World War, 1914-1918 -- Naval operations -- Submarine
Yes, we got in yesterday. No--we had no luck. It's getting dull inside
there now; it's not so much fun if there are no big ships about and
only small craft chasing you. Well, you see, we left about 4 P.M. on
Monday and had a poor sort of trip across--blowing from the
north-east, so that we were head to sea, and even at eight knots we
took nearly every wave over the bridge. They're a fine sight though,
the E boats, when they're butting into it like that; they get out of
step so, and you can feel just about when they are going to take a
good one; you see more and more of her bow going dry as she goes
wrong, and then she puts a great length of herself over a hollow, and
that's the time to duck your head and hold tight to a rail, because
she comes down wallop just in time for the next one to roll right over
you. It was fairly clear, but devilish cold, and there were
snow-squalls about one to the half-hour. We gave Terschelling (the
corner, you know, round Holland into the Bight) a seventeen-mile
berth, as the tide sets in pretty strong there, and turned in for our
billet. My orders were to work between Heligoland and the mouth of the
Elbe. There are two ways of getting in, you see--close along the shore
in seven-ten fathom water, and over and under the minefields farther
out. We took the deep channel, as we don't do the other at night if we
can help it--over and under? Oh! you see, there's a minefield set for
submarines in one place--fairly deep laid, and farther on another set
for surface ships, so we go over one and dive under the other--anyhow,
they're both only reported fields, and their position isn't accurately
known, and also one doesn't quite know one's position if one doesn't
get sights or see Terschelling Light, so it's a matter of luck,
really. Well, we didn't get any excitements going in, except that my
R.N.R. officer pressed the button with his shoulder when he was coming
up to relieve me, and he and I only got down just in time to shut the
lid. You see, we run with mighty little buoyancy on patrol when we are
on the surface, and if you press the button you go down in a few
seconds at twelve knots or so. The button? why, that's what dives the
boat; if you press that (it's just under the conning-tower lid) it
rings the Klaxon horns fore and aft the boat, and then it's up to you
to come down quick because the crew know it means business, and they
don't waste any time. They open all vents and put her nose down, and
in a few seconds there's just a 'plop' on the surface and you're
looking at a gauge-needle going round down below. But if you come on
watch with too many lammies and clothes on, you may give the alarm by
mistake like my feller did.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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