks were salved after the Armistice, but as some of these were lost in foreign parts the original estimate was not so wide of the mark.