N.Z. Yachtsmen Torpedoed At Sea

Northern Advocate, 27 May 1941, Page 7

N.Z. Yachtsmen Torpedoed At Sea

The experiences of three Wellington yachtsmen and R.N.V.R. members, Messrs. S. Percival, H. Marsden and C. Lang, who were members of the gun crew of a tanker when it was torpedoed in the Atlantic, have been related in a letter from Mr. Percival, who is the son of Mrs. E. Percival, Saar Street, Highland Park, Wellington. “It happened on the night of January 29 at about 1.10 a.m. some five or six hundred miles off the coast of Ireland,” Mr Percival states. “The first I heard was a terrific explosion. I could not see a thing at first, but Harry Marsden, who was on watch at the time, pointed to the ship next to us and said that it had come from there. I could just make out the ship and it appeared to be sinking very fast and almost looked as though it would turn on its side before very long. That was all we had time to see, for there was quite a bit to do if we should be the next. “Just then the telephone rang and the order was ‘gun’s crew stand by.’ In the meantime Harry had fitted the rockets so that should we be hit all we would have to do would be to set a match to them, thus giving the escort a chance to sight the enemy and also to warn other ships that we had been hit. Just as I dropped the receiver of the phone we got it, so I called to Harry to let the flares go. He set off one and I the other, then we made a dash and cut the rafts adrift, but these failed to slide off, so we had to leave them and go for the boats. “By the time we got round to the boats they had already been lowered into the water, or at least what we thought was water, but in reality was petrol, and nearly everyone was in them. - The smell of the gas was terrific and I found myself getting very light-headed and I wanted to sing and shout, but I was able to control myself. I managed to slide down a lifeline and land in the boat. I was last in the boat and just managed to call to someone in the bows to cut the painter, and that is the last I remember. “The next thing I remember was scrambling yp what later turned out to be a destroyer/ but at the time I was too busy being sick to care what it was. I must have dropped off again

for the next thing I remember was someone giving me a hot cup of coffee. We picked up a further five life-boats from ships that had been in the same position as ourselves. “Just before dawn all those off oui’ ship were transferred to a trawler and we were to wait till it was light to see if there was any possibility of our bringing her in.under her own power. Daylight found her with the mainmast down and a gaping hole in her side, or perhaps it would be better to say one section of tanks had been ripped completely out, leaving the decks buckled, while the winch, which must have got the entire force of the explosion, wrapped itself round the flying bridge. We cruised about all morning and it was thought advisable not to go aboard till more of the gas and fumes had been blown away. “After lunch volunteers were called to go aboard and see if it would be possible to get the engines started. Six of us went under the mate, but when we got aboard we found that the engine room was in about 2ft of petrol, so therefore it would be impossible to start the engine. This message we conveyed to the captain, who was still on the trawler, so he sent back to see if there was ,any chance of getting any stores. We raided the store-room. Next we loaded the only remaining lifeboat,, then lowered it into the water and set it adrift, and as it drifted past the ship the trawler came alongside and took everything off. . '

“When we returned to the trawler there was a conference to see if it would be possible to rig up some towing device, and at last it was .agreed that it would be possible but the towing wire would have to be rigged from our ship and passed to the trawler, so once again volunteers were asked for. „

“It was now dusk, but we were able to get aboard, for it was dead calm. We worked for four hours solid and the fumes were just about killing us. We managed to get two 190 fathoms of sin. wire hauled up and made fast to the bits and we were ready to pass it out to the trawler ready for towing when it broke in two under us. There was a mad scramble for the boat and we managed to get safely ; away, but only just. Next morning the two halves were still floating about a mile apart, and as we could.. do nothing further we returned to port. In ondonderry we were taken over by che Naval Control and sent to Belfast for orders.” The New Zealand boys left the Dominion in November, 1939, as gun crew on board the tanker.