Destroyer : An Anthology of First-Hand Accounts by Those Who Served on the B- and C-Class Destroyers in the Second World War

by Hawkins, Ian

• ISBN13: 9780851779478
• ISBN10: 0851779476
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2004-01-01
• Publisher: Naval Inst Pr

Summary

This spirited oral history covers some of the most significant sea battles and naval operations of World War II through the eyes of British and American B- and C-Class destroyer veterans. Their recollections of the evacuations of Dunkirk and Boulogne; clashes with the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau, and Prince Eugen; and the D-Day counter-attack are coupled with thoughts on the strain of convoy escort duty and dreary monotony of life aboard a bouncing "tin can. Arranged in chronological order, the author seamlessly weaves the firsthand accounts together with book excerpts, news articles, and speeches to create a solid record of the destroyer force in action. As Len Deighton writes in the foreword, "No one will read this book without being deeply moved and inspired."

Table of Contents

Introduction by Rear Admiral John Hervey, RN, Retd.	16	(4)
1939
Prologue to 1939 by Rear Admiral John Hervey, RN, Retd.	20	(1)
Early Days	21	(14)
Iain Nethercott, DSM, Gunner, HMS Keith
The Sinking of the SS Huntsman and the Demise of the Admiral Graf Spee	35	(2)
Norman Watson
A Personal Reminiscence	37	(2)
Lieutenant Commander Derek House, RN, Retd., HMS Boadicea
HMS Boadicea -The Early Days	39	(2)
Lieutenant Commander Hubert C. Fox, RN, Retd., HMS Boadicea
The Sinking of HMS Blanche	41	(1)
Signalman Noel Thorne, HMS Blanche
Magnetic Mine Menace	42	(4)
Excerpt from The Battle of the East Coast 1939-45 by Julian P. Foynes
1940
Prologue to 1940 by Rear Admiral John Hervey, RN, Retd.	46	(1)
Channel Patrol	47	(2)
Lieutenant Commander Hubert C. Fox, RN, Retd., HMS Boadicea
Anthologist's Note: Invasion of the Low Countries	49	(1)
A Trip to Sea	50	(5)
Petty Officer Roland Butler, Engine Room Artificer, HMS Beagle
Anthologist's Note: A Rating's Experience of Narvik	55	(2)
Excerpt from Blood, Tears and Folly by Len Deighton	57	(1)
Anthologist's Note: Ramifications of Defeat	57	(1)
Anthologist's Note: Evacuation from France	57	(1)
'An Incredible Achievement'	58	(1)
Excerpt from Hold the Narrow Sea by Peter C. Smith
Events Leading to the Evacuation of Boulogne	59	(8)
Iain Nethercott, HMS Keith
Captain Sam Lombard-Hobson, RN, Retd., HMS Whitshed
Boulogne: First Full Story of Evacuation	67	(4)
From the Cambridge Evening News, Tuesday, 28 May 1940
Message to all Commanding Officers of Royal Navy Destroyers	71	(1)
Admiral Bertram Ramsay, RN
HMS Keith at Dunkirk
Iain Nethercott, HMS Keith	72	(2)
Events Leading to the Sinking of HMS Basilisk	74	(1)
By G.P. 'Phil' Merryweather
The Loss of HMS Keith	75	(15)
Telegraphist John Beeley, Stoker John Cranston, DSM, and Gunner Iain Nethercott, HMS Keith
A Prayer Answered	90	(7)
Able Seaman Ron Blacker, HMS Boadicea
Lieutenant F.J.G. Hewitt, RN, HMS Bulldog
Lieutenant Hubert C. Fox, RN, HMS Boadicea
Disaster at St. Nazaire: SS Lancastria	97	(2)
Corporal Sidney Gaze, British Army
Anthologist's Note: 'The Battle of France is Over'	99	(1)
HMS Beagle on the West Coast of France	100	(1)
Petty Officer R.V. Butler, Engine Room Artificer, HMS Beagle
Mission to the River Gironde, 22-23 June 1940	101	(2)
Able Seaman Michael Back, HMS Boadicea
Anthologist's Note: Action at Oran	103	(1)
Brazen Goes Down Fighting	103	(2)
Excerpt from Hold The Narrow Sea by Peter C. Smith
More British Destroyers	105	(1)
Article from the Daily Telegraph, 23 July 1940*
Excerpt from British Destroyers by E.J. March	105	(1)
A View from the German Side	106	(2)
Excerpt from Sea Warfare 1939-1945: A German Viewpoint by Admiral Friedrich Ruge
Anthologist's Note: On Patrol with Boreas and Brilliant	108	(1)
A View from the Merchant Navy 1939-41	109	(3)
Sidney Davies
Excerpt from Blood, Tears and Folly by Len Deighton	112	(1)
Anthologist's Note: The Loss of the Araodora Star	113	(1)
Winter Diary of HMS Brilliant	114	(4)
By Stanley Joncs, HMS Brilliant
1941
Prologue to 1941 by Rear Admiral John Hervey, RN, Retd.	118	(1)
The Admiral of Tobermory	119	(1)
Iain Nethercott, ex-HMS Keith
The Hunters	119	(3)
Excerpt from Blood, Tears and Folly by Len Deighton
'A Brilliant Orange Flash...'	122	(1)
Excerpt from The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat
The Sinking of the Armed Merchant Cruiser HMS Comorin	123	(4)
Iain Nethercott, HMS Keith, and Tristan Jones, HMS Comorin
OB 318 -The Exploits of a Second World War Convoy	127	(5)
By F.T. Grover
Gott Mit Whom? The Capture of U-110	132	(11)
Lieutenant Commander David Balme, RN, Retd., as told to John McCormick, Military History Magazine (incorporating excerpts from 'Memories of the Boarding of U-110' by Lieutenant Commander David Balme, RN, Retd.)
Official Report by Commander A.J. Baker-Cresswell, RN, 10 May 1941
Official Report by Sub-Lieutenant David Balme, RN, 11 May 1941
Excerpt from Ultra Goes to War by Ronald Lewin	143	(1)
'No Mean Accomplishment'	144	(3)
Poem by John Baker, Telegraphist, HMS Bulldog
Anthologist's Note: Breathing Space	147	(1)
Letter from Commander Baker-Cresswell, RN, Retd. to Lieutenant Commander Balme, RN, Retd., Christmas 1998.
Before Pearl Harbor	147	(2)
Able Seaman Michael Back, HMS Boadicea
A Tribute to HM Submarines	149	(3)
Iain Nethercott, ex-HMS Keith
On Patrol with HMS Boreas	152	(2)
Able Seaman Albert Halls, Gunner, HMS Boreas
1942
Prologue to 1942 by Rear Admiral John Hervey, RN, Retd.	154	(1)
Random Notes by an Anonymous Watchkeeper	155	(4)
On board HMS Boadicea
Home and Away	159	(3)
Ron Blacker, cx-HMS Boadicea
The History of U-581	162	(4)
Via the HMS Westcort Association
Engaging Scharnhorst, Gneisenau & Prinz Eugen	166	(3)
John Beeley, Telegraphist, ex-HMS Keith
Destroyer Action in Defence of Russian Convoy QP 11	169	(2)
Article from the Daily Express, 31 July 1942
The Tragedy of PQ 17	171	(3)
By R.E. 'Dick' Fearnside, Chief Radio Operator, SS Hartlebury
Convoy PQ 17	174	(2)
Excerpt from Convoys to Russia by Bob Ruegg and Arnold Hague
'Sheer Bloody Murder'	176	(2)
Excerpt from Arctic Convoys by Richard Woodman
Convoy Duty in the Med.	178	(1)
Ron Blacker, HMS Boadicea
Article from The Gibraltar Chronicle, 9 July 1942
A View from a Signalman	179	(3)
Signalman David Walker, HMS Bulldog
Anthologist's Note: The Queen Mary	182	(1)
Anti-Submarine Patrols over the Gulf of Mexico	183	(2)
Tommy Loftin, Pilot, USAAC/USAAF
HMS Petard and U-559	185	(2)
Mark Baldwin
Don's Diary	187	(7)
Signalman J.D. 'Don' Gooch, HMS Boadicea
A 'Sort Out' in Gib.	194	(1)
Iain Nethercott, ex-HMS Keith
A Christmas Miracle	195	(2)
Lieutenant Jack Keir, RN, HMS Boadicea
Arctic Convoys	197	(1)
Excerpt from British Destroyers by E.J. March
A Wartime Battle Against the Elements	198	(6)
Alfred Carpenter, HMS Caldwell
1943
Prologue to 1943 by Rear Admiral John Hervey, RN, Retd.	204	(1)
A View from the Engine Room (Part I)	205	(5)
Angus Currie, Engine Room Artificer, HMS Brilliant
A 'Happy Threesome' Go out Hunting Together	210	(1)
Gordon Holman, the Evening Standard, 12 March 1943
Closing the Gap Over the North Atlantic	211	(3)
Jack Adams, B-25 & B-24 Navigator, USN/USAAF
2,000 Mile Liberators Help Beat U-Boats in Mid-Atlantic	214	(1)
Article from Stars And Stripes, 10 June 1943
Excerpt from Convoy by Martin Middlebrook	214	(2)
Anthologist's Note: 'Who Was Right?'	216	(1)
Excerpts from a 1977 speech by Marshal of the Royal Air Force Sir Arthur 'Bomber' Harris
Anthologist's Note: U-Boat Bunker	217	(1)
Crossing The Line	218	(8)
A View from the Merchant Navy 1941-1943 (cont'd)	226	(2)
Sidney Davies, Merchant Navy
A Royal Salute	228	(4)
Iain Nethercott, ex-HMS Keith
'Underneath the Surface'	232	(1)
Poem
A Learning Process	233	(1)
Len Perry, HMS Beagle
Doctor at Sea	234	(5)
Surgeon Captain R.S. McDonald, RN, Retd., HMS Beagle
Anthologist's Note: Nadir	239	(1)
'The Burning Tanker'	239	(2)
Excerpt from The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat
Anthologist's Note: American Gasoline to the Germans	241	(3)
1944
Prologue to 1944 by Rear Admiral John Hervey, RN, Retd.	244	(2)
All in a Day's Work	246	(4)
Lieutenant Deryk Wakem, RN Writer, HMS Verdun
Big Convoy to Russia Gets Through	250	(3)
From the East Anglian Daily Times, 20 May 1944
'U-boat Germans'	253	(2)
Excerpt from The Cruel Sea by Nicholas Monsarrat
A Spelling Problem	255	(1)
Len Perry Stoker, HMS Beagle
A Kiss from Betty Hutton	256	(2)
Iain Nethercott, ex-HMS Keith
Exercise 'Tiger' - A View from the German Side	258	(2)
Arno Abendrotte
Russian Convoy RA 59 -April/May 1944	260	(1)
Able Seaman Michael Back, HMS Boadicea
Anthologist's Note: RA 59: Allied Success	260	(2)
Annals of War and Peace (Part I)	262	(4)
E.J. Kahn, Jr. (via 'Jack' Adams, USN/USAAF)
USS Guadalcanal Task Group and U-505: The events of 4 June 1944 and their significance	266	(3)
By Captain R.J. Schlaff USN, Ret'd
Anthologist's Note: 'A Thousand Miles From Salt Water...'	269	(1)
Excerpt from We Captured A U-Boat by Rear Admiral David Gallery USN, Ret'd
Overlord - Order of Battle	269	(6)
Excerpt from Chronology of the War At Sea 1939
1945 by J. Rohaver and G. Hummelchen
Destroyer Diary of D-Day	275	(2)
Desmond Tighe (Reuters) on HMS Beagle
Men Who Got their Tanks Through	277	(1)
From the Yorkshire Post, 8 June 1944 by Desmond Tighe on HMS Beagle
A Vision of Hell	278	(2)
Len Perry Stoker, HMS Beagle
Channel Convoy	280	(2)
Surgeon Captain R.S. McDonald, RN, Retd., HMS Beagle
'No Greater Heroism...'	282	(3)
William V McDermott, USN, LST 314
'A Beam of Light...'	285	(3)
Albert Duncan, USN, LST 376
Anthologist's Note: HMS Beagle: Commendation	288	(1)
Memories of HMS Beagle	288	(2)
George W. Miller Gunner, HMS Beagle
The Sinking of HMS Boadicea, 13 June 1944	290	(4)
Excerpt from Hold The Narrow Sea by Peter C. Smith
Lieutenant Harry Howting, Able Seaman John Randall, HMS Boadicea
Sidney Davies, SS Freeman Hatch; Jack Yeaunan and George Hanesley, HMS Pearl
Glider Bomb is No 'Toy'	294	(1)
Article from the Milwaukee Sentinel 24 January 1944
Anthologist's Note: Fritz-X and HS 293 Missiles	294	(2)
The Sinking of HMS Swift	296	(2)
Official report by Captain J.R. Gower, DSC, RN, Retd.
Returning Home	298	(3)
Iain Nethercott, ex-HMS Keith
Russian Convoy JW 61	301	(4)
Len Perry, Stoker, HMS Beagle
Convoys JW 62/RA 62, November/December 1944	305	(2)
Michael Back
A View from the Engine Room (Part II)	307	(1)
Angus Currie, Engine Room Artificer, HMS Brilliant
A Survivor's Story	308	(4)
Morton Wood, Jr., 66th Infantry Division, US Army
1945
A View from an Infantryman	312	(4)
Richard L. Ducks, 66th Infantry Division, US Army
Prologue to 1945 by Rear Admiral John Hervey, RN, Retd.	316	(1)
A View from the Engine Room (Part III)	317	(2)
Angus Currie, Engine Room Artificer, HMS Brilliant
Excerpt from Arctic Convoys by Richard Woodman	319	(1)
The Loss of HMS Lapwing	319	(3)
Commander Ian Leitch, RN, Retd.
Liberating a Piece of Occupied Britain	322	(2)
Denis Abbott, Senior Telegraphist, HMS Bulldog
The Liberation of Sark	324	(2)
Lieutenant E. A Cowell, RNVR, Retd., HMS Beagle
War's End	326	(3)
From the East Anglian Daily Times, Ipswich, 8 May 1945
Bulldogs Crew in Battersea	329	(1)
From the South Western Star, Battersea, 20 July 1945
Anthologist's Note: The USS Laffey off Okinawa	330	(2)
US Navy Battle Report; excerpted from Bulletin Airway 1939-1945
Victory in the Pacific	332	(1)
Chief Petty Officer Ron Blacker, ex-HMS Boadicea
Went the Day Well?	333	(1)
Excerpt from Blood Tears and Folly by Len Deighton
Counting the Cost	334	(2)
Excerpt from British Destroyer, by E.J. March
EPILOGUE
Epilogue by Rear Admiral John Hervey, RN, Retd.	336	(1)
Annals of War and Peace (Part II)	336	(2)
E.J. Kahn, Jr. (Via 'Jack' Adams, USN/USAAF)
A View from the Engine Room (Part IV)	338	(2)
Angus Currie, Engine Room Artificer, HMS Brilliant
A View from the Merchant Navy, 1944-2000	340	(2)
Sidney Davies
Postscript
Ron Blacker, ex-HMS Boadicea	342	(1)
'Requiem for a Fleet'	343	(4)
Poem
Bringing Forgotten Stories Back to Life	347	(2)
Lisa Sabbage
Anthologist's Note: Pilgrimage to Portland	349	(1)
An Extraordinary Reunion	350	(2)
Chief Petty Officer Charles Savona, USN, LST 812
Save our Ship - HMS Cavalier, the Last of the Second World War British Destroyers	352	(3)
Preserving HMS Cavalier
Cavalier Opened Below Decks
HMS Cavalier - The Ship
The Naval Hymn	355	(1)
W. Whiting
APPENDICES
APPENDIX I SECOND WORLD WAR STATISTICS	356	(1)
APPENDIX II HISTORIES OF THE 'B' CLASS DESTROYERS	356	(17)
APPENDIX III DERIVATION OF 'B' CLASS NAMES & SHIPS' BADGES	373	(4)
APPENDIX IV DESTROYER SONGS	377	(2)
APPENDIX V TERMS AND EXPRESSIONS USED BY THE ROYAL NAVY	379	(5)
APPENDIX VI SOME CONVOY ESCORT TERMS AND PROCEDURES	384	(1)
APPENDIX VII THE ENIGMA MACHINE	385	(4)
APPENDIX VIII SHIPS STRUCK BY GERMAN AIR-TO-SURFACE MISSILES	389	(2)
APPENDIX IX STANDARD OIL/ROYAL DUTCH SHELL EXPORTS TO I.G. FARBEN GROUP	391	(1)
APPENDIX X NAVAL OBITUARIES	392	(18)
BIBLIOGRAPHY	410	(2)
INDEX	412