ALL IN A DAY'S WORK.

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume XLVII, Issue 15594, 10 August 1921, Page 9

ALL IN A DAY'S WORK.

■■ ■■■ DOINGS U>F THE DOVER PATROL

j Olio o’clock on :i. certain duy in Cctober, 1917. impenetrable darkness overshadowing Iho silent grey ships straining nt their cables a mile or so ol'i shore. Tho. lights ol A tuitions oM French seaport no longer blinked a friendly greeting to the keen i\\ed watchers on deck.

I Then suddenly, and yet silently-, a slit 1 of bustle and aeltvilv moves through the flotilla. Anchors t tse in uttison from the sea bed, and tin: snitgly secured in pltiee. Officers anil men a|i]iear in their respective si a I ions, and go about their various duties with a quiet efficiency. The Hot ilia is. How- fully awake, and preparing to put to sea, , l.ielo\v, beneath closed ajid shrouded .skylights, the engine-room sttitfs have warmed up their machinery, and a quarter of an hour previously the “chiefs” have reported to I heir respective 0.0.’s “All i eady below, sit !” ntnl now arc standing by-, stwilitlng orders on the engine-ioont telegraphs. All this, and not a, light visible oh deck. Presently ships begin to glide silently through I lie darkness, sorting out their partners with a eal-liko instinct, and a l"iv minutes later the flotilla has taken up stations, and is now in steamin'. formation. Ha If-it-dozen minesweepers join up in pairs, connect up their sweeping cables, spread oilt, and move oil' some distance ahead of a huge monitor, whose path it is their duty to keep cleat-. Ahead of the sweepers, a'nd astern of the. monitor, Bailey destroyers are busy, keeping a sharp look-out for submarines or other hostile craft. Again, to port arid starboard, steaming single line ahead, are yet more destroyers. Through the darkness the flotilla moves ahead, each ship keeping iis appointed station with only the help of two tiny red lights on the foremast. At daybreak the ships, have almost arrived at their destination,* a putt on the Belgian coast, which shall ever stand for one of the finest, deeds of dash and daring in the- history of the British Navv.

From starboard tobies the sound of rapid gunfire, and hashes from the screening destroyers on that- flank, show a somewhat too curious enemy is being dealt with in a manner extremely unpleasant for himself. That, lie lias decided to run for home is shortly proved by the sudden cessation of the gunfire, and once more the llotilla pushes uninterruptedly ahead, the incident being duly reported to the senior ship. Inter fo be pigeon-holed at the Admiralty without further comment, j Daylight now, and flag signals stream out from the liagship. while semaphores wag knowingly. I The minesweepers each draw dose to I heir partners, slip sweepers, haul their gear aboard, and gracefully fall into single line ahead, and a. game of follow the leader takes pi nee. In and out they go, zig-zagging, turning figure eights, describing circles and other weird manoeuvres, not unlike a skater on a frozen lake. The destroyers also seem to have gone crazy, for they, too. are heaving up the water into swirling masses of cron my foam as they race mad-

ly to and fro. j Three of (lie destroyers head -inshore making straight for the coast, and a;

suddenly they swing round at right angles again, steaming line allend, while lingo volumes of dense black smoke pour from their funnels, forming a screen behind which the monitor is hidden iron) the cncniv batteries ashore.

J iii’ii, after a few minutes’ preparation. the monitor speaks. Fi'cim the muzzle of one of her lb inch guns in

the huge forward barbette, spurts a sheet of lurid flame, and a massive steel projectile goes screaming through the air at an incredible speed, to bring ruin lit a. certain urea in wliieli it lias been calculated to fall. .following (lie llame comes a roar resouVidnig like a thunderclap, and presently No. 2 gun in the barbette joins in the din. Tor an hour or two the bombardment continues, w bile the ’planes of the R.F.C. hover over the city, taking photographic records of the cited of the lire, and correct errors by means of wireless coinmu’nieation. The enemy guns ashore are taking pot shots, hut the smoke-screen renders their attempts futile. Britain has not yet lost command of the North Sea.

But what is this? A buzz of excite ment causes admiring eves to travel from the mighty roaring monitor to a rapidly-approaching black speck, cleaving through the water at no less than' 40 knots. Thus a new move in the game of war is introduced by our crafty foe, tor here is something to which nearly till hands are strangers, although of late weird rumors have passed around the mess deck from the ward-room, by way of an indiscreet officers’ steward. The speck swiftly grows into tho raZor-like nose of a high-powered launch, travelling at a speed so amazingly rapid that it puts the British gunners on their mettle. And although the water in the immediate vicinity of the intruder is literally hoiling with exploding shells, no direct hit a are recorded.

i Its objective, without doubt., is the 'monitor, as this ship Inis by now censed firing, ami is busily engaged in attempting to manoeuvre out of harm's way. Hut whichever way the monitor moves or swings, her spiteful adversary does likewise, as though magnetically attracted. The small craft has a tremendous advantage in speed, and even i lie newest and fastest ol our destroyers fail to overtake her. The monitor appears betwitchcd, and the distance between her and her pursuer rapidly diminishes.

.Meanwhile, cool heads and keen brains have been busy seeking a solution, to which an enemy aeroplane high overhead at once proves the key. Strange code signals, evidently of enemy origin, ate picked up by the Hritish wireless operators, and an order goes round for all ships to jamb these signals forthwith. Strange as it may appear, the expected happened, for the vicious little black craft continued on a straight course, to bo calmly intercepted by a destroyer approaching from the opposite direction. A well-directed shot knocks the stern clean oil' the offender, whereupon she tills with water and rapidly sinks, -taking her damnable charge of high explosive with her. The. mow? Crew she had none, for it wits later learned from secret sources that two launches had set out together, and when suilicieiitly near our ships, the engines of the •‘stunt" ship had been put, full ahead, and Iter crctt rapidly transferred to the sister vessel, which thm made for home. Aslmre, secure iu a dug-out among the sand dunes, a wireless operator received signals from the spotting "plane overhead, and by means of .111 ingeiiious electrical device controlled the movements of the litl-lo craft which carried no crew.

Hal for the training which leaches the Hrilish naval otiiecr' to reason coolly in limes ot danger, a mighty monitor with all her crew might have been sent to the bottom, hut the scheme, like manv others, was frustrated. And as though to prove his annoyance, the enemy allowed us to depart in peace, since the days work had been accomplished; but ;m linin' later eleven hostile ’plum's appeared in the heavens, astern "I I be

homeward-bound flotiila. Rapidly they overtook the ships, and at a high altitude commenced bombing operations with very little success, most of the missiles falling into the sea. Anir-air-erall guns harked viciously from tite decks of every ship, and with a confident smile Ilia captain of the monitor quietly amioidicf'd thy ”action terminated” as the aeroplanes were seittl to wheel ahold in eofil’usiori aiid head ■Tot' the coast- aiid hoihe.

By noon fhe ships oii.ee more lay straining their cables, and the ordinary routine of the day is carried on. Those off duly amuse themselves by reclining in more or less comfortable positions-—a feat somewhat dillicuit of attainment on the mess decks of H.M. ships of wav — while a pipe of tobacco, and a much begrimed magazine, add further fo Hie enjoyment and leisure. Euflicic.'il unto the day ! Of the morrow they know nothing: nor do they care, for when the time comes nil know iliitl I heir snttls will respond, for Midi is the wav of the Navv. '•sBLtT-mv'