STORY OF THE SWIFT AND THE BROKE

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 3137, 16 July 1917, Page 6

STORY OF THE SWIFT AND THE BROKE

THRILLING DESTROYER FIGHT IN THE CHANNEL BOARDERS AND CUTLASSES Never has a more niagnificent Btorv been told? than that of the fight between the British destroyer leaders Swift and Broke and six- German destrojsors in the Channel on Friday, April 20. Tho full details are now aisclosed:

The British destroyer leaders Swift and Broke, on night patrol in the Channel, were proceeding orx & westerly coureo when, at 12.10 a.m., -jthe. Switt sighted an enemy flotilla on tto port bow, proceeding in the opposite direction at liijjh epeed. Tho night, though calm, wa* inteusoly dark, and when' first sighted the enemy were within GOfl yards: range. Simultaneously tho on board the German destroyers were beard to ripple down the line and in a blaze of Hashes they opened fire, 'the Swift instantly replied, and the'©Jmrnandfi'ij, ,, Officer, Commander Ambrose M. Pettk, decided without hesitation to ram the- leadIng enemy destroyer. At his order the wlieel was wrenched round and the Swilt, with every occupant of her bridge, temporarily blinded by flashes, drove straight for the enemy. Now it must be realised that the operation of ramming one of a Wjie of destroyers, dashing through pitch darkness at between 20 and 30 knots, is an exceedingly delicate one. An initial ims■eaiculation of a few degrees of helm, a few revolutions of the propellers more or lees, spell failure, Failure may, and probably does, mean being rammed by the next boat in the enemy line. Tho Swift missed, but shot through the line unscathed. Sho turned like a hawk upon-

a quarry, and, in turning, neatly torpedoed another boat in the line. A«ain she dashed at the leading boat, which once more eluded her, and, without tiring another shot, made off into the darkness at full speed, with the Swift in pur-Hand-to-hand Fight. On first sighting the enemy fihe Broke, commanded by Comniauder Kdward K. G. 11 Jivnns, C.8., was steaming astern of the Swift. Upon the latter altering course to ram the leader, the Broke launched a torpedo at .the second boat in the line, which hit her, anil then opened fire with every giin that -would boar. The six enemy boats, stoking furiously for full speed, emitted a diilL glow from every funnel, which lit tliett ibpper works and enabled the captain ot the Broke to decide upon his tactics. Holding his course for a moment to gather speed for the blow,, ho swung round to port and rammed the third; boat at full Sliced, fair and square abreast the after-funnel. Locked toother thus, tho two boats, foiii'ht a desperate and hand-to-hand conflict. Tho Broke swept tho enemy's decks .at point-blank rang*, with every gun from mam armament to pom-pom, 51-axim, rifle, and pistol. In the meanwhile the remaining two destroyers in the German line poured r devastating fire upon, tho Broke. Iho foremost guns' crews were reduced from 18 men to C, and Midshipman Donald A. Gyles, R.N.R., in charge of tho forecastle, though wounded in tho eye, kept »1! foremost guns in action, hinißelr assisting the depleted crews to load. AVlnle no vas thus employed a number of frenzied Germans swarmed up over the Brokes forecastle out of the rammed destroyer, and finding themselves amid tno blinding flashes of the forecastle guns,, swept aft in a shouting mob. The midshipman, amid the dead and wounded of his guns crews and half-blinded by blood, met tho rush sinsle-handcd with an automatic revolver; he was grappled by a German, who attempted to wrest the weapon from Invaders Forced Overboard. Cutlasses and rifles with fixed bayonets being among tho equipment of the foremost guns' crews in anticipation of just such events as were now taking place, tno German was promptly bayoneted l>y Able-Seaman Ingleson. The remainder of the invaders, with tho exception of two who lay down and feigned death, were driven over the side, lhe two exceptions were subsequently made prieouOf the original six Gorman destroyers there were now three remaining in the line. Two minutes after ramming the Broke succeeded intrenching herself free from her sinking adversary, and turned to ram the last boat in the line. She failed in this achievement, but as she swun" round succeeded in hitting tms boat's consort on the stem with a torpedo. Hotly engaged with these two fleeing destroyers, the Broke then attempted,to follow"the Swift in the direction in which she was last seen; a shell, however, struck the Broke in the boiler-room, disabling her main engines. The enemy was then lost to sight in the darkness. Still carryins considerable way, tne Broke altered her course and headed v tho direction of a destroyer heavily on lire whose ciew, on sighting the Broke, sent up loud shouts for mercy. She was burning fiercely, and then, regard ess of the danger from her magazines exploding, the Broke steered towards her still movin* slowly through the water The shouts and cries of "Save! Save!" were re-, doubled, when the German unexpectedly ol The Broke, being then out of control and unable to manoeuvre or extricate herself, silenced the treachery with lour rounds; and then, to ensure her own safety, fired a torpedo and hit the German destroyer amidships. In the meanwhile, the Swift had continued her pursuit of the leading boat ■until'the injuries she had received in the earlier phases of tho action, thoiign in themselves slight, prevented her from maintaining full speed, bho thereupon abandoned the chase and turned in search of a| fresh quarry. The outline of a stationary destroyer was presently sighted in the darkness ahead, and as she drew near a confused noise of voices resolved itself into more distinct and evidently organised sounds as from a large number of men snouting together in time. Wearily, and somewhat perplexed by tho uproar, the Swift approached with her guns trained on tho stranger. I Ins presently tdsolvcc! itself into the sinking German destroyer that had been rammed by the Broke, whose crew were bellowing' in unison:

"We surrender! We surrender!" With a not unreasonable suspicion of treachery, tho Swift awaited developments. Apparently realising that then breath would bo wanted for more energetic measures, the crew of the. German destroyer presently stopped shouting. She heeled slowly over, while her ship's company hastily took to the water, and sank stern first. As no other enemy appeared to bo in sight, and the action, which had lasted approximately five minutes, appeared to bo over, . tho Swift switched on her searchlights, and .lowered boats to rescue the swimmers.

■ Tho Swift and the Broke then proceeded to exchange the details of the action by tho medium of a flashing lamp and (the Brake's circuits having been cut) an electric torch. Their respective ships' companies gavo vent to some pardonable exhilaration by cheering each other out of the darkness till they were hoarse. The British casualties were comparatively light, and the spirit of the wounded is epitomised by tho conduct of the Broke'e helmsman, Able-Sea-.liian William G. Howies; this man, though hit four times by shell fragments, remained at. the wheel throughout the action, and finally only betrayed the fact that he was wounded by reporting to his captain, "I'm going off now, nir," and fainting.