Convoy

by Dudley Pope

  ‘I can’t see the Jerries being so kind-hearted,’ Johnny said and, looking ahead, commented: ‘Ah, that looks better – the Penta has turned up the wick. And I do believe the Marynal tows better at that speed.’

  ‘I don’t think anyone should ever mention this tow to Hobson again,’ Yorke said. ‘When I went on board this morning he was just about foaming at the mouth.’

  ‘Why? He sank a bloody U-boat, didn’t he?’

  ‘Yes, and he’s pleased enough about that, but having that chunk of U-boat wreckage knocking a blade off his propeller and bending the shaft – that was too much! He expected trouble at the sharp end when he rammed but having the U-boat cause trouble at the blunt end too seems – to him anyway – the sort of damned unsporting thing a Ted would do.’

  ‘By the way, Number One, any news from Bennett about the wreckage we picked up?’

  ‘Yes, sir. Bit of luck with the papers – there’s the deck log, half the signal log, various letters belonging to seamen, a book of ciphers Bennett can’t understand – hardly surprising – and the usual training manuals. He’s drying out what matters but doing an immediate rough translation of the last entries on the log. He should have it ready very soon.’

  ‘He’s being careful not to damage it, I hope.’

  ‘Very, sir. Ah, here he is.’

  A thin, sallow-faced RNVR sub-lieutenant came on to the bridge, and Johnny said to Yorke: ‘You haven’t met Bennett. He’s one of DNI’s bright boys – codes and ciphers. Speaks German like a Berliner – which is hardly surprising, since he was born there.’

  So Bennett was not his real name: he was a Jewish refugee, brought over by his family when it was still possible to get out of Germany.

  ‘You were right enough, sir,’ Bennett said to Yorke, ‘it’s all in the log. He left Brest for a routine patrol, received fresh orders from the Lion – that’s Doenitz – four days out directing him north and, a couple of days later, giving him a position where he’d probably sight the convoy. Not a position but a fifty-mile patrol line.’

  ‘The dates all coincide?’ Yorke asked.

  ‘Yes, he actually sighted the convoy a day before the Swede first dropped back, and stayed submerged in daylight – the log entries show they’re getting scared of Liberator attacks – and caught up at night.

  ‘The log notes everything in detail after that – very wordy and bureaucratic, the Germans. I speak,’ Bennett said with a grin, ‘as a naturalized Briton. Every entry is signed by the officer that made it, just as the regulations say. How they came up astern of the Penta for the first time – they actually name her – exchanged signals and information about the individual ships in the convoy, the general route, the zigzag diagram numbers used so far, size of the escort and so on. I haven’t checked the signal log yet for the exact wording, but the details are in the general log.’

  ‘Any names of officers?’ Johnny asked.

  ‘All of them, sir. She had been undergoing a long refit in Lorient and had a completely new ship’s company. The names of all the officers and warrant officers were noted as they joined. Anyway, this is my rough translation of the entries – I’ve omitted routine things,’ he said handing over several handwritten pages. ‘Just the details of Operation Cuckoo.’

  ‘Cuckoo?’ Johnny exclaimed.

  ‘Yes, sir, that was the German name for it. There’s a number following it that I don’t understand, but–’

  ‘Is it twelve?’ Yorke asked.

  Bennett glanced at him and grinned. ‘Yes, perhaps you’d explain it to me, sir, then I can get some sleep. I’ve been working on the log most of the night but that twelve was so intriguing I knew it would keep me awake!’

  ‘Let’s adjourn to the chartroom,’ Johnny said. ‘You’ll have to wait for your sleep, Bennett.’

  Once in the chartroom, Johnny turned to Bennett and said: ‘You work for the Director of Naval Intelligence, so you can tell me this. I don’t trust our cipher tables. If the Jerries don’t know we’ve caught the Penta, there’s a chance they’ll try some more cuckoos in the nest, and we’ll nab ’em before they do any harm. But if there’s a chance they are cracking any of our ciphers I’d sooner wait until we get into port and report to the Admiralty by landline, using a scrambler phone, rather than make a signal now in cipher.’

  Bennett looked embarrassed and Johnny, misunderstanding the reason, said: ‘No, sorry, it’s not up to you. I meant I wanted your opinion on the chance of the Germans reading any signal I might make.’

  ‘I hesitated, sir,’ Bennett said, ‘only because not many others in DNI agree with me. I think the B-Dienst – that’s the radio-intelligence branch of the German Navy – have penetrated a number of our ciphers. That’s just a feeling I have – a hunch – and it’s impossible to prove one way or the other. But if you were asking me,’ Bennett said carefully, ‘whether I thought there was a chance that the Germans would decipher any signal you could make to the Admiralty from this ship, using the cipher books we have on board, I would say they could read it as clearly as if you sent it in plain language.’

  ‘Thanks, Bennett. Officially I haven’t heard a word you’ve just said. And I’ve decided to maintain radio silence.’

  ‘Coastal Command,’ Yorke said suddenly. ‘We’ll have a Sunderland or a Liberator noseying round in a few hours. As soon as a plane spots three strange ships about which it knows nothing it’ll very quickly investigate. If we have a signal ready we can pass it by Aldis with strict instructions that it must be sent to the Admiralty as soon as possible by landline but not transmitted by wireless and likewise they shouldn’t report having sighted us until they land.’

  ‘That’s it,’ Johnny said. ‘I’ll draft the signal now. Their Lordships will probably slap my hand, but…’

  ‘I’m requesting you officially not to pass information by wireless about capturing the Penta and the U-boat sinking,’ Yorke said formally. ‘That means… I’m not sure what it means, but I’m supposed to be the outsider trying to catch the insider, and you had written orders to co-operate with me…’

  ‘Thanks Ned, but I’ll take the responsibility. We’re heroes, not villains,’ Johnny said philosophically. ‘Either we’re heroes for catching the cuckoo and Hobson gets a gong for carving up that U-boat, or we’ll be sent to sew mail bags in Aden for bringing Sweden into the war against us. As the Foreign Office will decide, I’ve no idea which it will be, but we’d better practise our herring-bone stitch.’

  The scrambler telephone had a curious echo but it was such a clear line that Yorke could hardly believe that Uncle was sitting in the Citadel in London, several hundred miles from the Clyde, and not in the next room.

  ‘Telephone me at ASIU at noon,’ the signal had said and because the time had seemed important, Yorke had gone to a lot of trouble to arrange it.

  ‘Gower’s signal and yours caused quite a stir when they arrived,’ he heard Uncle say, the satisfaction showing in his voice. ‘We bunged copies to our friend round the corner – to Downing Street,’ he explained when he remembered he was talking on a scrambler telephone, ‘and the Foreign Office panicked. They called for an immediate conference with the Vice Chief of Naval Staff, Assistant Chief of Naval Staff (U-boat Warfare and Trade), Director of Naval Intelligence and myself ordered to attend, to draft an apology to the Swedes and decide where you and Gower were to be shot.’

  ‘Where was decided?’ Yorke asked.

  ‘Ha, there are times when the wicked prosper. We were in the midst of this special meeting, with these senior Foreign Office wallahs sitting round with long faces and saying smugly that both of you would have to be “sacrificed” to placate the Swedes, when our friend round the corner – I’d called on him just before I went to the Foreign Office – came on the phone to the chief FO wallah and squared his yards by ordering him to send the Swedish Embassy a copy of that U-boat’s log and
the Penta charter agreement… That shut up the FO people and we all – the Admiralty boys, that is – went out and had a stiff gin.’

  ‘I’m catching the next train with all the documents,’ Yorke said.

  ‘You come by train because the man round the corner wants to see you at once, but we’re laying on a special car and escort for the documents. That log is considerably more valuable than a ton of gold. How’s your arm, by the way?’

  The sudden change of subject caught Yorke by surprise. ‘Bit painful, sir. I haven’t been doing the exercises, and the weather’s been cold.’

  ‘You haven’t been doing your exercises and the weather’s been cold?’ Uncle repeated. ‘Oh dear. You’re in trouble. I suspected that and sent for your medical adviser, who’s waiting now. Hold the line.’

  ‘Hello, darling,’ she said, ‘you’re back early.’

  ‘I love you. I’m catching the night train down to Euston. Can you get some leave?’

  ‘Captain Watts says I have some sewing to do,’ Clare said, as though she had not heard him. ‘Another ribbon and a half stripe for you, and tell Johnny Gower he’s getting an immediate award as well.’

  Series order & Synopses

  Dates given are for first publication and (for Ramge series) year in which novel is set.

  Ned Yorke Series

  These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

  1. Buccaneer 1981

  2. Admiral 1982

  3. Galleon 1986

  4. Corsair 1987

  5. Convoy 1979

  6. Decoy 1983

  Ramage Series

  These Titles can be read as a series, or randomly as standalone novels

  1. Ramage 1796 1965

  2. Ramage & the Drumbeat 1797 1968

  3. Ramage & the Freebooters 1797 1969

  4. Governor Ramage RN 1797 1973

  5. Ramage's Prize 1798 1974

  6. Ramage's Mutiny 1799 1977

  7. Ramage & the Rebels 1800 1978

  8. The Ramage Touch 1800 1979

  9. Ramage's Signal 1800 1980

  10. Ramage & the Guillotine 1801 1975

  11. Ramage & the Renegades 1802 1981

  12. Ramage's Devil 1803 1982

  13. Ramage's Trial 1803 1984

  14. Ramage's Challenge 1803 1985

  15. Ramage's Diamond 1804 1976

  16. Ramage at Trafalgar 1805 1986

  17. Ramage & the Saracens 1806 1988

  18. Ramage & the Dido 1806 1989

  Synopses (Fiction & non-fiction)

  Published by House of Stratus

  A. Ned Yorke Series

  Buccaneer

  It is the 1650's and Spain considers the Caribbean to be its own private sea. But England, Holland and France conspire to battle for freedom on the oceans set in days littered with the plunder of piracy. Ned Yorke, a loyal Royalist living in Barbados has a small vessel and devoted crew and together they sail, hunted by Roundheads and Spaniards, determined to pay whatever the price for freedom from tyranny. What transpires is a colourful, dramatic retelling of historical events surrounding the capture of Jamaica and the infamous raid on Santiago.

  Admiral

  Charles II returns from exile bringing with him unease to the Spanish Main. In this vivid description of seventeenth-century buccaneers, Ned Yorke, the leader and hero of the swashbuckling band are depended upon for the defence of Jamaica, fighting with captured Spanish guns. Daring raids on the Spanish seem inevitable, as Yorke sets out on the high seas to distant adventures on behalf of the King and his own honour.

  Galleon

  As England falls under a blanket of peace with the restoration of Charles II, in distant Jamaica all is not well. Though there is peace with Spain, there is No Peace Beyond the Line. It seems that the West Indies have become the private estate of the King of Spain. But Ned Yorke, Admiral of the Brethren, leader of the Buccaneers will not kowtow to the new Governor in Jamaica who is bent on weakening the Island’s defences and destroying its currency. Ned Yorke and his Buccaneers must not remain idle. The third in a series set in the Caribbean, Dudley Pope reveals a masterful plot of subtle, seafaring lore wound around the tense excitement of adventure on the high seas.

  Corsair

  In the 1660's Jamaica was an uneasy island, occupied by Spain but settled by the English and French. When Admiral of the Brethren, Ned Yorke, a brave, loyal Buccaneer, learns that Spain is mounting a Caribbean fleet perhaps to protect the treasures of Spanish ships, or carry an army to Jamaica, he vows to find out the truth. Yorke’s audacious attacks on Spanish camps reveal all and the Buccaneers must fight a bloody, desperate battle to try and hinder them.

  Convoy

  A deadly game of cat and mouse unravels its way out of this spine tingling war story as Lieutenant Yorke must find an answer to one vital question: how are German U-Boats sinking merchant ships from inside the convoys? In this gripping saga of heroism and intrigue, Yorke discovers the fate of one entire convoy. Only his wit and daring can lead to its survival and that of himself.

  Decoy

  It is February 1942 and the war in the Atlantic looks grim for the Allied convoys. The ‘Great Blackout’ has started, leaving the spy centre of Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire at a loss as to what the Nazis are planning. U-boat Command has changed the Hydra cipher. The Enigma cannot be broken. Cipher experts can no longer eavesdrop on Nazi command, which leaves convoys open for attack by packs of marauding Nazi submarines. Winning the Battle of the Atlantic will surely give Hitler a final victory. And who can stop him?

  B. Ramage Series

  Ramage

  1796 – sea battles raging and an attack from the French has left third-lieutenant Ramage the sole officer in charge of his frigate. With orders from Nelson to be obeyed and a daring mission to be completed, young Nicholas Ramage must rise to the challenge. Despite the grave adversity of his situation, Ramage embarks upon an intrepid rescue with quite unforeseen consequences. This thrilling adventure is the first in Dudley Pope’s popular and much-loved series.

  Ramage & the Drumbeat

  Ramage and the Drumbeat takes the brave Lord Ramage to the new world where he becomes embroiled in a series of electrifying sea battles and hazardous political shenanigans. He must once again prove his mettle as he undergoes the merciless enemy attacks. Fighting alongside Lord Nelson, this is Ramage at his best.

  Ramage & the Freebooters

  Lieutenant Lord Ramage is given command of the Triton brig and ordered to deliver three sealed dispatches to admirals in the Caribbean. Unfortunately, he is also given command of a mutinous crew that he must overcome if he is to deliver the dispatches and prevent himself from being made a convenient scapegoat…

  Governor Ramage RN

  Lieutenant Lord Ramage, expert seafarer and adventurer, undertakes to escort a convoy across the Caribbean. This seemingly routine task leads him into a series of dramatic and terrifying encounters. Lord Ramage is quick to learn that the enemy attacks from all angles and he must keep his wits about him in order to survive. Fast and thrilling, this is another highly-charged adventure from the masterly Dudley Pope.

  Ramage's Prize

  Lord Ramage returns for another highly-charged and thrilling adventure at sea. Instructed with the task of discovering why His Majesty’s dispatches keep unaccountably disappearing, Ramage finds himself involved in a situation far beyond his expectations. Based on true events, Ramage’s Prize is another gripping story from Dudley Pope.

  Ramage's Mutiny

  Mutiny and rebellion are rife on board a British ship in the Caribbean. A young British naval officer is chosen to rescue the ship from its Spanish captors - yet this means almost certain death. Lord Ramage soon learns that for his mission to succeed - and for him to stay alive - he must resort to almost any means. Will his skill prove a match for the strength of the Spanish attack?

  Ramage & the Rebels

  On a routine patrol, Ramage and his
ship 'Calypso' make an horrific discovery. Caught in the process of taking a British ship, a ruthless French privateer has murdered the passengers and crew. Ramage and his men decide to track him down and set out to find his whereabouts in the Spanish Main.

  The Ramage Touch

  Ramage Touch finds the ever-popular Lord Ramage in the Mediterranean with another daring mission to undertake. He soon makes a shocking discovery which dramatically transforms the nature of the task at hand. With the nearest English vessel a thousand miles away, Ramage must embark upon a truly perilous and life-threatening course of action. With everything stacked against him, he has only one chance to succeed…

  Ramage's Signal

  With Bonaparte Napoleon at the height of his powers, the Mediterranean can be safely considered exclusive French territory. So when Captain Ramage and his crew are sent alone into Mediterranean waters, they can expect to be outnumbered. But it is the French who discover they have an enemy they had not bargained for…

  Ramage & the Guillotine

  As France recovers from her bloody Revolution, Napoleon is amassing his armies for the Great Invasion. News in England is sketchy and the Navy must prepare to defend the land from foreign attack. Lieutenant Ramage is chosen to travel to France and embark upon the perilous quest of spying on the great Napoleon. His mission is to determine the strength of the French troops – but his discovery will mean the guillotine!

  Ramage & the Renegades

  The Treaty of Amiens is signed and Nelson's navy languishes in port. Ramage is at home on half pay and suspects Napoleon will yet break the terms of the Treaty. He is then given secret Admiralty orders to survey a small island off the coast of Brazil. He sails in Calypso, but then encounters more danger than in previous exploits.

  Ramage's Devil

  amage is suddenly caught behind enemy lines when on honeymoon in France, as the Peace of Amien unexpectedly ends. The story chronicles his escape and dashing adventures in true Ramage style, as an enemy ship is captured and a sub-plot develops involving a pursuit to the prison colony on Devil's Island.