Extracts
Forgotten Ships - the second world war in trawlers and Tugs
chapter 3:
in the land of the midnight bomb
(Norway, 1940)
Tuesday 30 April
Daybreak saw the routine reconnaissance flight arrive over Namsos. The last few days had provided many hours of ideal flying conditions, although the bright, cloudless skies offered little springtime cheer for the embattled sailors. The spotter plane reported the tempting targets in the fjord, and 11 Stukas were duly dispatched.
By 0400 Angle was under way for what Litster described as a day of ‘continuous bombing attacks’. The ship’s first lieutenant, D.H. Antill, reported how Litster again employed ‘great skill’ concealing his ship within the shadows of the cliffs. One Stuka, which flew over at about 600 feet, was hit by the trawler’s Oerlikon and made off, apparently badly damaged. The speed of the attacks offered only a brief opportunity for retaliation as the aircraft flashed across the water. Obscured by the surrounding hills, planes would often circle round to make another pass. Arab’s Lieutenant Stannard described how he used the track of the cliff’s shadows throughout the day for protection; keeping his ship on the west shore until the morning recce plane was sighted, he would then steam to the opposite side to await the next phase of this deadly dance.
Chapter 11
under the roof of the world
(Spitzbergen, 1941)
Landfall
The Allied ships arrived at the Isfjord early on 25 August, with a party of signallers the first troops to be sent ashore. The men, well received at a Norwegian wireless station, commenced to transmit reports of heavy fog in the hopes of deterring enemy reconnaissance. The 1,200-strong Russian community were to be evacuated first, the Allies giving themselves just 24 hours to complete the operation. As the water at Barentsburg was too shallow for Empress of Canada, the troops had to be ferried ashore by the destroyers and trawlers. Elm towed a lifeboat full of soldiers to the town and then headed for the small settlement at Grumantsby, situated between Barentsburg and Longyearbyen. On board the trawler was a Soviet official, his interpreter and more Canadians. The party landed at 1430 and began to embark what Litster referred to as the ‘298 souls’ who called Grumantsby home. Cramming as many Russians on board as possible, Elm headed back to Barentsburg to transfer her passengers onto the liner in an operation which lasted well into the small hours.
Chapter 17
An african diversion
(Rescue TuG SERVICE, 1943)
By 2200, the ropes and fenders connecting the tugs were fragmenting, and it was decided not to pass across an electricity cable from Bold – the results of a flailing power line in such conditions probably didn’t bear thinking about. With the tugs ‘bumping dangerously’, Bold cast off at midnight and remained standing by for two days before taking off the remainder of Meliskerk’s crew and returning to Durban. Between them, the 52 rescued sailors made a considerable dent in the tug’s larder, consuming, amongst other things, 40 lb (18kg) of beef, 25 lb (11 kg) of bacon, 50 oranges, 3 dozen eggs and a case of plums. Aware that time was pressing, Litster requested that the dock be ready for a quick turnaround when he brought his ship in, and that 24 stevedores be made available to assist the salvage work (in the end these men weren’t used as it was decided the job had become too hazardous to risk civilian lives). Showing his maritime savvy, Litster also advised that the shipping insurers Lloyd’s should be kept abrest of developments.