RAIDERS AND SUBMARINES

Evening Star, Issue 23675, 7 September 1940, Page 9

RAIDERS AND SUBMARINES

THRILLS ON GUN DUTY DUNEDIN RATINGS SEE LIFE ALONGSIDE WHEN FRENCH DESTROYER BLEW UP British tanker. broken only by a short period oi heavy anti-aircraft artillery watch in a West Coast port. ha« been the experience of two local naval ratings—A.B.s Dennison and S. C. scorgie, of Dunedin. Leaving New Zealand in m:u-Ncvem-ber las: as some of the first to be given action stations, the pair began to see life after leaving Panama, with a short preliminary cruise tnrough the Hawaiian islands. Travelling in a convoy of 30 ships from a Canadian port, a Greek steamer ran ashore m a heavy fog. which delayed the convoy a few days. Nothing else of note transpired, and the convoy reached England without- being molested.

After a period of duty on anti-air-craft guns on the west coast, during which instructions had been given not to fire at enemy aircraft—isolated ones —-living over, the pair were again sent to sea in the same tanker, visiting the West Indian Islands and America. Second time out. almost at the destination, a ship appeared on the horizon, and. as usual, the skipper of the tanker changed course. The other ship followed suit, drawing up rapidly. Five miles off. she started signalling, but did not believe the return signals, preferring to heave alongside with guns trained on the tanker. It was a tense moment, but all was well—the stranger was a friend. On - the return journey there was plenty of action. _ Three clays out-from England, again in convoy, the signal cjrae from the escorts that there were *‘ submarines in close vicinity.” Hardly an hour had gone when the word came through that four of the convoy had been sunk in enemy action—including one of the largest tankers in the world. After landing, the pair were sent to a northern Scottish town, and there witnessed the blowing up the French destroyer when a torpedo war-head was dropped. It started a fire that blew up the magazine—and half the ship with it. There were many casualties, for many were down below, unable to get out. One unfortunate sailor was pinned half in and half out of the porthole, and went down that way. struggling; no one was able to give him any help.

The concussion Scored the majority oi those on board the ship on were ! A.B.s Dennison and Scorgie. It- broke j all the windows; the ranker was rignt ] alongside, but was well out of danger. | While waiting for convoy to ! this voyage the'pair met flying-officer | Dave Finlayson, who was recently re- | ported killed in an aircraft accident, i They did not lean; of bis death until arriving back in New Zealand, although \ B x'-orgie nau a rendezvous with Mr Finlayso'.Ts brother Allan in London, i In London, foorgie bathed for a short . - ’ _’orv. being mistaken I for a seaman from H.M.S, 'Hardy, of • which the personnel had just returned, j What a reception he got! i There- must have been a Jonan aboard j when they next sailed ;u the tauscr. 1 She collided with a new cruiser and an 1 armed raider : the steering year broke ■ down in a river; and when the convoy I was joined there was a submarine waitI ing round to select one or two victims. 1 She herself proved the victim, for. with { the aid of a Sunderland bomber and I a few depth charges, she was accounted ! for satisfactorily. The “ sub.” was so j deep that the usual water spout from the depth charge was very small. On the same voyage the tanker j picked up an SOS from a British ship j that- was being attacked by a suh--1 marine; but after much manoeuvring i she managed to elr.de the German. When transferred hack to the West | Country to anti-aircraft guns, the pair | saw two enemy aircraft diet before thev could do any damage. They were also present at a raid on another town on the south coast. The bombs hit an oil tank, but it had been exhausted of almost all its fuel supply. Almost empty, it burned for_ an hour and a-half. The bomb landed very near the ship on which the pair were coming back to New Zealand. It was a quiet trip out. but a warnI ing was received of a raider operating inAlie Dutch Indies vicinity. Not long after, a Scandinavian steamer was torpedoed and sunk on the course lately vacated by the passenger steamer. There was' one scare as a ship drew near, and the skipper went- up on the bridge in a hurry, while the engineroom was warned, but it turned out to be a neutral battleship escorted by three destroyers.

‘The passenger steamer then picked up the Turakina SOS from the Tasman, and double watches were set. There was no further excitement until the pair arrived safe and sound back in Auckland. Now in Dunedin on leave, they look none the worse for the experiences of the last- 10 months, expressing themselves bored with the “ quiet ” life.

Contrary to opinions expressed at times in New Zealand, England is still a happy country despite the exigencies of war* conditions, they noted, at the time they left. Rationing is not as bad as it sounds; everyone is getting plenty.