Daily British Whig (1850), 27 Dec 1919, p. 9

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N SATURDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1019, THE AT CORE TT (AU TL, RL I SE NT THE DAILY BRITISH WHIG PAGENINE Rd, ha nas OLN i TN = By ADMIRAL WILLIAM SOWDEN"SIMS ECHR RS ale eal elas en ! 'Ihe Transatlantic Trip in Convoying ships in the stormy fall and winter waters, amid the fog and rain of the eastern Atlantic, was a monotonous and dreary occupation. Only one or two incidents enlivened this particular voyage. As the Par- ker, Commander Halsey Powell, was scouting head at about two o'clock in the afternoon, her lookout sighted a submarine, bearing down upon the convoy. Immediately the news was wirelessed to every vessel. As soon as the message was received the whole convoy, at a signal from the flagship, turned four points to the | left. For nearly two hours the des- troyers searched this area for the submerged submarine but that crafty | boat kept itself safely under the wat- er, and the convoy now again took up its original course. About two ways' sailing brought the ships to the point at which the protecting des troyers could safely leave them to return unescorted to America; dark- ness had now set in, and, under its cover the merchantmen slipped away from the warshi] ward. Meantime the destroyer es- cort had received a message from the Cumberland, & British cruiser which was acting as ocean eescort to Convoy "HS 14." onvoy is six hours late," she reported, much like the announ- oer at a railroad station who 'nforms the waiting erowds that the mecoming train is that much overdue. Accord- ing to the schedule these ships should reach the appointed rendezvous at six o'clock the next morning; this message evidently moved the time of arrival up to noon. The destroyers, slowing down so that they would not arrive ahead of time, started for the designated spot. s Sometimes thick weather made it ' imposible to fix the position by astro- nomical observations, and the con- voy might not be at its appointed ren- dezvous. For this reason the des- troyers now deployed on a north and south line about iwenty miles long for several hours. Somewhat before the apointed time one of the destroy sighted a faint cloud of smoke the western horizon, and soon aiterward thirty-two 'merchantmen, sailing in columns of fours, began to assume "definite outline At a signal from this destroyer, the other des- troyers of the escort came In at full speed and ranged themselves on either side of the convoy--a manou- vre that always excited the admira- tion of the merchant skippers. This mighty collection of vessels, occupy- ing about ten or twelve square miles .on the ocean, maintaining its forma- tion so skilfully, was really a beau- tiful and inspiring sight. When the destroyers had gained their designat- ' ed positions on either sidesthe splen,- did cavalcade sailed boldly into the area which formed the favorite hunt- ing grounds for the submarine, In the Danger Zone. A soon as this danger zone was reached the whole aggregation, des- troyers and merchnt ships, began to zig-zag. Thé commodore 'on the flagship hoisted the signal, 'Zigzag A." and instantaneously the whole thirty-two ships began to turn twen- ty-five degrees to the right. These ships, usually so cumbersome made this simultaneous turn with all the grace of a school of fish into which one has suddenly cast a stone. All the way across the Atlantic they had been practising such an evolution; most of them had already sailed through the danger zone more than once so that the manoeuvre was by this time an old story. For ten or fifteen minutes they proceeded along this course when immeditely like one vessel, the convoy turned twenty degrees to the left, and started in a new direction. And eo on for hours, now a few minutes to the right, now a few minutes to ithe left, and now straight ahead, while all the time the destroyars were cutiing through the water, every eye of the skillod lookouts fixed upon the sur- face for the first glimpse of a peri- ose ai evolutions consti- tuted a positive measure. All . th time the covoy sailing in the ; ' a that g8%: iith ? 52 : 2 » | & 2 f 4 25its ; Al | Be 583 #4 Ht BEE iEsa0d and started wests. | quarry was steaming; and in this cal- | culation the direction of the mer- | chautmen formed perhaps the most important element. But if the ships were constantly changing their direc tion, it is apparent that the subma- rine could make mo calculations which would have much practical value, | A Wireless Story. | _ In the afternoon the Aubrietia, the | British mystery ship which was sall- | Ing thirty miles ahead of the convoy | reported that she had sighted a sub- | marine. Two or three desrtoyers | dashed for the indicated area, search- | ed it thoroughly, found no traces of | | the hidden boat, and returned to the | jconvoy. The next morning six Brit- | | ish destroyers and one cruiser arrived | { from Davenport. Up to-this time the convoy had been following the great "trunk line" which led into the | Channel but it had now reached the | point where the convoys split up, | part going to English ports and part | to French. These British destroyers had come to take over the twenty ships which were bound for their own country, while the American destroy- ers were assigned to escort thé rest to Brest. The foilowing conversa- tion--typical of those that were cons stantly filling the air in that area-- {took place between the American flag- | ship and the British: Conyngham to Acbates: This is the Conyngham, Commander Johmn- son. 1 would like to keep the con- coy together until this evening. I will work under your orders until 1 leave with convoy for Brest, Acbates to Conyngham: Please make your own arrangements for taking French convey with you to- night. Acbates to Conyngham: What time do you propose leaving with French convoy tonight? Conyngham to Achates: About § p.m. in order to arrive in Brest to- night. Devonport Commander-in Chief to Conyngham: Proceed in execution Admiralty orders Acbtes having re lieved you. Submarine activity in Lat, 48-41, Long. 4-51. The Aubrietia had already given warning of thé danger referred to in the last words of this final message It had been flashing the news in this way: 116 p.m.: Aubrietia to Conynham: Submarine sighted 40-30 N 6-8. Sighted submarine on the surface. Speed is not'enough. Course south- west by south magnetic. 1.30 pm. Cohyngham to Acbates: Aubrietia to all men of war and Land's End. Chasing submarine on the surface 49-30 N 6-8 W course southwest by south. Waiting to get into range. He is going faster than I can. 2.00 p.m. Aubrietia to all men of war: Submarine submerged 49-20 N 06-12 W, Still serching. The fact that nothing more was seen of that submarine may possibly detract from the thrill of the exper: fence but in describing the opera tions of this convby,l am not attempt- ing to tell a story of wild adventure, but merely to set forthwhat happen ninety-nine out of a hundred times. What made destroyer work sO exasp- erating was that, in the majority of cases, the option of fighting or not fighting lay with the submarine. Had the submarine decided to approach and attack the convoy, the chances wovld have been nibre than even that it "would have been destroyed In ac- cordance with its ususl pratice, how ever, it choose to submerge, and that decision ended the affair for the mo- ment This was the way in which merchant ships were protected. At the time this submarine was sighted | it was headed directly for this splen- did aggregation of vessels; had not one started in pursuit, the U-boat would have made an attack and possibly would have sént one or more ships of the American destroyers io. Wart of the convoy and was being shelled by a submarine. In a few minutes the Nicholson, one of the destroyers f the escort, started to the rescue. "or the next few hours our ships vegan to pick out of the air the mes- sages which detailed the progress of { this adventure--messages which tell the story so graphically and which are so typical of the events which attacked by submarines; this Luck- enback incident vividly illustrates this point. Had the submarine used its torpedo upon this vessel it prob- ably could have disposed of it sum- marily; but it was the part of wis- dom for the submarine to economize in these weapons, because they were 80 expensive and so-comparatively scarce, and to use a guns whenever the opportunity offered. The Luok- enback was armed, but the fact that the submarine's guns easily outrang- ed hers made the armament useless. Thus, all the German had to do in which, on the second shot, disap- peared under the water. The des- troyer despatched men to the dis- abled vessel, the fire was extinguish- ed, necesary repairs to the machin- ery were made, and in a few hours the Luckenback had become a mem- ber of the convoy. Attack on the Convoy, Hardly bad she joined the merch- ant ships and hardly had the Nichol- son taken up her station on the flank when an event still more excit- ing took place. It was mow late in the afternoon; the sea had quieted AN AMERICAN DESTROYER OFF THE COAST OF IRELAND This kind of weather was almost continuous in the winter months. mediately after the expiosion, u pei- iscope appeared a few inches out of the water, stayed there only a second or two and then disappeared. Brief as was this exposure, the keen eyes of the lookout and several sailors ot the Conyngham, the nearest destroy- Br, had detected it; it disclosed the fact that the enemy was in the midst of the convoy itelf, looking for other ships to torpedo. The Conyngham fang for full speed, and dashed for @ location of the submarine. Her 'Migers and men now saw more than the periscopg; they saw the vessel RL Don ke HN /] EX) (7% = %» A SINKING HOSPITAL SHIP The Red Cross being clearly visible. The ship contained hundreds of wounded men besides scores of mir ses. In the early part of 1917 the Germans officially notified the Allles that they would sink hospital ships on sight, if encountered within cer- tain specified areas. The German's reason for this policy was that it would force the Allies to protect hospital ships with destroyer escorts and in this way make such destroy- ers unavailable for warfare on the rman submarines. were contantly taking place in those Nong that 1 reproduce them verba- im: r : 3:88 AM. 08. i L. Lacken- ac) ng gunn y submarine. Position 48.08 N 9.31 W. 9:25 Co! to Nicho Da Fama ah iri : o U. ¥ manoéuvering around. _ 9:30 i.adkeback to U.S.A: How far an you away? ison ship. a real 10 12 T boats. They shelling us. 3 to Lack : Do entered the FER} A CONVAY ZILZAGGING submarine sone, they began a great protection "against Ff HR in Commander of the Conyngham, one of the destroyers in the first Amer- ican. flotilla to reach European wa- ters, ee ani EE + ; to turniftom side to side in accordance su bmarines, to aim a torpedo. If the ships which had to know the di- were constantly changing their was particulary praiseworthy. The | ttle vessel was skilfully placed {along side the Ora and some three hundred men were taken off without | accident or casualty while the ship | was sinking, { Ome of the things that made the | Work of the destroyer such a thank- | less task was that only in the rar- | est cases was it posible to prove that {ghe had destroyed the submarine. ROnly the actual capture of the ene- i my hip or some of its crew furnished | irrefutable proof that it had really gore to the bottom. The appear- |ance of oil on the surface.after a depth charge attack was not necgs- | sarily significant, for the submarine | easily learned the trick of pump- { ing overboard a Httle ofl after sudh | an experience; in this way it hoped | to persuade' its pursuer ' that it | had been sunk and thus indnce it to {abandon the chase. - Even the ap- pearance of wreckage, such as argse on the surface after this Con- yngham attack did not absolutely prove that the submarine had been ! destroyed. Yet, as this submarine was never heard of again, there is little doubt that Commander John- son's depth chanze performed its al- loted task. The judgment of the oritish. Government, which awarded him the C.M.G, for his achievement, may be accepted as final. The Admir- alty citation for this decoration reads as follows: "At 5:50 P.M., HM.8. Orama was torpedoed in convoy. Conynham went full speed, circled the bows of Orama, saw submarine between Hines of convoy, passed rihgt over it 80 that it was plainly visible and dropped a depth change. Prompt and correct action of Commander | Johnon saved more ships from being torpedoed and probably destroyed the submarine." "Slacker" Merchantmen. One of the greatest difficulties of convoy commanders, especially dur- ing the first months of the system was in operation, was with "slacker" merchantmen; these were vessels, which, for various reasons fell be- hind the convoy a tempting bait for the submarine, At this time certain of the merchant captains manifest. ed an incurable obstinacy; they affec- ted to regard the U-boats with con- tempt, and insisted rather on taking chances instead of playing the game, In such cases a destroyer would often have to leave the main division, go back several- miles. and attempt to {prod the straggler into joining the jeonvoy much as a shepherd' dog at- tempts to force the laggard sheep to keep within the flock. In some cases when the merchantman proved particulary obdurate the destroyer would slyly drop a depth charge,, near enough to give the backward vesselaconsiderable shaking up with- out doing her any injury; usually such a shock caused the merchant- man to start at full speed ahead to rejoin her convoy, firmly believing that a submarine was giving chase. In certain instances the merchant. men fell behind the convoy because the machifery had broken down or because she had suffered other ac- cidents. The submarines would fol- low for days in the track of convoys, looking for a straggler of this kind, just as a shark will follow a vessel in the hope that something will be thrown overboard; and for this rea- son one destroyer at least was often detached from the escorting division as & rear guard. In this connection we must keep in mind that at no time until the armistice was signed was any escort force strong enough to insure entire safety, Which added to the very heavy responsibility upon escort commanders, | What the Chiristabel Saw One late summer afternoon the Ameriean converted yacht Christabel was performing this duty for the British merchantman Danse, a vessel wihich had fallen eight miles behind her convoy, bound from La Pallice, France, to Brest. It was a beautiful evening; the weather was clear, the soa smooth, and there was not a breatu of wind Under such condi~ tions a submarine could conceal its presence only with great difficulty; and at about 6:30 the lookout on the Christabel detected a wake some an hundred yards on the port Tr. steered in the of this disturbance. A depth was dropped at the spot submarine ought to have been, but it evidently did not produce the slight 6st result. The Chrisabel rejoined the Danae, and the two went along peacefully dor Hoarly four

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