CURACOA TRAGEDY

Auckland Star, Volume LXXVI, Issue 200, 24 August 1945, Page 8

CURACOA TRAGEDY

CAPTAIN'S EVIDENCE

U-BOAT WARNING DENIED

LONDON

This is the story of the sinking of the cruiser Curacoa by the liner Queen Mary off the north coast of Ireland on October 2, 1942, as told by Captain John Wilfrid Boutwood, captain of the warship. The captain was one of 101 survivors from the cruiser —329 men were lost. It was a fine day, visibility was good, the sea was running a heavy swell The Queen Mary, on a secret Admiralty zig-zag course known as No. 8, came into collision with the crdiser. The Curacoa was carved in two. In five minutes all that was left of the warship had disappeared. Captain Boutwood came to the High Court to tell his story, of the sinking to the judge hearing an action brought by the Admiralty against the Cunard-White Star Company. A claim for at least £750 000, on the loss of the cruiser alone, is involved. Sitting with Mr. Justice Pilcher were two Elder Brethren of Trinity House, Captain G. C. H. Noakes and Captain W. E. Crumphn. On the barristers' benches was laid out an enormous blackboard on which were printed the points of the compass. The courtroom was strewn with highly secret Admiralty documents —code books and diagrams for which the enemy would have paid any price during the last five years. Sandy-haired Captain Boutwood, with two rows of medal decorations on his tunic, gave his evidence without emotion until he was asked to explain what happened when the two vessels collided. Escape of Steam Then he told of the cruiser going down under the waves to a deafening noise of escaping steam which even killed the shouts of "Abandon Sh He bowed his head in the witnessbox, gritted his teeth, paused for a moment, and said: "The Queen Mary steamed on after the smash ... it was the proper thing for her to do. .... She was m escort ... We were picked up later. We who still remained in the wstcr • Captain Boutwood is the only witness concerned in the Curacoa s navigation—"all the other people concerned having lost their lives. He described how his cruiser, with a destroyer escort, had gone out into the Atlantic to meet the Queen Mary at a rendezvous. . When ne was on the bridge he and other officers had a "feeling of doubt as to whether the Queen Mary was maintaining a perfectly steady course." His officers agreed with him. They were not quite confident that the liner's course was steady and they remained in that state of doubt for a "longish period." Captain Boutwood described how he went to the voice-piece on the bridge #and by doing so took over command of the ship. He gave the order "Starboard 15. Soon he realised that the distance between the ships was becoming less at an alarming rate, and that a dangerous situation was looming. He did all he could to avert a collision, but the Queen Mary struck the cruiser just forward of X turret on the port side at an acute angle. "Queen Mary went over the top of and between the two pieces of my ship," said the captain. "In five minutes my ship sank."

Captain Boutwood said reports that there had been a warning about the presence of a U-boat were wrong. Cunard-White Star Line, Ltd., deny that the collision was caused through the negligent navigation of the Queen Mary and they bring a counter-allegation of negligent navigation against the Curacoa, which is also denied. In the statement of claim the Admiralty alleges that the Queen Mary failed to keep a good look-out and improperly and at an improper time altered course to starboard. Also that she failed to indicate her manoeuvres with whistle signals.

In its claim the Cunard Company alleges that those on board the Curacoa failed to keep a good look-out, failed to keep clear of the Queen Mary, failed to conform with secret zig-zag No. 8, approached too close to the Queen Mary, improperly and at an improper time altered course to port, and failed to keep the cruiser under proper or any control. The senior first officer of the Queen Mary, Noel James Robinson, of Carnforth, Lanes, who was on the bridge on the fateful October 2, said, "I regarded it as the cruiser's duty to keep out of the way." The junior first officer, Stanley Joseph Wright, of Atherton, Lanes, said, "My captain told me. 'Don't worry about the cruiser. She will keep out of your way. Those chaps are used to escorting and won't interfere with you.'", Taking Photographs Albert Hewitt, third senior officer aboard the Queen Mary, told the Court that shortly before she sank the cruiser Curacoa an officer on the cruiser's bridge appeared to be taking photographs with a miniature camera.

Soon afterwards the distance between the two vessels narroAved so rapidly that he warned other officers on the bridge of the Queen Mary. Asked why he thought there was no danger beforehand, Mr. Hewitt said: "Any touch of starboard helm (to the right) after I came on the bridge would have taken the cruiser well clear of us." It has been stated that the Queen Mary was steaming a secret navigational course known as Zig-Zag No. 8. Earlier witnesses stated that the accident could not have been avoided if the Queen Mary's 175,000 horsepower engines had been reversed within two minutes of the crash Mr. R. F. Hayward, K.C., for Cunard-White Star, said that the Queen Mary's engines had never been run hard astern (reverse). To have done so when she was travelling at full speed would have stripped the turbines of their blades, so great would have been the strain on the engines. The case was adjourned for an indefinite period to enable witnesses who were aboard the Queen Mary to return to this country. One officer is in Australian waters and the helmsman in Eastern waters. The action is likely to make history. While the Admiralty Commissioners are the plaintiffs and CunardWhite Star the defendants, the Admiralty Court differs from other high courts in that the judge may return a verdict apportioning blame on one side or both, and to what degree. Should the Queen Mary be blamed in any particular, the relatives of the officers and men lost in the cruiser may claim compensation on a civilian basis from Cunard-White Star. On the other hand, should the blame be placed on the Curacoa they become entitled only to Service pensions and whatever compensation the Admiralty may award.