The Death of Hope Andrew Wareham (book club reads TXT) 📖

the new bodies who had replaced men gone away on promotion ortaking courses.

Dunkerque again, reaching the port as astorm blew in, sheltering for a day and then out into its tail end.

“Out to the Dutch border, showingourselves along the coast in daylight. Then it’s off to the Broad Fourteens andpick up the neutral convoy route from Orford Ness to Amsterdam. Show our facesthere and work our way to Dutch waters and then back to the Belgian coastagain. Repeat and go home. Make revolutions for twelve knots, reducingexpenditure of oil. Four knots in the hours of darkness.”

Simon hesitated for a second or two,glancing around the captains and first lieutenants squeezed into his cabin.

“We must keep a good lookout at all times.At night especially, they must use their ears. Try to pick up the sound ofsubmarines charging their batteries, which I understand they must do for hoursevery night. If you pick up a sub, fire star shell and all ships will respond.Please, do not ram submarines. They have pressure hulls which are adamned sight more robust than ours. You may sink a sub. You will certainly putyour own boat in the yard for six months. We are to be provided with depthbombs, one day. Until then, gunfire to drive them under and patrol to keep themdown until they have the choice of suffocate or come up and fight on thesurface.”

“Are we likely to get these hydrophonethings, sir?”

“When they have made them more useful,yes. Campbell-Barnes. At the moment, they have to be hung over the side of aship making no more than steerage way. The ideal is at a dead stop, I am told.Setting myself up as a target for a torpedo is not my idea of fun.”

The others agreed. It was not a good habitto get into.

“What is our policy for storm, sir?”

“As long as we can man the guns, we stayout. If we cannot keep men on deck, we can be of no use and must make our wayback. Keep a sharp lookout for floating mines. Gales will snap mooring wires, Iam told. The location of minefields, by the way, is one of our functions. TheAdmiralty is not entirely certain that it has located all fields accurately.”

They were not entirely happy to hear that.Working inshore, they were always in proximity to minefields. The suggestionthat they might just be a mile or two distant from where they were shown on thecharts was not popular.

“I thought we had good knowledge of thelocation of the German fields, sir.”

“We have, Captain Williams! It is our ownthey are worried about, having decided they do not entirely trust thenavigation of the reservist officers aboard the minelayers.”

“That’s a bit rich, sir!”

“It is, isn’t it. The Admiralty neverreally approved of mines, it would seem, and did not pay too much attention tothem last year when they were being laid.”

“And the right hand ended up not knowingwhat the left hand was doing, again, sir.”

“As you say, gentlemen. Again. Now then,how were you equipped in the yard? Lancelot has a thirty-seven mil Hotchkiss,as you may have noticed. I have not inspected you, for lack of time, but youall seem to have something different.”

Lightning had been given a short-barrelledsix pounder quickfirer with no capacity for aircraft. Lynx had a two pounderpompom with high angle capability. Lucifer was proud possessor of a threeincher, high angle only.

“Twelve pound shells, sir, and the fuse tobe set by the loader, which much reduces the rate of fire, I suspect. Firingblanks in practice we have been lucky to get off two rounds a minute. The layerhas a telescope which enables him to estimate height – my Gunner says it’s veryclever. He shouts the setting, the loader puts it on and they can fire, estimatingthe laying off for speed of the aeroplane. The Gunner says it might work for aplane at height – five thousand feet or so.”

“The only aeroplanes I have seen werelower than that, Captain Campbell-Barnes. Far lower.”

“I know, sir. I am not entirely certain itis an excellent gun. Add to that, it is difficult to allow for pitch and roll,which can be extreme on a small ship, as you know, sir.”

“Make me a report, please. I will submitit as a matter of urgency. The Admiralty will be unwilling to take you backinto the yard to replace a gun you have only just had fitted. A failedexperiment will be the best approach. Has your Gunner been able to lay hishands on anything useful?”

“Probably, sir. I take pains not toenquire too closely.”

“Me too. My own man has been able to picksome useful stuff.”

“Hence the seaplane that was shot down,sir. By fire coming from your waist, not from the bridge Lewis Guns!”

“Lewises are all very well, but they areshort range weapons. My man was able to pick up something with a higher muzzlevelocity. I asked for an issue, but they are being kept back for use in somesort of new armoured car that is being made. A special job, very secret.”

“Ah! That will be the ‘tanks’, sir. Myfather heard of the project – it’s using up almost all of the armour platebeing manufactured in the country just now. Damned nuisance! Some sort oflandship, so he was told. Don’t make a lot of sense to me. Might be the thingto bash through the trenches. Something needs to be!”

More than that, they did not know. Therewas a new weapon coming, of some sort.

The storm let up for a day, long enoughfor them to be well out to sea and was followed by another, heavier gale, outof the southwest and determined to drive the small ships ashore on the Dutch coast.

Simon signalled for the half-flotilla tomake for Harwich, independently. He did not like the thought of trying to enterthe open harbour at Dunkerque with a gale beating in from astern. He stood onthe bridge, Mudgely and McCracken next to him, while the coxswain remained atthe wheel, keeping Lancelot head on to the storm for hour after hour. The bowswere submerged more often than not, white water beating against the bridge. Theship