Wartime Memoirs of Coxn Oscar Moth
A Survivor Of K13
To my friends who lost their lives in K13. This effort is respectfully dedicated
Transcribed from a copy provided by Dave Palmer – Sussex Branch
Prolouge
It must "be clearly understood, by all those who read my War Experiences, that, they were only written under pressure from my relatives and also the Friends I made during the Great War. They all tell me that my experiences are so varied that they deem it my duty that I should try and write them in Book Form. I think myself that my effort should prove very interesting to everyone and instructive to the younger generation.
Before I commence my experiences, and so that everyone will understand what they are reading, it will be necessary for me to point out that at the outbreak of war, I had over twelve years' service in HM Navy. Over five years of this I had spent in the Submarine Service, in which I had served from an Able Seaman in A5, rising to a Petty Officer and serving as Coxswain of A12 and latterly as Coxswain of C24.
The ill fated A5
In those days, five years was the limit of service allowed in the Submarine Service and accordingly after five years of peace time experience I went back to 'Sea', that is, the Navy proper. At the outbreak of war I was serving in HMS Attentive, that ship being stationed at Dover, and it is from this Ship that my story must start. I may not be able to make a great deal of HMS Attentive but I ask my readers to bear with me until I re-enter the Submarine Service, when I know they will be interested to read how our brave boys fought in those Ships who really went out and under in more senses than one.
HMS Attentive & Rejoining The Submarine Service
August the fourth was the fateful date and the sixth Flotilla of Destroyers were anchored in Dover Harbour. The Navy had just finished playing at war and had demobilised, only to mobilise again, and prepare for War in earnest.
Germany had declared war on France, and had over run Belgium in their eagerness to get to Paris, and the whole world was watching Britain, and we in the Navy were only too eager to get the chance of a bump at Germany.
There was a great deal of activity in the Light Cruisers and also the Torpedo Boat Destroyers which were attached to the sixth Flotilla.
I was serving in HMS Attentive and we were the senior officer at Dover, as we carried the Captain "D" of the Flotilla. We were preparing for War. Many a time had I done this before, but then only for drill, but now this was in earnest. From time to time you could hear the Question, "Do you think we shall go to war?" but nobody cared to chance their arm with a 'Yes' or 'No'. At four o'clock we made the signal for the fleet to get underway, and we all put to sea to await the Government's decision whether we should, or should not, go to War.
Out through the breakwater at half speed, and into the Straits of Dover. On our way we were cheered by the Forts on either side and it could easily be seen that the army was just as enthusiastic as we were. And now we made straight for the French Squadron which was patrolling the Straits, and there was a great deal more cheering.
We straight away took on this Patrol, and transferred one of our Officers to the French Flag Ship, who transferred one of her officers to us. We then steamed round the French Squadron and cheered to our hearts' content, after which we officially took on the Patrol, the French Squadron going further west.
It will now be seen that we had taken over the Straits of Dover, some hours before the declaration of War, but we were there all ready and waiting for the fateful signal "Commence Hostilities".
At 11pm the signal was received and we were at war with Germany. We were very much on the alert for we all knew well that our patrol was very important, in fact was really "the Key" to the situation.
Day after day, we were searching merchant ships of all nations and quite several prizes were sent into Dover or the Downs to anchor.
Watch keeping in two watches is very monotonous and especially as we had a very young Ships Company, so that as the days wore on it was jolly hard to keep some of the younger ones awake. You can guess we wore fed up with this waiting business and everyone was wishing that the Germans would come out and give us a chance to get it over.
Every third day we went into Dover to "Coal Ship" but there was no leave. It was simply "Coal Ship", "Clean Ship" and really before we had a chance to clean ship we were out again on our Patrol.
We weren't being cheered up with news, for things were looking rather black in France, and we were getting bad news from everywhere.
At last we got something to look for, for we received the news that the TBDs bad been torpedoed by a German submarine, so we knew we had at last got something to get on with. Special submarine "Look Outs" were posted and everyone was backing our chances of seeing a German submarine off. We didn't have long to wait for the chance, but in any case, I think his chance was a better one than ours.
It was the Sunday after the Pathfinder was sunk that we nearly "got it". It was in the afternoon and the watch below were sleeping. I myself was sleeping in my mess, when I heard a hell of a scuffle and a tremendous amount of rushing about. I rushed on deck just as the bugle sounded "Action". I could hear men saying "Didn't you see her?" I went to my station which was in the Conning Tower, at the helm, and then I found out that we had been attacked by a German submarine who had come up on our port bow, and had fired a torpedo at us but had missed by mere inches.
There is no doubt whatever that the torpedo must have hit us, but for the sharp look out which was kept, for as the torpedo was fired, it was sighted, and our helm was put hard over and we managed to just evade the deadly missile by going "Full Speed Ahead" on our engines.
I now had a very dizzy two hours at the helm for the submarine was sighted many times and the helm was swung from one side to the other, so as always to keep the submarine on our stern, and then we would be a small target as well as a running target. I supposed by now that we had at least a dozen TBDs in the Straits and they were all steaming at full speed and darting all over the place, in the off chance of ramming the submarine.
During the whole of the two hours I was at the helm I saw nothing, and I even went so far as to say that I didn't believe we had been attacked although I had heard continually the cry "There she is".
At last, as she had not been seen for some time, we dispersed from Action Stations and the pipe called the watch to Defence Station, so now I got a chance to speak to someone who knew as much as I did about submarines. This was our Torpedo Gunner's Mate and he had served with me for a good many years in the Submarine Service, and after this incident served again with me in L6.'
After leaving the helm I strolled aft to where he was and greeted him in this fashion, "Well Buck, (all Taylor's are called Buck in the Navy and this man's name was Taylor) what do you think about it? Have you seen her?" "No, and I don't believe for one minute that there is a submarine anywhere near us", was his answer. Just at that, time both of us Disbelievers were very quickly converted to Believers, for up she came out of the water about 200 yards off our Port Beam and clearly showed 2 feet of periscope.
"Hard a Port" came the order from the Bridge to the Conning Tower, and we swung round very quickly to Starboard and once again put the Submarine on our stern. I am fully convinced that we missed a splendid opportunity, as I consider we were in a good position to have turned to Port and rammed her, as I am sure she only came up to see for her own safety. That was the last we saw of her, but by this time we had about 20 TBDs and four cruisers belting about the Straits of Dover in the hope of ramming the submarine.
We had attached to us 12 submarines of the B and C Class but we had ordered them into harbour, and they had to remain in until the next day. This spasm caused us to do much more harbour time and I am inclined to think that, that German submarine did us a good turn, anyhow the patrol was now kept up by Severn and submarines who were considered to stand a better chance if attacked by enemy submarines.
The Bombardment Of The Belgian Coast
Our next bit of real excitement came on a Saturday afternoon near the end of the month of October. We had had a very busy week, our Ships Company being employed in loading the Mine Layers with mines, and as things had slackened down we were looking forward to an afternoon off or what in termed "A Make and Mend". Our luck was certainly out for at 1.15 the pipe went, "Out Pipes", "Hands Fall In". Soon the "Buss" went round that there was something doing, for we were employed in getting the Ship ready for sea, and you could see that the remainder of the Flotilla was doing the same.
At four o'clock we slipped our mooring and proceeded to sea with the whole of the sixth Destroyer Flotilla, and we were also accompanied by the Monitors "Severn", "Humber" and "Mersey". These Monitors had recently been commandeered as they were built in England for a foreign state, and they proved to be very useful indeed.
No one seemed to know what our mission was but after a bit we found out that our destination was the Belgium coast, where at that time we were getting a lot of bad news. We put into Dunkirk and there we saw a ship which had on board the remnants of the Marines who had so gallantly defended Antwerp. We steamed quite near to her and there was a good deal of shouting, "Are we downhearted?" and the answer which was shouted back was always "No".
While we were at Dunkirk we received a wireless message from the Admiralty to the effect that all the cruisers were to go back to Dover, as hostile submarines were out, and it was not considered advisable to use the cruisers for bombarding.
This was bad news for us, for we wished to be in it, and it came as "Good News" to us when Admiral Hood who was flying his Flag on board, the Attentive, said he would keep us and. send the remainder back.
An Officer and two Signalmen were landed from the Flotilla and they were to go up into the lines and give us information by signal when and how to conduct the bombardment.
We now steamed up the coast and waited for the signals. We were due to start the bombardment at 2am but we had received no signal, so could not start, as we had no knowledge which were our men and which were the enemies. It was nine o'clock when we "commenced firing" into vast masses of German troops. This was the signal for the whole of the Flotilla to start, and we simply played havoc with them.
I would like here to pass a few remarks concerning the first shot that was fired on the Belgium coast. I have heard a good many arguments concerning this, and quite a few ships claim this distinction, but I have no hesitation in saying that the first round was fired from the forecastle 4" Gun Starboard, of HMS Attentive and the Gun layer who fired the first round was Petty Officer F Kelly. Things now began to get a bit hot, as our bombardment was being answered from the shore by big guns, but the only ammunition that was fired was shrapnel. This of course was no good for fighting ships, although it caused quite a number of casualties in the Flotilla.
The ship who was hardest hit by casualties was the TBD Viking. She had got in rather close and received, a direct hit on the muzzle of the forecastle 4" gun just as it was in the act of being fired. This caused a very big explosion, which laid out the whole of the gun's crew as well as all the Officers and men who were on the Navigating Bridge, as well as the men who were "handing up ammunition".
At noon the "Cease Fire" was sounded and the "Attentive" steamed back to Dunkirk. We had no idea what was going to happen but on arrival at Dunkirk a boat was lowered and sent into shore. Two military officers came off in this boat with plans of the district, and we steamed back along the coast again. One of these officers was "Colonel Bridges" but I have forgotten who the other was but anyhow he was an Artillery Officer and under their guidance, the bombardment was re-opened. This was carried on until darkness set in, and we then withdrew. That evening, the Admiral transferred his Flag to one of the TBDs and we had orders to collect the casualties from all the Flotilla and return to Dover.
The effect of this bombardment - which was only a prelude to many others - had the desired objective and checked the German advance along the coast line and for a good many miles in land. The advance had begun to be very serious, and a good many of us are of the opinion that our Flotilla saved Calais, for at the rate the advance was going it would have only meant another day before they would have been before Calais. We in England all know what that would have meant, so this is one of the things that all Britishers should warmly thank the Navy for having accomplished successfully.
We arrived back in Dover at midnight and there was quite a stir there when we arrived for the news that we had arrived with casualties spread like wild fire. These we soon landed, and now we found out that we were not to go back, as the Admiral had asked for old ships who were of no material consequence and yet could do the bombarding more effectively.
Another period of monotony followed and I was just about fed up when I found that they were asking for volunteers with submarine experience to re-enter the Submarine Service. Thinking that this would prove a far more exciting job than the one I already had, I immediately offered my services, which were straight away accepted.
I now had to await a relief and it was some weeks before this arrived. We were employed as "Working Parties" loading up ships with ammunition for the ships who were carrying on the bombardment of the Belgium coast. This didn't at all suit me and I renewed my application for further service in submarines, but my Captain told me I would have to wait until my relief arrived, in fact he tried hard to keep me, but at last my perseverance was rewarded.
On December the 23rd we left Dover, all in a hurry not knowing what was happening, but the next day (Christmas Eve) we found ourselves in Southampton. We arrived at noon and by two o'clock we had half of our Ships Company on seven days leave. We were to be refitted by the firm of H
I went to Portsmouth for my leave, and I visited Fort Blockhouse (the submarine depot) where I saw the Drafting Officer, and as we had served together before, he told me he would do what he could for me. Accordingly, on January the 10th a relief arrived for me, and on the 11th of January I proceeded to Portsmouth and joined the submarine depot. I will here point out that the Petty Officer who relieved me was killed some two months afterwards in the "Attentive" by a bomb dropped by a Taube.
Submarines & H1
I now underwent a course of instruction in later boats than I had already been in. It must be understood that the Submarine Service had advanced by leaps and bounds and we had submarines of all classes building, all over the country, as well as boats building for us in Canada. It necessarily follows, I had a good deal to pick up as my experience only took me as far as C Boats and they were fast becoming obsolete.
I remained in the depot until early in April when I was told off, as Coxswain of H1, which boat was built in Montreal, Canada. We left on April the 8th with four Boats crews H1, H2, H3 and H4 and we were to tackle the Atlantic for the first time in the annals of submarine history.
H Class boats in dock
We travelled by train to Liverpool, and from that port we embarked in "SS Misanibie" a GPA Line and we had a real good trip across the Atlantic to Halifax. We made lots of friends on the passage for the passengers and crew knew on what errand, we were bent, and. they were not slow in showing their appreciation. They were very open in telling us that they didn't envy us our job, and quite a number of the crew told us they wouldn't tackle the Atlantic in a submarine at any price.
On our way out our crew with the assistance of a few of the passengers gave a concert in the Saloon, on behalf of the Mercantile Marine Orphanage and it proved a great success and from a financial point of view it was even a greater success. On our arrival at Halifax we disembarked end proceeded by train to Montreal. So, we said "Good Bye" to the many friends we had made, who wished us "God Speed" and the best of luck in our trip across the Atlantic.
On our arrival at Montreal, which happened on a Sunday evening, we were met by some of the advance party who had been out for some two months. They told us that as far as could be judged, the boats were going to be good ones, -and they also told us that HM Submarine H1 had been launched that day.
All our party now dispersed to look for lodgings, as we were put on what is termed in the Navy "Lodging and Compensation", which is of course money with which to provide for yourself, instead of being provided by the Navy, everything in the way of accommodation and food. We all found lodgings in the vicinity of Vickers Yard, where 10 H Boats were being built. We were all very lucky with lodgings as in most cases we lived with people who had emigrated from the Old Country and deemed it a duty to look after the Boys in Navy Blue.
The next morning found us all eager to see our boats and we were early at the yard, but found the gates closed on us, and we were not allowed inside until our Officers arrived and vouched, for us. I was struck by the way the secrets of the yard were kept for anyone would have thought that our uniform would have been sufficient guarantee, but after this we were all given a card, without which it was impossible to get in. There were sentries all over the yard and at night searchlights were burnt by Boy Scouts who belonged to the firm.
When we got inside we found H1 in the water and nine other H Boats building on the slip. They were literally swarming with workmen who in the majority were Yanks, but were going full pelt at their work, all with one object in view, '"The Almighty Dollar.
During our stay at Montreal we had a right royal time, everybody treating us with the greatest respect, in fact we all made good friends, of whom we talked about for years afterward. Our greatest pals were the 42nd Canadian Highlanders and we spent many a happy hour in their messes. I am very sorry to say a great many of these paid for their Patriotism dearly, for the best part of them made the great sacrifice in France. I remember one incident quite well, .it was a recruiting march, and the Colonel of the Regiment thought a Naval Brigade would form an added attraction. He approached our Captain "Lieutenant Pirie" on this subject, who was quite agreeable. Accordingly, we formed a Brigade and marched with the Regiment. We took the place of honour, behind the Pipe Band, and the whole thing proved a great success. On our return to the Drill Hall we were inspected by the Commanding Officer of the Regiment who congratulated the Officers on having such a fine body of men to commission their submarine with. On Sunday the 9th of May, we left, I mean H1, Montreal for Murray Bay to do our trials. We had a good run down the St Lawrence and arrived at Murray Bay, which is below Quebec, on Monday afternoon. Our trials proved very successful and everybody was very pleased indeed with our boat, so on the 18th inst. we left for Quebec.
How happened our first bit of bad luck, for on the way up it began to blow and rain, and it was anything but comfortable. At about 9pm we were, in collision with "SS Christine" who was damaged so badly that she sank in 3 minutes, in fact the propeller was still going around when she made her final dive. It was very rough by now and a great deal of difficulty was experienced in rescuing the lives of those that were floating. A very brave bit of work was done by one of our Able Seamen, he went overboard and was instrumental in saving the lives, of the Captain of the "Christine" an RNR Lieutenant, and that of the Signalman. The Captain's leg was broken and he really must have had a very bad time. In all we saved ten of the crew, but I never found out how many were lost.
The ABs name was "Moyes" and he was congratulated by everyone on his good work and sometime afterwards he received the Humane Society's Silver Medal. He also was the recipient of a silver wrist watch from the Captain whose life he had saved. This was suitably engraved and I know that he was very proud of it. Poor fellow, he made the supreme sacrifice some two years after for the E boat in which he was then serving went to sea and never returned. She was only one of our boats who went out and was never heard of again.
Ever since the H1 had left Montreal she had been in charge of a 'Yankie' crew and the boat was piloted by a French pilot. As soon as the collision occurred, our own Captain, Lieutenant W Pirie RN took charge, and gave the necessary orders while the rescue work was going on, he then navigated H1 to Quebec where he reported the circumstances of the accident.
Of course, we had damaged our bows pretty badly and it was necessary to go back to Montreal for repairs. On the next day, we embarked a new Pilot and proceeded to Montreal. By the look of the damage we had sustained, I really thought we were in for at least another fortnight at Montreal, but owing to the smart way in which the work was taken in hand we were ready to leave again in three days.
On Monday the 24th of May we finally left Montreal, it was a great day and there were swarms of people on either bank of the river to see us off, and we had a very hearty "send-off" from the many friends we had made in our short stay in Montreal. We now proceeded to a spot just outside of Quebec where we were to do our final trial. This was a dive of 200 feet. I hardly believed it when I was told, for although I had had considerably over five years' experience in submarines I had never heard of a boat going that depth.
I would like to point out that the pressure on the hull of a boat when she is submerged is roughly half the pressure per square inch that the depth of water is, so it will be seen that at 200 square feet, we nearly have 100 pounds per square inch.
Anyhow our deep trial came off successfully for, to use a Navy expression, the boat was as "Tight as a Drum". Everyone being well satisfied with the boat we now put into Quebec, where we made fast in the outer basin, there to get the boat "Ship Shape" and to wait for H2, H3 and H4 who were to cross with us.
We officially commissioned the boat as UK Submarine H1 on the 26th of May 1915 and now we simply had to make her look something like a British, Man of War. The other boats arrived in good time and on the 2nd of June, we were all inspected by the Duke of Connaught who was accompanied by Princess Pat(ricia). They seemed delighted to think such nice boats were built in Canada and they expressed the opinion that they were sure we should manage the Atlantic.
We were now employed in talking in provisions and water, and then we filled our tanks with fuel and lastly took our torpedoes on board, so now it will be seen we were ready for action at a minute's notice. By the 10th of June we left Quebec in company with H2, H3 and H4 and we were escorted by a gunboat called the "Canada", but we (H1) were very unfortunate for we damaged our port propeller so badly that we had to return to Quebec and go alongside the "SS Glenalmond" who was carrying all the spare gear.
I must point out, as some of my readers are not aware that it is possible by flooding tanks at either end of a submarine to do what we call "Trim Down" either by the stern or by the bow. In this case we had to "Trim Down" by the bow, and get our stern out of water, we then shipped a new propeller and got ready to leave again*
That evening we left in company with the "SS Glenalmond" and shaped our course for Newfoundland. The weather was fine and we were making a good speed in fact we had to go slower than we needed, so as to keep in touch with the "Glenalmond". Things continued to go very smoothly until the afternoon of the 12th inst. when it came on to blow hard. Soon there was a very big sea running and it was anything but comfortable. The boat proved a very good "Sea Boat" and she rode the big waves finely, in fact she made less of the weather than the Glenalmond. All day the 13th it blew great guns and we had to go dead slow, but on the morning of the 14th the weather eased up. At about 9.0 in the forenoon we sighted a very large ship which proved to be the "Calgarian" an armed liner - who toward the end of the War fell a victim to a German U Boat. We closed on her and she told us that she had met the "Canada" with H2 and H3 but she was looking for H4 and as we could give her no information, she left us and continued her search.
At 7am the next morning we sighted a ship lying at anchor under the lee of an island. We ran in to see who it was and it proved to be the "Canada" and with her was H2 and H3. We also anchored to wait for the weather to moderate altogether.
By noon we considered it was fine enough so we all got underway and once more shaped our course for St Johns, Newfoundland. On the next morning at daylight we could see a number of icebergs and the weather turned very cold, and then it turned to fog, so we had to keep a good look out in case of running into one of those lumps of ice. At last we sighted St Johns and we ran in and moored to the jetty at 12:30 on the 15th of June. On the jetty were thousands of people who had come to see the first submarines that had ever come to Newfoundland. They simply gazed at us in awe and it was a long time before we could entice them to come anywhere near where we were laying.
Our only worry now was for H4 for she had not yet joined us, and we were really beginning to believe that something very wrong had happened to her. It was a. great load off our minds when she arrived on the 17th. She reported that she was unable to stick the rough weather and had turned and. run with it, and had eventually anchored under the lee of an island.
We were now employed in getting our boat ready for the Atlantic, and there was a very strong buzz that we were booked for the Dardanelles. We were to stop four days at St Johns and during that time we made a number of friends, who were all on the jetty to see us leave on Saturday morning the 19th of June.
Our escort now was to be the "Calgarian" who made a signal to say we were to be ready to leave by 10am, but soon after, this was cancelled, as the fog was so thick outside the harbour, that it was considered unsafe to make a start. Accordingly, orders were given that we should not leave until 10am on Sunday so we had another day with our friends.
The Calgarian had on board a contingent of Newfoundland soldiers, and we left sharp to time on Sunday morning. We had a good send off and as we got near to the Calgarian we got a rousing cheer from the soldiers who I should say were in high spirits, for they were singing all the patriotic songs. When clear of the harbour the "Calgarian" made the signal "Destination Gibraltar" so that now we were almost certain that we should eventually reach the Dardanelles. We now took up our stations, 2 boats on either quarter of the "Calgarian" and the "Glenalmond" astern. The speeds were 11 knots and we made a jolly good start.
Fog was to be a very great hindrance to us for after about three hours run, we ran into a very thick bank and we had to reduce our speed to nine knots and afterwards to seven knots. The next day was very foggy and to make things worse H3 reported to the "Calgarian" that she had damaged one of her propellers and she had to be taken in tow. This was rotten luck for she proved to be a source of trouble practically the whole way over. The next day the weather cleared and we were able to increase our speed, but we couldn't do any more than 10 knots as the "Calgarian" was afraid of the tow parting, as I have already said H3 was being towed. Anyhow ten knots proved too fast for at about 11am the tow parted and we all-had to "Lay To" while another line was being passed to H3. This proved a very difficult job for it must be remembered that we were well into the Atlantic and even in fair weather there is a very big swell, especially for boats as small as we were.
Eventually after losing about two hours of very valuable time H3 was taken in tow and we proceeded at nine knots, but ill luck was up against us again, we soon after ran into another fog and we had to reduce our speed the remainder of the day and the whole of that night to seven knots. All that night the fog was absolutely black, and we could see nothing, but at intervals we could hear the mournful wail of the "Calgarian's" siren followed by the screech of the air whistles of the submarines and then another wail from the "Glenalmond" so we knew that we were all in company.
The next day the sun came out in all its glory, and the sea was a flat calm. A happy idea struck one of our crew and with a piece of canvas and a couple of hours work, we converted our Flat haversack into a canvas bath. This we rigged on our upper deck, and we ran a hose from the pump below into the bath and so filled it ith salt water. We now bathed to our hearts content, for it was possible for four of us to bathe at the same time. I expect a good many of my readers have seen the photograph of the bath, for it was published in the "Daily Mirror".
The weather now remained fine until Saturday but H3 was absolutely a nuisance so the Captain of the "Calgarian" made a signal to alter course far the "Azores" as he intended to get under the lee of one of the islands, to allow H3 to go alongside the "Glenalmond" and ship a new propeller. At 3pm the Glenalmond and H3 parted company and ran in under the lee of the Azores, and the remainder of us had to "Lay To". The Captain of the "Calgarian" now signalled to us to know if we wanted anything, so we took the opportunity and went alongside her, where we replenished our fresh water and also got some bread and beef. H3 succeeded in shipping her new propeller, but it was nearly 10pm before we got underway again. H3 was again taken in tow, but as she could use her own engines, we made ten knots our speed.
Nothing happened now out of the ordinary, except that H3 still gave trouble, until Tuesday at midnight when our engines stopped altogether, I mean H1. This caused the whole of the convoy to "Lay To" and we found that our engine was sucking on a tank that was found to be full of water instead of fuel. These tanks were all supposed to have been filled up, but we can easily say we were browned off by the Yanks, who had filled one of the tanks with water. This was soon remedied as we only had to put the engines on another tank and then we all proceeded at ten knots. The weather remained delightful and we kept up a steady ten knots, which caused us to wash down, for the rollers of the Atlantic are, after all, a trifle too big for a small submarine.
On Thursday evening, our starboard engine gave us a lot of trouble, but we managed to keep up with the remainder, as our port engine was running grand. Now came the worse port of our trip for early on Friday morning it came on to blow, and soon there was a big sea running. We could make very little headway at all and we were washing down "Fore and Aft". All day Friday and all Friday night it continued to blow great guns, and I can assure you it was anything but comfortable, especially as we were doing our best with one engine. The "Calgarian" gave us as much lee as she could, and she wanted to take us in tow, but our Captain wouldn't hear of it, we had come so far on our power and he said he meant to finish, so we jogged along until Saturday morning when the weather showed a decided improvement.
At 6am we sighted land, and everyone seemed quite pleased. I myself was shaking hands with myself, for I knew we were the first submarines to ever attempt to cross the Atlantic and here we were within a stone's throw of our journey's end. At 8 o'clock we sighted the rock of Gibraltar, and now the weather had eased right down and we were making good progress. At 10:25 we secured to the mole, so it will be seen that we had taken thirteen clays and 25 mins in the passage, and I consider we only earned the congratulations which we got from everyone at Gibraltar.
I had a very pleasant surprise awaiting me, for waiting on the Mole, was my brother who was attached to the RNAS and you can bet that our boats were soon over-run with ratings that belonged to that service. What struck me about these men, was their willingness to go up in aeroplanes or seaplanes, but with a few exceptions, they said they "Barred going down in one of those things". I would like to point out the splendid condition of our boats after this long run, and also the great radius of action they had. There were only a few minor defects in either of them end we all had plenty enough oil fuel to take us back across the Atlantic if it was so wished. This was a surprise for most people, who thought the radius of action for a submarine was only a few hundred miles.
During our stay at Gib. which lasted ten days, we were docked for examination, and we also filled up with oil fuel. We took on board eight of the latest torpedoes, and then we reported ready to proceed. We left for Malta on the 12th of July and I think we had pretty well all the "Naval Air Service" down to see us off. There was a great deal of hand shaking and wishes of "Jolly Good luck", for in ten days we had made good friends of them. We had received orders to proceed to Malta to be fitted with a gun and also a wireless set, without which they would not let us take on the "Sea of Marmora" job. We cast off at 6pm and we were in company with H2, H3 and H4 and, also, Monitor M15. The latter was to be our escort and we had received orders to keep a sharp "Look Out" for a strange vessel who had been reported and was thought to be an enemy's submarine parent ship.
H4 Brindisi 1916
It was lovely weather and we easily proceeded at twelve knots, the Monitor leading with two boats on either quarter. Just as dawn was breaking we observed a steamer who was carrying no lights and seeing that no one else had noticed her, we altered course and challenged her with our Cruisers Arc Lamp. She took no notice of our challenge, so we turned away from the remainder and gave chase. We increased our speed to just over 14 knots which was about our limit, but the ship increased her speed and soon out-distanced us, so we had to give up the chase and returned to our convoy.
Our Captain was very angry to think that no one else had seen the ship, and he demanded that we should put into "Algiers" to report the occurrence. This we did and I have been led to believe that this was the ship we were looking for and she was afterwards destroyed. On our arrival at "Algiers" we secured, stern to the jetty, and that night we gave leave, so I had what we call in the Navy "A Dicky Run", which means I went ashore for a couple of hours.
The next morning, we proceeded to "Algiers Bay" in company with H4, where we dived and carried out experiments with our submarine sound signalling gear. At 2pm, Monitor M15 with H2 and H3 arrived, and we all proceeded, shaping our course for Malta.
Nothing of any importance happened during the remainder of our trip and on Sunday morning at 8am we arrived at Malta, and secured to E11 and heard great tales of her doings in the "Sea of Marmora". There was a great deal of speculation among the E Boats whether we would be allowed to do the Marmora job, they said we weren't big enough, but we just told them to wait and see.
We had a good spell in Malta and during the time we were there, we had a six-pounder gun put in, wireless fitted and we also had "Knife Edges" fitted to our bow and big jumping wires fitted which went from our bows, over the periscope and finished on the stern. This was to enable us to dive through the net which we knew was placed across the Dardanelles. After these jobs were completed, we went to sea for trials, which proved to be very successful and then we returned to Malta. All we had to do now was to await an escort to take us on to Mudros.
The escort proved unavailable for some time, and at last came a message to say we were urgently required, so we proceeded to sea with no escort and shaped our course for Mudros. We had fairly decent weather and we proceeded at twelve knots leaving Malta on Thursday the 2nd of September. Nothing of any note happened until the afternoon of Saturday the 4th when we met HMS Cornwall, who gave us orders to proceed to Mudros. At 5pm the same afternoon we met HMS "Anemone" and she escorted us the remainder of the journey. We anchored that night outside Mudros and awaited orders to enter. At 7am on Sunday we weighed anchor and proceeded into Mudros. I had no idea how important this place was but there must have been hundreds of ships of all classes and sizes, belonging to all the allied countries. We proceeded past these ships and secured to HMS "Adamant" who was to be our parent ship.
We now had to prove to the "Powers that be" that our boat was suitable for the Dardanelles, so from time to time we took different officers out and dived the boat for their opinions. We also did a lot of running purpose to get the crew as well as the boat in an efficient state for the dangerous job we were going to undertake. All the reports were in favour of the boat being suitable, and on the 28th of September we took in thirty days provisions in excess to a week emergency rations which we always carried.
The Dradanelles & The Sea Of Marmara
On the 29th we proceeded to sea, our destination being "Kephala", which is very near the mouth of Dardanelles, and at 2pm, we secured to HMS Cornwall, there to await a favourable opportunity to force the Dardanelles.
I would here like to point out that our crew were simply elated to think we were going to be given a chance and if we had asked for volunteers to man the boat, every man jack of the crew would have willingly volunteered.
Our Captain had to report to the Commander in Chief, who ordered that he was to go to one of the destroyers who were patrolling the mouth of the Dardanelles, and she was given an order to go up as far as she could so that our Captain would have a fair chance of seeing where we were to start our dive.
On Thursday, the 30th September, we cast off from the Cornwall and had a short dive, getting a good trim. I might say our final trim before making the dash. We then secured again to the Cornwall and waited for our time to make the final effort.
A Month in the Sea of Marmora
Now commences the story of the most exciting time of my life. A whole month, and our nerves on edge the whole of the time. A whole month with nothing but excitement and something doing all the time. I don't want to make too much of it, as I have a long way to go yet, so I will be as brief as I can and stick to the facts which were outlined in the official report which our Captain sent to the Admiralty.
At 2:45am on the 2nd of October we cast off from the "Cornwall" after receiving the best wishes of the whole of her ships company. We ran on our engines until we got Cape Helles abeam which was at 4:35am.
We now stopped our engines and ran on our electric motors keeping a good look out. At 4:50 we observed a collision between one of our TBDs and a collier, but as we were working on time we could not stop to see the amount of damage done.
At 5:15 we commenced our dive and shaped our course up the Dardanelles, our speed being six knots. At 6:10 we altered our course to pass "Kilid Bahr", and found our compass was showing a difference of six degrees to the adjustments that were made the day before.
This was very bad for us as we were absolutely dependant on our magnetic compass and I might here point out that we were the only boat who had tackled this job, without having a gyro compass fitted. These compasses are electrically driven and it is impossible for them to be affected by electricity or metals as ours had been. This in a great measure was responsible for us grounding which nearly proved our undoing.
We now dived to eighty feet, this was to enable us to pass the mine fields and also so that no trace of us could be seen. We remained at this depth until 7.20 when we came up for an observation. We found that we had "Kilid Bahr" abeam, so we altered course and dived again to eighty feet.
Soon after altering course we grounded very heavily, and we were thrown up right out of the water our depth gauge only reading 15 feet. This meant that the top of our Conning Tower was out of water, and that we were really in a very serious plight. There was a great deal of excitement, but our Captain grasped the situation very coolly and calmly. "Hard a Port", "Stop Port" and "Full Speed Starboard" were his orders, and luck being on our side, we gradually slipped off into deep water.
This was certainly a very bad start, for we had absolutely given ourselves away. Why the Turks didn't fire at us while we were aground I don't know, my opinion is that they thought they had captured us, anyhow they now knew we were there, and we were continually harassed by a motor boat, who followed us until long after we were in the "Sea of Marmora".
We now dived to eighty feet again but we could distinctly hear the swish of the motor boats propeller and we knew we were being followed,
At 8:30 we came up to see if we could get an observation of the Net, and we found we were in a very good position. A Lighter was moored over the Net and men could be seen distinctly, working about the Net. Our Captain decided to dive under the lighter, so we set our course and then dived to eighty feet. When we reached eighty feet, our motors were put Full Speed Ahead, and we crashed into the net at a speed of about eleven knots.
It was at 8:44 we struck the Net and it certainly did seem to hold us for a bit, but we pushed through it and we heard a terrible grating noise as we tore it. Eventually it dropped clear of our stern and we knew we had got through the worst part of our journey up.
We remained down at eighty feet until 9am when we had to come up for an observation, but as soon as our periscope broke surface we were fired at. We could plainly hear the noise of bursting shell, so after getting a very quick observation, we dived to fifty feet and as we could hear the propeller of the motor boat and also the noise of bursting shell we deemed it advisable to remain at fifty feet for some time.
At 9:30 we stopped and turned out our forward hydroplane, as up to the present we had been diving with our after rudders only. This was to enable us to make as small resistance as possible and it will be easily seen, it was far easier to tear our way through the net, only having to make a small hole at first. Of course, it is far more difficult to dive a boat with only one set of rudders, but as I had experience in A class of submarines who only have the "after rudders", I managed quite well.
I suppose the motor boat could follow our trail for sometimes we could hear her quite plainly, at other times only faintly. Anyhow she made things very awkward for us, for it was impossible for us to come up to get a decent observation.
At last we knew we must be somewhere near Gallipoli, so we eased down and listened. We could not hear the boat, so we came up rapidly to get a look. We immediately heard the boat again but we got a rough observation before we dived again to fifty feet. In this short look we found out that Gallipoli was abeam and it only remained for us to shake off this boat and we should be able to come to the surface.
At 4:20pm having not heard the boat for some time we came up, but this time we found an enemies TBD waiting for us. This was worse than ever and we quickly got down to eighty feet. Our Captain then decided to dive on and we set our course to pass Marmora Island.
At 5pm we came up and found everything clear, so we decided to charge our batteries. We blew our tanks to enable us to get on the upper deck and then we mounted our gun. We also put our clocks on 1½ hours so it will be seen that we started "Daylight Savings" a long while before the country decided to have "Summer Time".
We also made a signal by wireless to our Flag Ship to let her know we had got through. This signal was never received and in our parent ship, the "Adamant", they gave us up for lost. They got no news of us until a week or so later and then E12 communicated by wireless in a code we had taken up with us so then they presumed we were safe. The signal put on the notice board was "As a signal has been received from E12 in a code taken to "The Sea of Marmora" by H1, it is presumed that the latter boat is safe".
It will be seen by comparing our time of diving and our time of coming to the surface that our trip had lasted nearly twelve hours. It was a very strenuous time for us, for our nerves were strained to the utmost the whole of the time, knowing full well that we were "Forcing the Dardanelles" which was one of the most, if not the most difficult task ever undertaken by a submarine of any nation. This will easily be verified if we remember that this task was undertaken by as many French submarines as English submarines, and yet only one of then "the Turquoise" was successful in getting up and even then she was captured on the way back.
Our batteries were nearly run down on the voyage up, so it took us nearly four hours to charge them up. At 9pm we dived and set our course up the Sea of Marmora and we did not break surface again until 7am the next day.
We already had one boat ("E12") up here, and we had orders to find her out and work in conjunction with her. We knew she was doing good work up here and we were very eager to meet her, for we had decided ourselves that she was to be our "Chummy Boat". Accordingly, we set our course for the rendezvous and when we arrived there we waited on the surface for her.
We remained on the surface until 9.15pm and then as there was no sign of E12 we decided to dive for the night. I want here to explain that the "Sea of Marmora" was a very convenient place for diving, for as we all know the "Black Sea" runs through the "Bosphorus" into it. This gives us what we call in the submarine service a Patch. It is the salt water floating on the fresh water before it has got time to mix. What we used to do was simply trim our boat a trifle heavy and just let her sink very gradually. Of course, according to the state of the weather and the chance of mixing the water had, so we stopped at different depths. Of course, the boat continues to sink until she picks up this patch and then she would gradually stop. Our depth gauge generally told us we were somewhere near sixty feet, although once I remember we went down to over a hundred feet and couldn't find the patch, this of course was after some very rough weather, and that night we simply kept underway on one motor, diving in a circle, but to get on with my story.
We remained submerged until 7am the next morning but still there was no sign of E12, so sooner than waste time our Captain decided to dive into Pandermo Harbour. This we did and we sighted a small steamer but she took jolly good care to hug the coast and keep under the cover of the guns, so of course we could not get a pop at her. We dived right into the harbour but as there was nothing there we dived out and came to the surface at 3:30pm.
Soon after we sighted a small Dhow, and made her "heave to". She was a very small thing and carried no boat, so after examining her, our Captain decided to let her go. She had two Turks aboard her and I can picture them now calling down blessings on us for letting them go.
At 7:30 we sighted a submarine which proved to be E12, and she told us afterwards that she had a round in her gun, all ready for us, as she thought we were an enemy. She told us that she had been expecting us for days, and had given us up for lost. Anyhow we were very pleased to see each other and at 8pm we dived for the night.
We came to the surface at 700 the next morning and parted company with E12. At about 8am we sighted two lots of smoke so dived and went toward it. The smoke proved to be two enemies TBDs but they were too far away for us to get a shot at them, and I believe they went into "Pandermo". That afternoon we chased two Dhows and drove them ashore and afterward we destroyed two more by gunfire. At 8pm we dived for the night.
We were up early the next morning at about 6am which really was 4:30am and we ran on the surface for some time charging our batteries. In the forenoon we decided to try a dive into Mudania just to see if there was any luck. We dived right up the river and at 1:30pm we sighted a steamer moored to a jetty. We got a torpedo ready, and got a good attack in, although when our periscope came out of the water we were fired at. This happened continually until 2:50 when we fired our first torpedo.
The torpedo ran straight for the target and registered a Hit. There was a loud explosion but it was not near so loud as I thought the explosion of a torpedo would have been. Anyhow this was very satisfactory, as this was the first torpedo fired by us and we had got a "Bullseye".
We now decided to dive on and see if there was anything in "Glenilik" but although we dived right up we saw nothing but small boats, so we turned and dived out. On our way back, we had to pass Mudania again and we could see the steamers sunk by the Stern. We were fired at again, so we decided to dive deep and get away out of it. At 6:30 we came up, and saw a TB. She saw us as well and started to zig zag. She was an impossible shot so we dived deep and came up an hour later. After charging our batteries we dived for the night.
The next day we broke surface at 7am and went toward the rendezvous to meet E12. We destroyed two Dhows during the forenoon and at noon we met E12. We decided now to steam in company toward the east and when we got in the centre of the "Sea" we stopped, and the hands were allowed to bathe over the side. Of course, a good "look out" was kept while we were bathing. Afterwards we parted company with E12 and remained on the surface charging our batteries, at 9pm we dived for the night.
We did not come up until 8am the next morning, and then we decided to have a go at "San Stephano". We ran on the surface until 2:30pm when we dived and ran in toward the shore. About 3pm we sighted smoke and altered our course to see what it was. It proved to be a TB. and we tried very hard to get an attack in on her. She was steaming very fast and she passed us at a range of about 1,200 yards and as she was so small we considered her too bad a target, in fact she was what we call an "impossible shot".
We now altered course again and ran in toward "San Stephano" and when we got in close, we could discern what appeared to us to be a big new factory or perhaps a munition shop, and it was about two miles west of San Stephano. Soon after this we saw a "Steam Tug" towing two Lighters and as we thought they must be ammunition lighters, we altered course to try and head them off. We certainly thought we would be able to do this but soon after altering our course, we grounded very heavily at thirty feet. This of course made us turn and come out a bit, but we examined our charts and we found that at the spot where we grounded, it was marked 15 fathoms. This of course made our task all the more difficult, for we knew we couldn't trust to our charts.
Soon after this in the failing light we sighted a steamer and tried hard to attack her. In this we were again unsuccessful for the light became so bad that we couldn't see through the periscope and we had to give her up. At 4:30pm we came to the surface and charged our batteries.
The examination of this place was with a view to a future bombardment of the railway bridges, but we didn't consider it was worth risking, as we only had a six pounder and we didn't think we could get in close enough to do any real material, damage. At 9 o'clock our batteries being fully charged we dived for the night.
The next day we broke surface at 7am and immediately saw a Dhow. We gave chase on our engines and when close enough, put a shot across her bows. She immediately "Hove to" and we ran up along with her. She had a crew of eight men but she carried no boat. On examination we found her to be empty, so as we dare not risk having so many prisoners as eight we decided to let her go. At 8:20 we met E12, she had had no luck since we last met, so she told us she was going- to dive into "Mudania". We waited outside on the surface and at 3:30pm she returned but told us that there was nothing at all inside. Soon after this we sighted a sail so we set a course to head her off. She appeared to be a very large yacht, so we dived and thought we would approach her without being seen. Then we at last got close enough to make her out we found she was flying the "Red Cross", so not wishing to put ourselves away, we dived away from her. Soon after we came up to charge our batteries and at 8pm we dived for the night.
The next morning, we came up at 8am but found, the weather very rough indeed. At 11am it was so bad that we dived to dodge the weather. There was a good motion at thirty feet so we set a course for "Chekmedyah" .and dived to fifty feet where we found it quite comfortable. It was 4:30pm. before we got very near and then we found several Dhows. At 7pm we sighted a big sail and we came to the surface quite close to her. She was a two master and she also carried two boats, so we put a shot across her bow and made her "heave to". We now made them take to their boats and to make certain there was no one left we put a round into her. The weather was too bad for us to go alongside without damaging ourselves so we rammed her on both sides. She was nearly cut in half and then we gave her four rounds from the six pounder to polish her off. We then ran out a bit and charged our batteries and at 9pm we dived for the night.
The next day was a day of "Ill Luck", for on coming to the surface at 6am, we heard water moving in the Forward Battery Tank. We immediately got busy to find out what this was and on examination we found about three feet of salt water in our Battery Tank which must have leaked from No 2 Main Ballast Tank. This was very bad news for it meant continual work or we should get salt water in our batteries which would mean disaster to us as chlorine gas is caused by salt water meeting electrolyte. We decided to run out into the centre of the "Sea" and make a thorough examination. We opened up No 2 MBT and our Chief ERA got inside and found that one of the seams was leaking badly. This he managed to overcome t+o a certain extent but the leak continued so we had to have the pump on this tank each day. This of course had been caused by a pressure being on the tank so long as we dived with our Kingston valves open, we now always closed them as soon as our tanks were full.
Our next misfortune was our Main Fresh Water Tank, for our Captain gave me order to try the water in it. On examination we found out that the Kingston valve had leaked and the water in the tank was as salt as the water over the side. This was a very serious blow to us for we had only half a ton of water in our ready use tank and we yet had another twenty-day trip to do. Our Captain was very disappointed and he worked out the amount of water per man he could allow us. He told us that we could have three cups of water a day but that must be for cooking as well as drinking, and we could have no water at all to wash with. He asked us if we would stick this as he wanted to make our trip successful and. every man Jack readily assented. Three cups of water a day may seem a good allowance, but when you take cooking water out of it, it doesn't leave over much and I can assure you there was a good many times when I felt down right thirsty as well as filthy. This happened on the 11th of October find we came back on the 31st so you can guess we were all in a decent pickle when we did get back. The weather now came on very bad so at 7pm we dived for the night.
The next morning, we wore up at 7am and as the weather was still very bad we decided to run into the Gulf of Ismud. We saw several Dhows but they all took pretty good care to keep near the shore and under the guns. In the afternoon we sighted a large steamer and got a very good attack in on her. We were standing by to fire a torpedo when it came on to rain a perfect deluge. It was impossible to see through the periscope and this proved her salvation. It's a good job for her but the rain lasted an half hour and when it did clear off she was nowhere to be seen. We saw her afterwards but she was under cover of the guns and it was impossible to get at her. We came up soon afterwards to charge and then as it was still very rough we decided to dive until the next morning.
The next morning, we broke surface at 7am but we found the weather very bad indeed. In fact, the sea was (as sailors term it) running mountains high and we thought it only a waste of time to stay on the surface as it would have been impossible for us to do anything, so we decided to dive and dodge the weather. We picked the patch up at sixty-three feet but we had a distinct motion so we knew it must have been very bad on the surface. We stayed down all that day and did not come up until 8am the next morning.
We found a decided improvement in the weather so we ran along on our engines charging our batteries as we were doing so. At 10am we destroyed a Dhow which was on the beach by gunfire, but soon after the weather came on worse than ever, and at 1pm we decided to dive again. This time there was a decided motion at eighty feet so you can bet is must have been very rough indeed up top.
During the night the weather eased right down and we came up at 7:30 the next morning, we ran on our engines toward the rendezvous, and at 10am we met the E12. We told her the bad news about our fresh water and being "Chummy" she gave us about sixty gallons. This was a "God send" and that day we managed an extra, cup of water each. We ran out into the centre of the "Sea" and that afternoon we bathed, one boat looking out all the time the other was bathing. At 7:15, after making arrangements for the next day we separated and dived.
The next day was Sunday, the 17th of October, and it -proved a real exciting Sunday. At 7am we signalled E12 on the submarine sounder and we both came to the surface. Our Captains had a short conference and decided to steam toward Constantinople. At 9am smoke was reported on the horizon and soon we could discern two distinct lots of smoke, so we steamed towards them. Soon we could make out two ships and, after a few minutes we could see through our glasses a large steamer being escorted by a gunboat. We immediately dived and cut the gunboat off but the steamer was too swift for us and she turned and ran for Constant. E12 was now on the surface but we were trying hard to get an attack in so that we might be able to fire a torpedo at the gunboat. She was zig sagging a great deal, but at 9:20 we got within range and fired a torpedo at her. She must have seen the torpedo fired for she altered her course immediately and it missed.
E12 was now on her engines and started to chase her on the surface, she had a four-inch gun and of course was more of a match for the gunboat, than we were with our little six pounder. Anyhow, not to be outdone, we came to the surface and joined in the chase. At about 10 o'clock E12 opened fire and those of us who were on our bridge saw her get a couple of good hits. This of course made the gunboat turn and she made direct for us, so thinking that "Discretion was the better part of valour", we immediately made ourselves scarce and dived to thirty feet. We heard the swish of her propellers, and knew she had gone nearly over the top of us, so soon after we came up to look through our periscope. Now our Captain could see E12 in action with her and soon he told us that she was badly on fire and was running toward Mudania. He ran in on one side of the "Island of Kalamino" but we came up and ran in the other side to try and. cut her off. As soon as we sighted her again we altered in close to the land, but immediately two guns opened fire from the shore. This caused us to open out again, but for all that we were successful in cutting her off, for she turned again and started to run for "Pandermo". We had not seen E12 for some time now so thought she must be diving and decided to signal the gunboats position on the submarine sounder. We were quite right for E12 received our signal and started to fire as soon as she was in range. The gunboat was now burning very badly and both E12 and ourselves tried hard to cut her off from Pandermo but in this we were unsuccessful for she got inside and ran herself high and dry on the beach. E12 remained outside but we dived right into Pandermo but we couldn't get anywhere near the gunboat. We now decided to run further in and soon we saw a very large steamer that we found was moored on the inside of a stone jetty and it was almost an impossibility to get at her, anyhow the light was getting very bad so we dived out. We could not see E12 and at 9:30 we dived for the night.
We were on the surface the next morning at 7 o'clock but there was no sign of E12. Our Captain said she must have gone into Pandermo, so we didn't signal as we thought it would give her away, so we decided to wait outside for her. At half past nine we sighted a large sail, so we got underway on our engines immediately, and gave chase. As soon as we were within range we put a round, across her bow, so she lowered her sails and "Hove to". She proved to be a pretty large Dhow with two masts, and as she carried a boat we told her crew to lower it and get in it. We then ran alongside her and searched her. She carried a gene
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