HARD KNOCKS.

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XLV, Issue 18, 3 May 1911, Page 42

HARD KNOCKS.

(By

PERCY WESTERMAN.)

IGHT lulls on a grey October morning. Fretting at her moortsgs •6 i in Kethole Reach, on the Lower Medway, lay the huge armoured cruiser Aseupart, with steam up and the signal. ‘'Request permission to part company,'' fluttering from her masthead in the raw nor’-easterly breeze. Few of the thousands who had seen the cruiser at naval reviews would have recognised the Aseupart in her lighting trim. Her foretopmast and crossyards, muxeessary top-hamper in action, had vanished, leaving only the massive tripods, surmounted by that hazardous post of honour, the tire-control station, 'file tnaintopmast had, on account of the wireless gear, to remain in position, taking its chance of being demolished in action, while the three funnels, their shrouds '‘trapped” with chain and steel hawsers, were emitting a thin haze of smoke, in spite of most careful stoking and oil-feeding. With the exception of a pair of steel lifeboats that hung from lofty and curiously shaped davits, and the patent Kisbie's lifebuoys lashed to the extremities of the denuded after-bridge, the whole of the boats and life-saving appliances had vanished. These had been “returned to store” on the previous day; for. after an action, a warship, should she survive or not, has no use for a deckload of shattered boats. Chart house, cowls, stanchions, and ail other useless, though at other times necessary, gear were removed, while the bases of the four armoured; gun-turrets were additionally protected by coils of steel cable.

Below decks the work of demolition was equally drastic. The mess-tables and hammocks of the men. and the cabin Utting of the officers had suffered the same ruthless fate. It was the grim sternness of war.

Vthr had Jiroken out—it .could'.not be: descriUvai as “being the' wliolcjol-the east,coast ,w as in arsttneof; appreheneioiE-Httlc knowing when a fleet’ of hostiiegsliipsf-iwtfnld sweipsdown upon, t he-uupiaitgited Towns .tp_e.oxeg.the_land-_ ing «f an ahiiy corp-, or. at least, to demand a Jiettyy ransom. r ~.-~ .. ,

The Atlantic Fleet, manoeuvring olf Shetland.- had been reea'Hed—by- wireless to a rendezvous in Cromarty .Firth; while the’ Home Fleet, with two of its units undir ‘ refit at Portsmouth hud one at Dvvbnjyirt. was - hiiriying ■ up-fhanfiel under fptyeyl-draught from Bantry Bay. \lea'nw"hile the’ Aseupart .on her voyage frofn Spifhead: to Bosyth, w here she was to have joined the Atlantic Fleet. Jiad been ‘‘.picked up by wireless” off Dover, and ordered, to put in to the Medway to await’.special service orders. These were brief, yet explicit. A few. days before seven submarines of the new “K” type had left ■Sheerness for Rosyt4i r under the escort of .the Thetis; an obso; lete second-class cruiser of but sixteen knots, that acted as the "parent ship” of the Nore flotilla. These boats’ were to execute a series of manoeuvres on the Dogger Bank on their way north.

Two days ago the < ommander.-in-C'hief at the Nore received an unintelligible message from the Thetis; then—an ominous silence.

Thus the reason of H.M.s. Ascupart’s tqx-eial service mission—to find the submarine flotilla if possible; to’ keep in touch with the admiral by means of wireless, and. although forbidden to attack. not to decline an engagement with any of the enemy's cruisers.

Officers and men. fired with zeal and enthusiasm, hailed with delight the prospect of seeing active service. Home ties ami personal considerations were temporarily lost sight of in their determination to uphold the glorious traditions of the British flag.

To Gerald Fordyce the outlook was doubly attractive. With a “first-class in torpedo,” a recently gained “first in gunnery,” and a “second in navigation,” this sub-lieutenant was a typically keen young officer, and «in the coming enterprise he hoped to gain distinction.

Well be remembered his father’s words when he bade his parent farewell on joining Osborne College: “Home youngsters have influence behind them, my lad; others have to trust to their own efforts. I fear there's precious little inliiienec behind you; but do your duty., ami when your chance does come, seize iu"

Here, then, was a possible chaace, and, by lids duty to King and country, and to the honour of his family, he resolved to exert himself to the utmost.

“I wonder what young Diek is up to now’’’ he thought. “’Lucky beggar! 1 wish I had volunteered for submarine work!”

Diek was Gerald’s brother, two years his junior, and had recently been appointed to "sub-luff” to K 5, one of the submarines that the Aseupart was to look for. Did Gerald but know it, Ricnard Fordyce was at that moment in a pretty tight’ corner. Gerald's reveries were broken by the appearance of a yeoman of signals, who, slate in hand, handed the anticipated message to the officer of the watch. ‘‘The permission, sir,” reported the latter to the captain, who was impatiently pacing the denuded fore-bridge. “Very good. Carry on.” In the service there is a power of meaning in the words “carry on.” Sometimes it implies that the senior officer wishes

to shift his responsibility on to the shoulders of his junior; but more frequently it is an expression. that signifies the unqualified appreciation of a subordinate’s capabilities.

; Clang, clang; went the engine-room indicator; the mooring bridle was slipped, and at a-steady-ten knots the Aseupart glided noiselessly past Garrison Point, then, increasing her speed to eighteen knots, headed for the trackless North Sea. Ay. trackless. Within a few hours of the news of the outbreak of hostilities the lightships, buoys, and landmarks had lieen removed. The constant traffic up and down "London River” had suddenly ceased, while into the east coast ports came terrorised fishing smacks, bearing tales of the ruthless sinking of steam drifters off the Dogger. Scteh. indeed, was the ease, for knowing that tlie British Admiralty employed steam drifters for the purpose. of "creeping” for mines, the enemy had resolved to take no risks. It was to be war with a vengeance, so all the steamers of the North Sea fishing Heel that fell into the enemy’s hands were promptly scuttled. With tire leadsman in the chains, the Aseupart tore through "Barrow Dec-p’ and betwixt “The Sunk” and the “Gunfleet,” conned with admirable skill by a navigating officer to, whom the removal of the beacons made but little difiareueu.

At noon Yarmouth and the low-lying Norfolk coast were abeam; then, passing outside the lonian, the Aseupart headed straight for Outer Stiver Spit, that portion of the Dogger from which the Tlietis was last reported. Darkness dre'w in upon the silent sea, yet the cruiser, reducing her speed' to twelve knots, held steadily northwards. No navigation lights were shown, though the searchlights were ready for instant use. Die “watch below” slept at their guns, while, with straining eyes and ears, the watch on deck peered through the almost impenetrable darKiiess. - Sfiill no sign of friend or foe. Daylight dawned with never a break on the skyline. Then in the mysterious recesses of the "wireless room” came a succession of vivid blue sparks. In vain the operators tried to decipher the message; the receiving instrument could not be "tuned u i’” , ’ : "Enemy’s cruisers; we’ve intercepted their wireless,” commented th? commander. "This looks promising.” A quarter of an hour later the instruments caught a message that gave the Aseupart more hope. "Officer commanding Humber defences reports enemy’s cruisers, two in number, N.E. Outer Dowsing. Investigate.” ■ This meant retracing her course, but! under forced draught and doing a good

twenty-seven knots, the Aseupart ploughed her way towards the sho.il indicated in the message. Two hours later came a hail from the fire-control platform that a vessel was in sight on the starboard bow. "What do you make of her?” asked Captain Fortescue. “Three funnels, two masts, two superimposed turrets fore and aft,” was the laconic reply. “That’s one of. the beggars, sure enough,” remarked the captain to the commander. "Where ”

"Sail on the port quarter,” shouted ths look-out; then, almost immediately, "and on the starboard quarter.” "Now we’re in for it.” exclaimed Captain Fortescue, rubbing his hands, gleefully. “Three of them, ahead and on both quarters,” “Yes, sir,” replied the commander. "I’m afraid we couldn't decline the engagement, even if we wanted to.” “1 don’t mean to,” replied the captai i. “And now, gentlemen, th.* ball is about to open; so to your stations, if you please. Mr. Fordyee, you will attend on me in the conning-tower.” If. This was a step forward in Sub Lieut. Fordyce’s career—he was to be an integral part of the brains of a fighting machine. The conning-tower of H.M.s. Aseupart consisted of a cylinder of Har'veyised

steel, having an interior diameter of 10ft. and extending 24ft. from above the armoured deck. This cylinder was divided into three separate compartment’s, the uppermost commanding a view of the horizon and containing the steering control, electrical communications and voice pipes to all parts of the ship. In the second compartment were the duplicate indicators and speaking-tubes, the lowermost being merely for the purpose of gaining the shelter of the armoured deck. A narrow opening in the Din. steel plating afforded means of entering the conning tower from the flying deck, the opening being protected by a curved shield of similar thickness as that of the walls ot the tower, which were piereed by. a row, of small apertures to enable those within to “eon” the ship. Amidships, just abaft the mainmast, was a similar conning-tower, though not so lofty. In this the commander took his post, ready tp take control should the captain be disabled. Now the Aseupart, like the rest of her class, had one great source of weakness. Her secondary armament, intended solely for repelling torpedo-boat attack, consisted-only of sixteen 4in. guns, firing a 311 b. shell. These weapons were all distributed along the upper deck, and, being-absolutely unprotected, were useless in a general engagement. Her principal armament consisted of eight 12in. guns mounted in four turrets. These were magnificent weapons' of fifty calibres, and capable of sending a shell of 85<)lbs. a distance of over twenty miles. Of these turrets one was forward in the centre line, another aft, the remaining two were placed abeam en echelon, so that all eight guns could be fired on the broadside, and six ahead or astern. It was with a strange sensation in his throat that Gerald found himself in the' conning-tower with the captain, the navigating lieutenant, the quartermaster, and three voice-tube men. Often he had been there before during gunnery practice; he had seen the huge steel monsters discharge their ponderous missiles. But now there was a difference. They were going to receive hard knocks as well as give them. ~ Both the Aseupart and her opponents were travelling in approximately the sama direction, till by putting the helm slightly to port and reducing speed the British cruiser began to converge upon the smallest of the three vessels, which was recognised as the Gnu, an armoured cruiser carrying four Ilin, and twenty; 5-fiin. guns. . It was a formidable task to tackle all three, as the other two were seen to be the Afrika and the Zuss, each mounting twelve Ilin, guns as their principal armament, any ten of which could be fired on a broadside. - “Gnu has opened fire,” was the telephonic message from the control-plat-form, yet as the seconds passed no sign of her projectiles was apparent. “Strange.” exclaimed Captain Fortescue. “What is she firing at?” “Mr. Fordyee,” he added, “request the range.” “Fifteen thousand yards.” The whole of the Ascupart’s broadside was trained. on the Gnu. though nearly hull down on the horizon, while almost at the same instant a huge projectile from the Zuss came hurtling through the air, and threw up an immense column of water less than one hundred yards to port. "Not bad for a twelve-mile range,” remarked Gerald, as the eight steel monsters, guided by the calculating brain in the conning-tower, swung easily anil noiselessly abeam as they trained on the unfortunate Gnu. With a resounding erash and a deafenening roar the 12in guns spoke simultaneously, and, as the slight brownish haze drifted away, the track of the missiles of destruction could lie followed by the naked eye till lost in the distance.

“She has received her quietus, I fancy,” remarked Captain Fortescue, in a matter-of-faet voice, as the lieutenant in the fire-control platform announced the result of the broadside. "Now for the Zuss.”

In response to an order the Aseupart leaped ahead at full speed, straight for her powerful antagonist. Crash! With a thud that shook the British cruiser from keel-plate to masthead a Ilin shell struck her upper deck on the starboard side abreast the second funnel. The havoc was tremendous, for when the acrid-smelling smoke had wafted away, some 3Oft of the steel deck was splintered and torn like paper, OM

the tripods of the mainmast had l>een •horn completely through, while. a gash appeared in the funnel easing, through which the smoke poured in dense Columns. Almost at the same instant the “wireless” pole came crashing down from aloft.

■Ju reply four of the Ascupart’s guns roared simultaneously; thereupon taptain Fortescue gave the word for independent action, relying on the captains of the turrets to use their discretion in ihe matter of training and firing their preapons. The hostile shot drove away, all feelings of excitement that possessed Gerald on going into action. He was now a

mere machine, cool and calculating, observing everything yet betraying no emotion.

Three miles now separated the Zuss and her British opponent; and added to ithe roar of her heavy ordnance came the sharp hiss of the foeman’s secondary armament.

■Nothing unprotected by armoured steel could withstand that free, yet Captain Fortescue realised that it was only jby keeping out of range of the Afrika and devoting all his attention to the Zuss that he could hope to emerge triumphant from the fray. |Once again an Ilin shell found its billet. Striking the sighting-hood of .the fore turret, it swept the unfortunate captain of the gun out of existence; (then, deflected upwards, it burst against ithe armoured conning-tower.

. In spite of the massive steel the structure shook like a leaf, its occupants being partially stunned by the concussion and choked by the pungent fumes.

“Ask Watson to report state of enemy’s ship,” gasped Captain Fortescue; but to Gerald’s call the fire-control telephone gave no reply. The platform and its gallant occupants had been blown to pieces, the shattered tripod supporting a useless litter of top-hamper. Tire remaining fore-turret gun and the two ’midship turrets still kept up a steady fire, till one of the voice-tube men appeared with the ominous message, “Starboard turret jammed, sir.” Barely had the man spoken than a succession of crashes was head above the roar of the guns; the remaining tripod of the -after-mast, unable to bear the strain, had buckled, and, falling thwart the after armoured tower, trailed over the side.

Acting like a gigantic rudder the mass of metal tended to turn the cruiser’s lii'ad to starboard, while her speed, already diminished by the destruction of two of the funnels, was still further retarded. 'A sharp, imperative order through the voice-tube, and instantly a party of gallant seamen, headed by the commander, rushed up from belo_w. Reckless of their danger they crossed the shattered and shell-swept upper deck, intent on clearing away the wreckage of the tripod. ■Round the buckled stump a.“necklace” was hung, then, ordering the <‘t '° re t ,,rn a sweep of his arm, Re •hiifl* a,lder HI the Then, as trenid olh rii-.licd for shelier the in a fragment was struck to the deck by The commjiV 011 - , . . . . . save by one alefs fall was unnoticed tower.’ IVS‘‘. ldl t‘ s eer in the conningn«r»ld Ft* 4 ';!”*- th ,*' terrible risk a,IJ wuahelter of the bou,ud. lyapt

from the shattered bridge U|sjn the upper deck. .

Seizing the unconscious form of his officer, the sublieutenant dragged the commander into comparative safety. Not a moment too aoon. With a sharp detonation the charge burst and the remains of the tripod . mast plunged over the side. Having seen his charge safely in the hands of the sick-bay staff Gerald made his way for'ard under the shelter of the armoured deck. Then, and only then, did he realise-that he had deserted his post.

Gaining the base of the conning-tower he began the ascent of the spiral ladder.

The midway compartment was filled trffTi smoke, the voice-tube men gasping in the' poisonous air, but in the conningtower ‘

Struck fairly by an Ilin shell the steel plates, already much battered, had been unable to stand the strain. Great rents appeared in the massive walls, while lying on the floor were the motionless bodies of the captain, the navigating lieutenant, and two seamen, half buried under a chaotic tangle of wrecked instruments.. • ..

Already the Ascupart, wanting a guiding hand.’ had begun to circle to port, thus presenting her useless midship turret to the fciiCmy.' Sub-Lieutenant Fordyce instantly grasped the situation. He alone controlled the’ ship. A quick glanee to iwhefe the Zuss lay, now'barely a mile on the starboard bow, revealed the fact that the Ascupart’s powerful antagonist had not escaped lightly. “Below there!” he shouted to the messengers. .“Steering gear is carried away. Inform steering flat, and request to keep her as she is.” ’ \ Then, hazarding a guess at the required angle, for the necessary instruments' were now useless, Gerald ordered the starboard torpedo-tubes to discharge their 24in. weapons.

Eagerly the young officer watched the (bubbling course of the two formidable missiles. The first he realised had gone wide, but the second appeared to head straight for its quarry. The Zuss also observed- the approach of the torpedo, for her helm was put hard a-port in order to avoid the deadly cylinder. In her crippled state the Ascupart’s antagonist could not manoeuvre smartly enough. The torpedo struck home just abaft the fore turrets. A huge column of water sprang into the air, the huge steel fabric reeled to starboard and begin to settle by the head. She ceased firing, and from her scarred sides poured a black swarm of men seeking a temporary refuge in the boiling sea. Then, with a roar, as a dense column of steam and smoke ran from her vitals, the Zus-s plunged to the bottom in twenty fathoms, her triple screws still revolving as her stern disappeared bo neath the waves. But there was no respite for the battered British cruiser. Unnoticed in the heat of the engagement the Afrika had come within easy range, and at a distance of five miles opened fire on the Ascupart. Gerald realised that if anything was to be done the British cruiser 'must be brought round so that her still intact amidship port and after turrets could Irear upon the enemy. It would have to be,a running fight for the shelter of

the Humber, some thirty miles to leeward. ' . . ■

Suddenly the Ascupart received a shock that alt on board knew at once was not due to gun-fire. She was hard and fast aground in five fathoms ou the Outer Dowsing shoal. The helpless predicament of the British ship was soon observed by the Afrika, for, altering her course, the hostile cruiser steamed leisurely towards her. so that the Ascupart presented only the disabled fore and starboard turrets to her foe. Her 4in. secondary armament had long since l>een swept to pieces, and not a single fire could be brought to bear upon the oncoming enemy. It meant either ignominious surrender or a merciless pounding till the helpless Ascupart was reduced to scrap-iron. The Afrika had ceased firing, and was now- within a couple of miles, and steadily reducing the intervening distance.

Suddenly she opened fire with the whole of her available secondary armament on the port side—not at the defenceless cruiser but at some invisible object on her port bow. Then, struck by some unseen agency, the huge foreign cruiser reeled even as her consort had done, and a column of water and vapour shot high in the air obscuring her from view. As the atmosphere cleared the astonished British seamen beheld the Afrika, with a heavy list to port, steaming sloy-ly away. ' H.M.S. Ascupart still flew the White Ensign. CHAPTER ITT. Meanwhile what had-become of the submarine flotilla, the location of which had been the primary object of the Ascupart’s search? These vessels, of the latest, type, were 150 ft. in length, with a beam' of 50ft. Each possessed two conning-towers and periscopes, placed 40ft apart, while the interior of the hull was divided by a watertight bulkhead athwart the ’midship section

‘ In the for’ard compartment were the twin torpedo-tubes, the torpedoes (six in number), the quarters of the crew, and the electrical control for manoeuvring the craft; while the after compartment was appropriated to the propelling and auxiliary machinery, petrol and nitric acid tanks, accumulators, and water ballast tanks, ns well as a duplicate set of indicators in the after con-ning-tower.

On the surface a speed of eighteen knots could be made under the petrol motors, while submerged the “K” class could be relied upon to do a good twelve. Two, days after leaving Hheerness, the

t flotilla was proceeding “in line ahead" on the surface. The Thetis was leading, while the fearnought-clad officer and men of the sulunarines were clustered like bees on the slender platforms that connected tjhe two conning-towers. The “K's” had jtist completed a series of diving and torpedo evolutions, the dummy torpedoes, having been recovered by ths parent ship. Then, like a bolt from the blue,.the Thetis received an astounding message by wireless, and three minutes later all the submarines read the signal “War declared.” followed by orders to shajte a course for Harwich. Within an hour of the receipt of these instructions the flotilla fell in with a squadron of the enemy’s fast cruisers. The Thetis was quickly sent to the bottom, having barely time to fly a general signal of sauve qui pent. —- • Incredible as it may seen, of the whole flotilla only one submarine carried her complement of “war-heads.” That- one was I<s, in which Dick Fordyce was sub-lieutenant. The remaining craft, armed with only dummy torpedoes for instrnetion purposes, were usless, and, like a shoal of frightened porpoises, they dived and sought to escape. The enemy, well aware of their presence, yet ignorant of their impotence, kept a respectable distance, yet following the "swirl” of the submerged craft till nightfall. Then, as luck would have it. the Ks's port propeller fouled some wreckage, reducing-her speed to a little over fivo knots, though fortunately neither the vertical nor the horizontai rudders were injured. "I’m not going to attempt to make Harwich, Fordyce." announced Lieutenant Firebrace. "No, sir?” replied Dick, with unconcealed curiosity. •’No; with these beggars {knocking around it will be too risky, considering our disabled state. All being well, we’ll make the Humber." Running awash K 5 crwwled slowly to-

wards land. In r officers keeping a sharp lookout for any strange sail. "By Jove! 1 believe I hear the sound of heavy firing,” ejaculated Firebrace. . "So do I, sir," assented Dick. “Away to the spu’east. If there’s a scrap taking place " "I mean to have a look in, and chance our disabled propeller," added the lieutenant decisively. An hour later Firebrace, having grasped the fact that a, British cruiser was being roughly handled by a paii* of heavily armed antagonists,'ordered the K 5

to dive. A final bearing through the periscope, and the submarine descended to seven fathoms, almost athwart the track of the oncoming Afrika. , Firebrace resolved to take no risks of a miss. Slowly the submarine rose till the top of her periscope again showed above the surf tee, then —hiss! Both bow tubes discharged their weapons simultaneously at a distance of 400yds., and at the same time the watchful enemy discovered rn ominous ripple on the surface. •Her projectiles lashed the water into a cauldron of foam. In fain the gallant lieutenant sought to deflect the horizontal rudders; one of the connectingrods failed at the critical moment, and K 5, instead of sinking to safety, slowly thrust, her nose above the surface. A 4in. shell, crashing along the forward conning-tower, struck the dauntless •Firebrace in the moment of his triumph. He caught but a glimpse of the Afrika heeling to the impact of the explosion, ere the inrush of water sealed the fate of the K 5, as it plunged nine fathoms deep to the bed of the North Sea. IV. Free from immediate danger, officers and crew of the Ascupart left the shelter of the armoured belt, and gained the shattered upper deck, there to gaze upon the receding Afrika, and speculate upon the reason of their deliverance. Captain Fortescue, though severely wounded, had regained consciousness, while both the commander and the navigating lieutenant stood a fair chance of recovery. Gerald Fordyce, who had taken an early opportunity of handing over the charge of the ship to the remaining unwounded lieutenant, found, to his surprise, that he had been wounded slightly in no less than three places. Yet he could not be prevailed upon to leave the deck. ‘Do you think it was a mine, sir?” hazarded one of the midshipmen, pausing in the act of binding up his wrist to nod in direction of the rapidly-vanish-ing Afrika. “Can’t say—more than likely.” replied Mr. Back, the lieutenant, a man of few words. ■ “.Something drifting down on ojir port bow, sir! ” shouted - a warrant . officer from the fo’c’sle. “Looks like a mine.” “By Jove! I believe it is! Order your men to open fire. It’s the only way.” But ere the marines could be formed up, one of the officers exclaimed:— “They’re not mines; they’re men!” Drifting down with the tide were eleven globular' copper cylinders, each enclosing the head and shoulders of one of the surviving crew of K 5. Thanks to this submarine life-saving device, they had succeeded in emerging from the air-lock of the sunken submarine. The survivors were hauled aboard the Ascupart. and, to Gerald's surprise, he found himself grasped by the hand of his brother Dick. One of the first reports to the Admiralty referred in glowing terms.to the Courage and devotion of sub-Lieuten-ants “Gerald and Richard Fordyce, in ■materially assisting to keep the flag flying -over 11.M.5. Ascupart.