THE MYSTERY SHIPS

Taranaki Daily News, 4 August 1930, Page 12

THE MYSTERY SHIPS

COM BA T ING SUBM ARIN ES. MANZ DEVICES EMPLOYED. • Adventures on a “Mystery Ship,” the enemy of the German submarines during the latter part of the Great War, were told by Lieutenant-Commander R. W. Nesbit, D. 5.0., R.N.V.R., at a well-at-tended meeting of the Victoria League literary branch at Auckland. Mr. Nesbit was gunnery officer on three of these ships. The principle-of the ships, said Mr. Nesbit, was to provide a fairly heavilyarmed ship which by its innocuous appearance would bring the enemy within adequate range. Submarines could submerge within 30 seconds if necessary, and they never showed themselves aoove water within range to an armed vessel. A “mystery ship” was one on which was concealed a considerable armament which could be brought into use in a few seconds. False decking, false funnels, tarpaulin deck-houses, and innumerable ingenious devices were employed to carry out this concealment adequately, and the whole crew was trained to carry the deception to its fullest limits. The first mystery ship on which he served, said Mr- Nesbit, was the Farmbrough, a converted coastal collier. It commenced its patrol around the coasts of Ireland. One of the plans adopted was to create the impression that panic had broken out among the crew as soon as the first shot was fired by the submarine, and everyone had to run wildly around the deck. Then an effort had to be made to launch the boats, and care’ was always taken to tip them up and so create further apparent confusion. Finally ft section of ths crew would get away in the boats and all those left on board would keep under cover so that it would appear that the ship had been deserted. By means of various artifices, the boats’ crews would lure the submarine as close to the ship as possible, and then suddenly, the false bulwarks would be lifted, the white ensign would be flown, and simultaneously a°broadsido would be directed on the submarine from the guns, which liad been concealed.

At first the scheme adopted was to fly a neutral Hag and to masquerade as some particular boat that chanced to be in the vicinity. To do that, huge changes would have to be made overnight. Funnels and hulls would bo repainted, new names attached, a.nd even the deck-line and funnel shape altered. By this means the submarines could be brought within range without suspicion being aroused. Great skill and ingenuity was required to carry this out successfully. Later, however, the tactics were changed and the new scheme was to invite torpedoing or shelling. After receiving a terrible battering, a panicky “desertion” of the ship would be carried out, but a largo number of the crew would remain concealed. After a shelling that might last for two hour or more, the submarines would approach to inspect their victim and would have the tables abruptly turned on 'them. The ordeal of hiding behind tarpaulin false bulwarks while, the ship was being shelled naturally called for great nerve. “Never once, however,” concluded Air. Nesbit, “did I see the crew lose their presence of mind or fail to carry out their duty.”