ATLANTIC PATROL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 24633, 14 June 1941, Page 10

ATLANTIC PATROL

SUNDERLAND AIRCRAFT NEW ZEALAND AIRMEN ADVENTURES AT SEA (0.C.) LONDON. May 18. Four New Zealand airmen in Britain, have a distinction of which they are; proud—they are the only New Zealanders at present posted to the 25-ton Sunderland aircraft. Three of them are sergeant observers from Wellington—D. Shakes. W. J. Wakelin and’ N. H. Welsh. The fourth is Flight Lieutenant G. G. Stead, who comes from Hastings. Flight Lieutenant R. J: Vauhan (Hastings) was attached fe the same unit for a period, but he was transferred to ferrying Catalina air - , craft from America to Britain. All through the winter these • New Zealanders have been flying long hours over the lonely sea wastes of the North Atlantic. Operating from the North of Britain, they have roamed above convoys, keeping a look-out for German submarines - they have searched for raiders; they have seen battleships of the Home Fleet, including the King George V. ploughing through masses of green waves: and:they have assisted in rescuing survivors from torpedoed merchantmen. A Rescue at Sea

' “A good deal of our work is often boring,” said Sergeant Observer Shakes. “We have flown for as long as 11 hours without seeing anything at all, and once we were, in the air for just over 17 hours. We had a great trip recently, however, and we were able to be the means of saying' the survivors of a torpedoed ship about 400 miles from Iceland. “ They had been on the water for six or seven days, and we had been out searching for them. It was a great moment when we found them. As we circled above we could see them standing up in the boats, cheering and waving like mad. As quickly as we could, we put all our iron rations into three mail'bags. Then we put our Mae West lifebelts into the bags, and blew them up so that they would float. The pilot dropped down just above the waves, throttled back, .and threw the bags overboard. V ‘ • 7 , , . “ I was in the astro dome looking out, and it just about brought tears into my eyes to see the joy and relief of those in the boats when they picked up the bags. ,We did as much as we could for them, and one,of our boys produced a tin of 50 cigarettes which he stuck -up with adhesive tape before putting it into one of the mail bags. Picked Up By Warship

“We gave them a course to steer for Iceland, as they were going in the wrong direction, and then we sent on a message to base to despatch a warship to pick them up. Afterwards we heard that they were all on board within five hours. We all felt pretty pleased about it, and had the ‘ satisfaction of doing something worth while. . , ,

“On another trip, we also sighted the survivors of the Rajputana. This held a special interest for me because when we were coming to England from New Zealand it was the Rajputana which escorted our convoy. “We did not see the Rajputana because, she had sunk 20 minutes before wp arrived. There was a huge patch of oil on the water, and the lifeboats were spread out over a radius of 30 miles. We rounded them up together, and then guided warships towards them. Later they were picked up., The Rajputana was torpedoed late one evening,' and early the following morning, and we had got there about mid-day. “We haven't seen a submarine so far, but we are looking forward to getting a sight of one.” - ■

The crew of a Sunderland flying boat numbers 12, and three-quarters of them live on the “ boat.” They cook all their meals in it, and they make it their home. Patrolling convoys is strenuous and tiring work. Often the giant Sunderlands take off in the dark and are well out from land as dawn is breaking. Breakfast is served sharply at 7 o’clock, and one of the favourite meals is bacon and eggs. These-are cooked by one of 'the fitters, and the crew go to the wardroom for the,- meal.-, ; A three-course dinner is also usually served while the boat is flying in Wide circles round the convoy. For hours the Sunderland drones above the ships strung out below • it. and does not leave them until orders are received from the base to return. As the daylight is gradually fading the Sunderland reaches its base, and as it is touching down the crew begins to prepare to turn in for a well-earned rest. Weather plays an all-important part in the lives of the convoy patrol airmen.' The Atlantic in winter time is. a wilderness of wind-whipped waves, driving winds, and sometimes heavy snow storms. Ice forms on the wiMS at sea level, and gales add to the difficulties of navigation. Fleet in the Atlantic “One of the greatest, sights I have seen was the fleet steaming .alone in a 45-knot Atlantic gale,” said Sergeant Shakes. “We could see the King George cleaving through the water. Great sheets of green sea broke continually over the- bows and, swept uo against the turrets, spray shooting high into the air. The escorting destroyers were bobbing about and wallowing in the sea and generally haying a much more uncomfortable time. We were much more comfortable up above, but we could easily have dope without the 45-knot gale ” “It’s a great life,” said Sergeant Shakes, “ and I think we had a bit of luck in being posted to Sunderlands.”