To Slip the Surly Bonds

by Chris Kennedy

  “We’ll find those, no problem.”

  “Check with the navigator and radio telegraph men; they’ll know more.”

  “Aye, aye.”

  Ellyson went to both, scribbling down the list, and then assembled his pilots to show it to them.

  “Gentlemen, we’re going to find all of these ships, especially that one.” He pointed at one name. “I want all of you to review the silhouette books.”

  The aviators gathered around a table and began swapping the silhouette books back and forth. Ellyson stared at boarding vessel silhouettes for about ten minutes, but he was too restless to properly focus.

  “Spuds, get the hell out of here,” Lieutenant Melvin Stolz, his observer, finally snapped.

  “I need to memorize this.”

  “Why? That’s what you have me for. And frankly, you’re driving us all mad right now.”

  The other aviators laughed and nodded.

  Ellyson shook his head. “Fine, I’ll go up and yell at the fog to clear off.”

  “Excellent decision, sir. Glad you thought of it.”

  With a bark of laughter, Ellyson left the room and went onto the flight deck. He glared up a time or two, but mostly stared forward and watched the gray waves roll towards him.

  Suddenly, he realized he could see more ships. He glanced up. The sun had definitely started to burn away the clouds.

  “Enough waiting, by God!” He stormed down to the hangar deck. “Get every plane ready to go. The weather’s clearing, and we’ll launch as soon as we can.”

  The hangar burst into activity, and Spuds almost ran down the steps to the other aviators.

  “Get ready, gentlemen. The weather’s clearing, and we’ve got flying to do.”

  “Heaven be praised,” snapped Stolz. “I thought my eyes were about to become permanently crossed.”

  Half an hour later, the fog had completely cleared off. The Atlantic was as smooth as it ever got and was the blue that caught the soul of every romantic nautical poet. Ellyson climbed into his BE.2.c with Stolz in front of him. Two more BE.2.cs waited behind him to follow.

  Spuds accelerated and with a pleasant sigh of relief, he felt air catch under his wings. He pulled back on the stick and brought his plane into an ascending spiral. He waited until the others formed up on him, then headed them all northeast at an easy fifty knots some eight hundred feet over the water.

  He yelled to Stolz. “If we’re right, the one we want should be about thirty miles that way.”

  “I’ll keep my eyes open. If she’s there, she’s the biggest thing around, so we should see her easily enough.”

  “Four stacks.”

  “I know, I know.”

  Spuds grinned. “At least I remembered that silhouette.”

  Stolz laughed, but kept his head swiveling back and forth from either side of the twin-bladed propeller, periodically staring through a pair of binoculars.

  “Spuds!” Stolz pointed. “Is that smoke over there?”

  Ellyson squinted through his goggles. “I can’t tell, but we can certainly check it out. Send the signal for course change.”

  “Aye, aye.” Stolz raised the appropriate signs and waited for confirmation. “Got it.”

  Spuds did not say anything but banked the BE.2.c slightly to the west.

  “It’s definitely smoke, sir.”

  “Agreed.” Spuds thought about accelerating, but they’d be to that pillar of smoke soon enough and while this might be the prize, she wasn’t the only ship out here.

  “That’s a lotta smoke, Spuds.”

  “Might be our fish, Melvin.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  As they approached, Stolz muttered, “One, two, three…Four! Four stacks, it’s gotta be our baby.”

  “Yes!” agreed Ellyson when he got closer to the four-stacked ship sailing east. “It’s definitely her.”

  “If only the ‘Covered Wagon’ were that big,” Stolz said with a laugh. “The book said she was almost eight hundred feet long. I’d sure like to land on a deck that long.”

  “It’d make it easier, wouldn’t it?” Ellyson banked the B.E.2c around. “Shall we give the passengers a thrill?”

  “Absolutely.”

  Spuds zoomed across the liner, with the other two following closely. He then banked around and approached from the stern. The planes flew at about two hundred feet along the starboard side of her, waggling their wings. Passengers lined the rail, waved their handkerchiefs, and lifted their drinks at the aeroplanes.

  Laughing, Ellyson continued east toward Ireland.

  “That took a goodly amount of our fuel, sir. We should think about heading back to our five hundred feet of deck in about thirty minutes.”

  “That’ll still give us time to get to Queenstown. The Juno is supposed to be there. Send the signals to the others.

  They soared over Queenstown, then zoomed over the Juno berthed at Haulbowline Island. They continued south into the Irish Sea.

  About fifteen miles southwest of Queenstown, Stolz yelled, “Spuds! To our left, is that a submarine?”

  “I don’t see it but signal the others we’re going to check it out.” Moments later he banked the BE.2.c over the spot Stolz pointed out to give his observer a clear look.

  “It’s definitely a submarine, sir. And it’s submerging. I think it’s German.”

  Ellyson’s eyes sharpened. “It’s right on the shipping lane to Queenstown and all the ports in the Irish Sea.”

  “What about the liner. They wouldn’t sink her, would they?”

  “They shouldn’t, but the Germans have been talking tough about this exclusion zone. We’ve to get back to the Langley anyway and Captain Chambers will want to know as fast as we can get there.”

  Ellyson pushed his throttle ahead as fast as he dared, given his fuel level.

  Fifteen minutes later his seat harness yanked him back as the arresting gear caught. The deck crew began pulling his B.E.2c into place.

  “Stolz, get everything organized down here. I’m going to Chambers.” Ellyson jumped down and ran up to the bridge. Breathlessly, he saluted the captain. “Sir, I believe we have a potential issue.”

  Chambers eyebrows went up. “What is it, commander?”

  “There’s a ship about thirty miles away, bearing about 030. I think it’s our big prize.”

  “Well done, commander.”

  “However, about forty miles ahead of her, ten or fifteen miles south of Queenstown, is a submarine. I think it’s German.”

  Chambers’ eyes widened. He pulled out a map. “You’re saying there’s a U-boat in the path of the Lusitania?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Chambers stepped over to the radio telegraph station. “Mr. Howell, please send, Attention RMS Lusitania. This is Captain Chambers of the USS Langley. Submarine activity detected ahead of you. Please take appropriate action.”

  Startled, the communications officer complied. After a moment, he turned back. “Sir, Captain Turner asks our location.”

  “Send it back.”

  Howell complied. Then he leaned back with a wild look on his face.

  “What did he say?”

  “Uh, sir, he said, ‘If you are where you say, you cannot possibly see a submarine in any position along my path. If you can see a submarine, you apparently have no proper understanding of navigation and therefore are more hindrance than help. Please refrain from bothering me in the future.’”

  “Save me from arrogant old men who haven’t discovered we’re in a century of many wonders!” snapped the captain.

  The bridge crew stared at Chambers.

  Chambers continued, growling, “Please inform Captain Turner that we are an aeroplane carrier and that we do, indeed, possess the ability to see things along his path. I should not have to remind him that he is responsible for approximately two thousand people. Even should we not possess that capability, it behooves him to pay attention to the warning.”

  “He says he believes he has things w
ell in hand. He says his ship was designed to be too fast for any submarine to catch.”

  “Captain Turner, this is not a drill. Please take evasive action and prepare for a torpedo attack.”

  “He replied, ‘doing such would disturb those chattering monkeys unduly. I am unwilling to listen to that chattering on the word of some bloody colonial who is at best a poor sailor and at worst a danger to his crew.’”

  Chambers took a deep breath. “Very well, Captain Turner. Understand that I will hold you personally responsible if any of your passengers are harmed from your inaction. Should, of course, you yourself survive.” He shook his head. “Mr. Howell, record any future messages from him, but don’t bother me with them unless they are relevant.”

  “Understood, sir.”

  The captain turned to the bosun at the speaking tubes. “Please inform Commander Washington I need him in my briefing room immediately.” He turned to Ellyson. “Come with me.”

  When Washington entered the room, Chambers said, “Commander Ellyson, please explain the situation to Mr. Washington.”

  “Aye, aye, sir.” He complied.

  “Mr. Ellyson, what do you suggest we do?” asked Washington.

  “I take my BE.2.c with three other birds out, all with full bomb loads.”

  “And do what? The United States is still neutral. Are you suggesting we attack the U-boat in contravention of the President’s desire to stay out of the war?”

  “As we were reading up on the ships in the area, the references said the Lusitania carried something like two thousand people. If the U-boat does decide to attack her, it could be worse than the Titanic.”

  Chambers looked troubled. “Commander, I have to think about this.”

  “With all due respect, sir, we don’t have any time.”

  The captain shook his head. “Yes, we do.” He led them out of the briefing room. “Mr. Howell, please inform the rest of the squadron and all other vessels in range that we have spotted submarine activity in the area.” He turned back. “Mr. Washington, where’s the wind coming from?”

  “Wind out of the northwest, heading 330.”

  Turning back, the captain said, “Mr. Howell, you will then signal, not radio, all the other ships of the squadron that we will be turning into the wind imminently.”

  “Aye, aye, sir.” The lieutenant at the communications station turned to his equipment.

  “Pope, have the navigator plot a course to where Ellyson saw the Lusitania. Then would you be so good as to order four planes, including Commander Ellyson’s, fueled and armed with live munitions? Also, make sure Lieutenant Chevalier’s radio-equipped plane is ready to join them.”

  Now it was Commander Washington’s turn to raise his eyebrows. “As you command, sir.” He snapped the orders across the bridge.

  “Thank you, sir,” said Ellyson and he turned to leave.

  “Not so fast, Spuds. We have about ten minutes before the planes are ready to launch. That gives us a bit of time to determine our course of action. Mr. Washington, what do you think?”

  The executive officer pondered for a moment. “Sir, I think we have to seriously consider sending a flight to assist the Lusitania.”

  “If we attack the U-boat, we may very well have committed this country to this God-forsaken war. Given the casualty reports from the Western Front, if we attack that boat, we might be putting the lives of hundreds of thousands of American boys on the line.”

  “That’s true.” Washington grimaced. “However, didn’t we get sent out here in order to show we could operate away from the American coast? To tell the world what we could do? What better way to do that than to dissuade the U-boat from attacking the Lusitania?”

  “Yes, sir!” Ellyson turned to the captain. “I don’t have to attack the U-boat directly. Between the four armed birds in the flight, we’ll have twelve bombs. We can simply use those to herd the U-boat away from the Lusitania. We needn’t attack the Germans, just drive them off.”

  Chambers tapped his fingers together. Eventually, he replied, “Thank you, gentlemen, for your words. Go make the preparations, and I will give you a decision when you are ready.”

  The two commanders left and Chambers went back to his quarters. There, he took out his bible, pulled out a folded piece of paper, set it to the side, and turned to Psalm 104. Then to Psalm 107. Then he unfolded the piece of paper carefully. It had yellowed, which was not surprising, since his mother had sent it to him nearly forty years before. In her delicate script, the first words were, “Eternal Father, strong to save.”

  Someone knocked at his door.

  “Come,” commanded Chambers.

  Commander Washington leaned in. “Sir, Ellyson’s flight is ready.”

  “Lieutenant Chevalier?”

  “Ready to go as well.”

  I can’t not act.

  “Please inform Mr. Ellyson he has my permission to continue. He is to do all he can to prevent the U-boat from attacking the Lusitania up to and including attacking her directly if no other attempts succeed. He is to keep us apprised of all that happens via the radio. And may God have mercy on our souls.”

  “Aye aye, sir. For what it’s worth, I concur.”

  “Thank you, Commander Washington.”

  Washington saluted and left.

  Chambers stared at the page. A single tear dropped on it, blurring “brethren’s shield.”

  * * *

  Ellyson barely waited for the other planes in the flight to launch. He yelled back to his observer, “Relay a heading of 040, height 600. Tell them not to worry about formation but to extend our line. Two go to my left. Two to my right. Make sure Chevalier is next to us. They’re to go as far as they can and still see signals from the next plane over. We want to cover as much sea as we can.”

  The signals went out. “You’re going to owe them some beers, Spuds. They’re not exactly happy with you.”

  The pilot laughed harshly. “They’ll get over it, especially if we get the Lusitania to safety. Now keep your eyes peeled.”

  “Will do, Spuds.”

  The five BE.2.cs flew at about six hundred feet over the ocean. The line stretched about a mile in length.

  “Sir, I see smoke, bearing 350.”

  Spuds looked where his observer was pointing. “Good eyes, Melvin. Relay that down the line.”

  “Aye, aye.”

  “I’m going to wheel around the ship, then start zig-zagging across its path.”

  “Relayed.”

  Spuds turned slightly. Presently, he saw the tips of the stacks. Given the wake behind her, the Lusitania had just turned.

  The gaggle of passengers welcomed him again. This time, their revelry seems hideous and horrible.

  “Have Chevalier explain who we are and remind Captain Turner of the submarine activity.”

  “Aye, aye.” Wryly, Stolz added, “Probably just as well we can’t receive radio telegraph signals ourselves.” Then he lifted the complex series of signals.

  Presently, a sailor on the Lusitania came out on the foredeck of the liner and waved.

  “Tell the others, I’m going to swing over the ship and then we’ll begin our search pattern.” After a moment to allow the message to get to the other planes, Spuds guided them over the Lusitania. They swung back and forth several times before the far-right plane started flashing signals.

  “Sir! Lee’s spotted a submarine on the surface approximately eleven thousand yards away.”

  “Heading?”

  “110.”

  “Are they in range of their torpedoes?”

  “I don’t know, sir. We never got briefed on that.”

  “Yeah. Was just hoping you had an encyclopedia handy.”

  The observer laughed grimly. “If their torpedoes are anything like ours, he can’t be too far out of range if he launches at the lower speed.”

  “If he does that, the German torpedoes can’t be that much faster than the Lusitania, right?”

  “Probably not. Ours
wouldn’t be.”

  Ellyson sighed. “That’s probably why Captain Turner was so sanguine about the possibility. The submarine commander will have to get closer. Ours have a maximum range of about three thousand yards at high speed. We’ll just try and keep the sub about five thousand yards away. Order the flight to close in. Tell Chevalier to report the location of the sub to both the Lusitania and the Langley.”

  “Done, sir.”

  “Tell the others we’re going to circle between the U-boat and the Lusitania at about two hundred feet. Let’s make sure the sub sees us. Maybe they won’t want to tangle with us.”

  “Won’t she just submerge?”

  “Probably, but hopefully we can still see her shadow. It’s a bright, clear day, after all.”

  “We could just go bomb her now. She hasn’t reacted to us at all, yet.”

  Spuds stayed quiet for a long moment. “We can’t, Melvin. We don’t even know if it’s German or not. We have to wait for it to attack before we can do anything.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I thought you’d say.”

  “Make sure everyone knows to keep watching that sub.”

  “Signals sent, sir. Chevalier reports radio messages sent as well.”

  The commander didn’t respond, but put his plane in a slow, fuel-conserving circle between the Lusitania and the submarine.

  “They see us, sir. Looks like they’re preparing to dive.”

  “I’ll keep us banked as much as possible. Tell the other pilots to provide observers the best sight lines possible.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “When she’s submerged, tell me if you can or cannot see her shadow.”

  After a few minutes, Stolz responded, “She’s completely under, but on a day like today, I can probably see her shadow fifty feet or more below the surface.”

  “Good. Has she changed course?”

  “Yes, sir. Looks like she’s slowed and is creeping to an intercept route ahead of us.”

  “I’m going to spiral overhead. Tell the others to go ahead of us. We’ll try and keep a line between the Lusitania and her.”

  “Aye, aye, sir.”

  After about five minutes, Ellyson asked, “Has she moved away?”

  “No, sir, I don’t think the sub believes we can see her, or maybe doesn’t care.”