NIGHTMARE TRIP
MURMANSK IN WINTER
What it means to take a minesweeper to Murmansk in winter is told by Lieutenant-Commander W. E. Peters, who returned to Britain after handing one of these gallant lit hie ships over to the Russian fleet.
Commander Peters, who was in charge of the Sumba, gave this account of the voyage: "It was a nightmare trip, what with ice formation, mist, gales, floating field ice, and enemy attacks. Ice formation was' the big enemy. It formed so quickly and was so thick that for two or three days we were in danger of becoming top-heavy and overturning. Steam hoses were useless against it. They melted a section, but the running water froze before you could direct the hose on the next bit.
"It was 3ft and 4ft deep on the decks and wheelhouse. Spray broke over the bows and seemed to freeze in midair.
"Electric heaters were used to keep the armament in working order, but a man had to stand by all the time to chip the ice away from the mountings. "We finally had to abandon our course to turn and run before the wind so that all hands could get to work with pickaxes and hack the ice away. We cleared 40 tons in an hour. It was as hard as concrete."
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/EP19440122.2.57
Bibliographic details
Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 18, 22 January 1944, Page 7
Word Count
220NIGHTMARE TRIP Evening Post, Volume CXXXVII, Issue 18, 22 January 1944, Page 7
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