Mission to Britain

by J Eugene Porter

  “As we build our respective resources, where do we get the men to utilize this equipment? I know we are looking at fifty escort carriers in the first order under construction. We are building over one hundred fifty of the new destroyer escorts that you call frigates, of which the first is ready to launch. It is larger than your Stork by about thirty feet and is specifically designed as an escort vessel for anti-submarine duties. These new escorts are being built with diesel-electric engines which will give them great range for crossing the Atlantic without refueling. These new ships will have the latest electronic toys your people have developed, such as the ten-centimeter radar and HF/DF. We are considering building training centers on our eastern coast to mimic what you have in place here in England. But as you know, raw crews with untrained officers are no match for the Germans.”

  Walker inhaled his pipe and exhaled the smoke. “Captain, if what you say is true, it is just a matter of time before this largess of equipment is ready. But, I fear the Nazis will not allow us the time to get your supplies and new ships to our shores without a hell of a fight. Whatever you can do in getting anything to us regarding ships and planes would be most appreciated. I hope what we have learned so far in this war can be shared and improved by your lot, and if I may be so bold as to say, you had better learn it damn soon.”

  Jameson saw the tension on Walker’s face. His men in two small sloops and even smaller Flower-class Corvettes, barely two hundred feet in length, were all that stood between success and failure in the Battle of the Atlantic.

  Brand decided to add to the conversation by going in an entirely new direction. “Commander Walker, what makes it so difficult to kill a U-boat once you have it underwater?”

  Walker looked at the young wizard, seeing a good opportunity to reappraise his situation. “James, that is a very good question and, if I may say so, an interesting observation. We find a boat on the water and attack. If we do not hit it with a shell from one of our four-inch guns on the Stork, the boat dives. Our ASDIC finds it with active soundings, and then we drop our depth charges set at various depths. If we do not hit him quickly, say less than one minute after he goes under, then we have a very hard time killing him. Do you have any suggestions?”

  James recalled discussing the same question the previous day with Professor Blackett and decided to go into his theory of attacking U-boats. “Commander, once the U-boat is under water, your ASDIC operator feeds you the bearing of the submerged submarine, correct?”

  “Yes, they can give us the course the boat is on from their sound levels. We attack and drop our depth charges set at certain levels based upon what we think the boat is doing both in speed and diving angle.”

  “Sir, once you are over the target, your ASDIC operator does what?”

  Commander Walker smiled knowing what the young American was thinking. “James, the operator is blind as soon as we get over the last known position because of turbulence from the ship, plus the explosions from depth charges. It may take thirty seconds or longer to reacquire the target.” Walker looked at his pipe and noticed the fire had gone out of it, so he pulled out a match and began to relight it.

  “Sir,” James said, “there are two problems with the way we are attacking. First, as soon as a target is acquired, you must stay on its last known position all the time going slow enough not to cause distortion, or what I call sound blindness from the cavitation of your propellers. Second, once you are over the target, you are blind and must get past the explosions to find the U-boat, not knowing which course they are on or how deep they are operating.”

  Walker nodded his head in agreement with the assessment and James continued. “Another problem, or rather a challenge, is how we are doing this in the first place. Given a few additional escorts per convoy, a hunter team could be employed with one escort prosecuting the attack and the other working a few hundred yards off the other ship’s bow and on the same heading. The second ship uses its active search array to find and fix the submarine, while the first makes the attack. This way, cavitation and explosions do not blind you. The stand-off ship is perceived by the U-boat to be the threat because the ASDIC blinds it.”

  James thought a bit more and added, “We need to be better at determining depths of the submarines and not just their course. The size and power of the depth charges are getting better, but it still requires proximity to do severe damage to a submarine. Another thing we should be looking at is the forward throwing mortar device which Professor Blackett discussed with me. This would be perfect for the attack profile I mentioned because you could slow down and creep up a line with say twenty or more projectiles that are thrown ahead of the escort but only explode on contact with a submarine. The charge necessary to damage or destroy a submarine at one hundred or more feet underwater is not that much if it contacts the boat itself. So, if we could develop such a weapon, we might have a major new technology to add to our capabilities.”

  Walker smiled at the idea. “James, you evidently have done a lot of work here with a great number of people. I have heard some of these ideas but not all of them. They do require more escorts and new technology, but above all else, these thoughts of yours require a large amount of training for crews and officers. I look forward to hearing more about these ideas and see them put into operation soon.”

  Walker glanced over at Commander Williams and offered up an idea. “Would you be interested in a run up the Irish Sea tomorrow to see if the old Stork has any leaks and perhaps we can show you how we train our people?”

  Jameson was very happy for the chance to get on a real Royal Navy escort, so he quickly agreed and then he noticed the expression on James’ face. It resembled a small boy about to get a present from under the Christmas tree.

  12

  27 March 1942

  On-board HMS Stork, Irish Sea

  • France--British conduct combined operations (codenamed CHARIOT) against harbor installations at St. Nazaire during the night of March 27/28. HMS Campbeltown rams main lock gate and lands troops who carry out demolitions.

  The sea was choppy, common during late March, with a blustery and frigid north wind blowing twenty knots coming straight down the Irish Sea from the Arctic Circle. The ship had left the dock at around 0700 hours. Commander Walker wanted to get in a full day of exercises with two of the Canadian Corvettes assigned to his escort group. His ship, the HMS Stork, was somewhat bigger than the Corvettes, which were listed at two hundred feet in length but appeared smaller. They were built on a whaling ship design and were strong but tossed about madly in almost any sea condition.

  The Stork was 266 feet in length and had a top speed of twenty knots. The ship was built in the mid-1930s. It was listed as a sloop and designed to be an escort ship or small coastal defense vessel. Anti-submarine warfare was designed into the ship, and she had the usual ASDIC capabilities but had recently been upgraded with a new centimeter radar system plus the HF/DF system, called by the crew huff-duff. The ship had impressive weapons for surface action, including three turrets each containing two four-inch cannons. These double mounts were quite dangerous to any submarine and could put out a great deal of gunfire in a rapid manner.

  Additional weapons included the now common forty-millimeter Bofors cannon for anti-aircraft and surface attacks plus some newly added twenty-millimeter heavy machine guns, which were excellent for close-in defense against planes. The anti-submarine weapons consisted of two stern-mounted depth charge racks which could drop up to ten 450-pound depth charges in various patterns. Additionally, the ship was equipped with two “Y” mounts, which threw a depth charge to each side of the ship, therefore providing a wider pattern of depth charges against enemy submarines.

  Commander Walker had personally trained the crew of the Stork since he took command in November 1941. His daring and aggressive defense of Convoy HG76 had proven many of his strategies and tactics. His crew was especially proud of the way he rammed and sank U-574 on December 19. The Stork was heavily damaged by the rammi
ng, though it wasn’t in danger of sinking. The ship made it back to England and spent four weeks in dry dock to repair its bent bow. It was also strengthened, or as the crew said, so Commander Johnnie could ram another German and sink them faster. The crew enjoyed the time off while the ship was in repairs which was their first major leave in nearly a year of convoy work.

  Captain Jameson and Lieutenant Brand were piped aboard with full honors early in the morning and shown to the bridge. Gunnery Sergeant Jones and Corporal Williams boarded the vessel as well with Gunny Jones in step with Brand. Commander Walker told the American captain he had full privileges to the bridge which meant he could come and go as he pleased and the entire crew was so informed to ensure compliance with the order. Brand liked being on the bridge but wanted to explore everything about the ship and how it operated. He was keen to see the men at work and how well trained they were in their duties. Commander Walker assigned Sub-Lt. Peter Grove, a new addition to the Stork crew, to be his minder and show him around the ship.

  Grove was not as young as he appeared. He did look like a seasoned sailor, one who knew what he was doing on any ship, let alone one of His Majesty’s warships. Grove was twenty-five and had been sailing since his youth. He had joined the Auxiliary, as it was called in the late 1930s, to mingle with the owners of yachts who might need more crew. His schooling was quite good and had passed his exams at St. Andrews in Scotland in 1939. He was selected to go to the training school for the Royal Navy Volunteer Reserve (RNVR) at what was called King Alfred at Hove, and once he passed through the program was assigned to a Coastal Command MTB (motor torpedo boat).

  His MTB was sunk near the island of Guernsey by a German E-Boat, which was a larger and faster craft than their British counterparts. After some time in the hospital for shrapnel wounds received in the short fight with the German boat, he was given a thirty day leave before being assigned to the Stork. He was a man of modest height, perhaps five feet eight inches and one could tell that he was well informed about the sea, as opposed to James, who was a novice. Grove had been told before the arrival of the Americans that he would be guiding Lieutenant Brand during the voyage, probably because of his academic experiences and because he had just completed training on the newest anti-submarine technology now employed on the sloop. Grove had no idea what to expect during this daylong event, but Commander Walker told him the young lieutenant was quite a prodigy concerning submarine warfare and he expected him to learn all he could from the American.

  After more of the ship’s officers were introduced to the American officers and their Marine guards, everyone prepared the Stork for departure. Jameson accompanied Commander Walker to the bridge while Grove took Brand on a quick tour of the ship focusing on areas of interest to the American and his serious looking sergeant that followed him everywhere.

  “Mr. Brand, if I may ask, the sergeant, is he always with you?”

  Brand smiled as did the gunny and responded casually, “Almost all the time, that is Gunnery Sergeant Jones’ duty in life. He is my Sancho Panza, and I am Don Quixote, or perhaps he is Dr. Watson, and I am Sherlock Holmes. Your choice of metaphors, Mr. Grove.”

  He smiled at the gunny who probably had no idea who Don Quixote was, or what a metaphor was for that matter, and then looked at Sub-Lieutenant Groves and continued. “Mr. Groves, my name is James. May I call you Peter when we are not around the crew?”

  Groves smiled broadly and gave out a quick burst of air almost like it was some pent-up emotion. “James, that would be grand, and may I call Gunnery Sergeant Jones, Gunny, like you do?”

  James smiled back, and he looked at the gunny who smiled at the sub-lieutenant. “The gunnery sergeant has no problem with you calling him Gunny. Sergeants in the United States Marines are just like those in your Royal Marines. They like to be known by their rank especially when you get to the high rank of gunnery sergeant. Is that right, Gunny?”

  “Mr. Brand, the sub-lieutenant may address me any way he desires. He is an officer in His Majesty’s Navy and knows the drill when it comes to working with Marines, sir.” The gunny smiled a bit as he looked at the British naval officer standing in front of him and thought that he was a nice enough young man, so it would be all right with him to call him Gunny.

  “Splendid, Gunny, and thank you, James, for making this task much more pleasant. I had met many Americans before the war when I was at various international sailing events, and most of your countrymen are, how do you say, very laid back and not full of themselves.” Peter looked at James for agreement in his assessment which came immediately.

  “I don’t stand on all of this ceremony and pretense of superiority. I think in America we always want you to win the approval of others by hard work and good deeds, rather than some thousand-year-old standards. But, there is a lot to be said for continuity and tradition, so I guess I’m somewhat constricted in my feelings about everything I’ve seen while I’ve been in Britain.”

  James looked at his new friend and continued his thoughts. “Tell me, Peter, I’ve noticed the uniforms of various Royal Navy officers during my time in Liverpool, and I’ve seen many men with the wavy stripes on their shoulders and cuffs, and there are some who have the same number of stripes, but theirs look like rope. What’s the difference? If you have two stripes, you are a lieutenant, and one stripe, you are a sub-lieutenant, what we in the U.S. Navy call an ensign. Can you help me understand the differences?”

  Peter laughed at the question, which was the first of a torrent of questions he would field from the young American. “James, you have just noticed the joys of the class system in His Majesty’s Navy. On your sleeve and your shoulder boards, you have solid lines which show your rank. If you were in the Royal Navy, those solid lines would tell everyone that you were a serving officer in the Royal Navy and had successfully graduated through the Naval educational system starting when you were sixteen years old.”

  The British sub-lieutenant pointed at his cuffs and continued saying, “The lines that look like rope are for members of the Royal Navy Reserve. Many of these men are from the merchant marine and are given a reserve commission when they were presented with their master’s or engineer’s papers, allowing them to run a ship. The wavy lines are for people like me. We are members of the Royal Naval Volunteer Reserve who serve for the duration, plus some amount of time after that, whatever they decide whenever they decide it.”

  He scrutinized the stern of the ship to make sure all crewmen were in their correct positions. “Many of the RNVR officers were yachtsmen or had their own pleasure vessels of at least thirty feet and were recruited like I was before the war broke out. We had to know enough about boats, sea conditions, basic navigation, etc. Then we were sent to various schools to learn the navy way of doing things. This included the ten-week school at King Alfred, which included operational tactics, gunnery, engineering, damage control, electronics, security, and leadership. Once you graduate from King Alfred, you are posted to additional schools or directly to a ship. I went to a school on radar, and then I was posted to an MTB working out of Bournemouth.”

  Again, Peter looked to the stern of the ship and yelled at a man who was looking somewhat lost. “You, seaman, are you lost or are you on a bloody party barge? Step to it man!” The man stood at attention then moved rapidly to the other side of the ship.

  Peter looked at James and commented, “We must be getting to the bottom of the barrel when it comes to manpower. When I was posted to the Stork, about two months ago, I was told all about the battle and the ramming that occurred in December. The glory always fades, and while the ship was in dry dock getting its bow re-built, we lost a good twenty percent of the crew to new builds or replacements for other ships. Many men were promoted, which I know is a good thing, but the replacements like myself, are new to the navy or have no sea experience at all.”

  Peter pointed toward the first of the two Canadian Corvettes which were now getting underway and added, “We are still in better shape than our Canadi
an cousins. Many of their crew are farm boys from God knows where in Canada and have never even seen the sea before. I have heard reports that suggest upwards of eighty percent of a Corvette crew is seasick all the time, and they can barely maintain battle readiness. I may be new to the navy, James, but I have been on boats and larger craft since I could walk. That is why a lot of the “wavy navy” boys are assigned to the smaller ships because we know how to handle sea conditions and, hopefully, we don’t get that sick.” Peter listened to orders being called out over the intercom and motioned for James to follow him, along with the faithful gunnery sergeant who was quite a curiosity on board the Stork.

  As the ship cleared the harbor and joined up with the two Canadian Corvettes, James went below with Peter to see more of the ship’s operation. They toured the wardroom and had a spot of hot chocolate favored by the Royal Navy, especially in the colder parts of the Atlantic. They met a few more of the officers who were moving from their duties as the ship got underway to their main action stations. James met the executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Hawkins, who was heading to the aft steering station which was mandatory in any battle conditions or exercises like they were doing today. Peter informed James that the XO, as everyone called Hawkins, was not only the second in command but was also the chief disciplinarian of the ship and managed most of the activities onboard. Whenever the captain was on the bridge during action stations, the executive officer would be at the aft steering station ready to take over if the bridge and the captain were incapacitated or worse, killed. His other main task was to oversee damage control for the ship. Since the ship had a rather small complement of officers and men, totaling only one hundred twenty-five men, there was no other officer dedicated to damage control. Every officer had at least three main areas of responsibility, and all had damage control duties for their specific area, but Commander Hawkins owned the primary responsibility of keeping the ship afloat.