M.L. 424, commanded by Lieutenant O. Robinson, R.N.V.R., was less fortunate. Soon after passing through the smoke screen she was badly hit--her captain and two men being killed and another man wounded. The second-in-command, Lieutenant J. W. Robinson, R.N.V.R., finding the launch was completely disabled, decided to abandon her. Having got the crew into the dinghey, he set fire to his boat and left her in flames; the occupants of the dinghey were picked up by M.L. 128. {225} M.L. 110, commanded by Lieutenant-Commander Young, R.N.V.R., was also unfortunate. She was struck and badly damaged by several shell, which killed her commanding officer and a petty officer, another officer and two men being wounded. The second-in-command, Lieutenant G. Bowen, ordered the crew to abandon the vessel in the dinghey. This was done after the launch had been sunk to prevent any possibility of its capture by the enemy. The survivors were picked up by M.L. 308. The motor launches detailed for smoke-screening did splendid work, as did all the launches which took part in the operation. Some detailed stories of the remaining launches will be given presently. {226} CHAPTER VII THE WORK OF THE BLOCKSHIPS. The blockships had eased down soon after passing through position G so as to drop astern of _Vindictive_ sufficiently far to enable that vessel and her consorts to create the necessary diversion. The conning and steering positions in each ship were triplicated and fully manned so that, in the event of one position being destroyed, the handling of the ship could immediately be taken over by another party. Guns' crews were standing by their guns ready to defend their vessels against attacks by enemy craft or to retaliate against the batteries in the hope of reducing the latter's fire. At about midnight heavy firing was heard close at hand, but nothing could be seen owing to the dense smoke screen which was then drifting slowly to seaward. During the first quarter of an hour after midnight the blockships passed through an area which was apparently being barraged with shell fire. They were steaming in the order _Thetis_, Commander Ralph S. Sneyd, _Intrepid_, Lieutenant Stuart S. Bonham-Carter, and _Iphigenia_, Lieutenant Edward W. Billyard-Leake. At twenty minutes past midnight the Mole was sighted right ahead in the glare of the rockets fired from _Vindictive_; the blockships had just been hailed by M.L. 558, who gave the direction of the lighthouse. [Sidenote: Dash for the Canal]