大象传媒

THE STORY OF MY LIFE ON BOARD THE DESTROYER H.M.S RELENTLESS 1944/1945 CHAPTER 1

H.M.S. Relentless was completed in 1942. The flotilla comprised of 8 destroyers all with names beginning with the letter R. Their names are as follows: Rotherham, Roebuck, Rocket, Relentless, Redoubt, Rapid, Raider and Racehorse. The leader was Rotherham and the half leaders Roebuck and Racehorse. The flotilla leader was a captain by rank, the coveted Captain (D), (D) standing for destroyer. He was a junior flag officer and had his separate quarters on board. He had a captain to command the Rotherham whether he was on board or not. Captain (D) had an office ashore and his own cabin on HMS Rotherham. His position was that of a junior Commodore, the Commodore鈥檚 position was that of a junior Admiral. Rotherham was 20 tons heavier than her sister ships, this was no doubt due to the extra Captain (D)鈥檚 quarters.

The flotilla, by numbers it was the 11th, there was also a Commodore (D), the head of all the flotillas in the Far Eastern Fleet. Also he had a large signal staff. As they spent a large part of their time ashore at the Commodore鈥檚 HQ they were as keen as mustard to go to sea and wanted to do the entire signaling etc: His ship was H.M.S. Napier, which of course had its own captain. It no doubt had quarters for the Commodore. He only went to sea for big jobs. On some of these, when his own ship was having a refit, he came aboard the Relentless The captains of the half leaders (the Roebuck and the Racehorse) were Commanders in rank. They did not have captains of ships under them; they had to command their own ships. Presumably they were the deputy leaders of the flotilla. Four of the other ships had captains whose rank was Lieutenant Commander. H.M.S. Rocket had a full Lieutenant as captain, a grade below that of Lieutenant Commander. He must have been the junior captain (due no doubt for promotion).

There were 3 watch keepers on board the Relentless, officers who could sail the ship. I don鈥檛 think the Captain was included in the three but he would have a watch keeping certificate. He was there on entering and leaving harbour and at all other important occasions. Otherwise he was always on call in his cabin. When he was on the bridge all the Petty Officers seemed to turn to their stations. How they knew he had gone on the bridge I do not know. He had speaking tubes to all parts of the ship. They wanted to be available to him should he want to speak to their department.

The specifications of the Relentless were:
Laid down 20th June 1941 at John Brown鈥檚 Yard, Glasgow; launched 13th July 1942; completed 30th November 1942
1705 tons; length 358 录鈥�; width 35鈥�8鈥�; draught 20 陆鈥�
40,000 horsepower; geared turbines; 2 shafts
Speed designed 36戮 knots; full speed at deep draught 31陆 knots
Endurance at 15 knots 5,800 miles; at full speed 1350 miles
Main and auxiliary fuel capacity 615 tons
Main guns 4 x 4.7鈥�
Anti aircraft guns 6 x 20mm Oerlikons single mountings 4 x 2 pounder pom poms in quadruple mounting (abaft funnel)
Torpedoes 2 QR 21鈥� C.L. firing tubes; 8 MK.IX. torpedoes
Depth charges release gears 1 rail; 4 throwers; 70 depth charges with T.S.D.S.
Submarine detector C.S.A. A/S (A.S.D.I.C. (Ping Pong))
Complement approximately 200 crew

The food was generally good apart from the 鈥減roverbial destroyer breakfast鈥� which consisted of a cup of tea, a cigarette and a good cough. Actually at the beginning of each sea trip there was available a slice of bread, butter and jam, whilst stocks lasted.

The messing arrangements were 鈥渃anteen messing鈥� which meant each mess prepared its own food for the one cook to cook it. Any baking had to be prepared on the mess deck. Each mess was given an allowance and bought its own food from a central point. If we overspent we had to make it up out of our own pocket; but if we underspent we got a shareout. Mostly we broke even.

One of the telegraphists had been promoted to Leading Telegraphist and I had come to replace him. He left for another posting. There were four Telegraphists and one Petty Officer Telegraphist on the ships complement. Also there were three Signalers, a Leading Signaler, and a Yeoman of Signals, a Petty Officer. Also in the mess were some Quarter Masters and their mates. They were the people who went about with bosun鈥檚 pipes giving out the orders of the day. Also they were the helmsmen on cruising stations and orderlies of the watch. Also there were two Coders, one of whom had been promoted Leading Coder and who had to be replaced in due course. Our mess was number 5 and was down in the forward bowels of the ship. There were about 15 in our mess.

There were two watch keeper鈥檚 messes, people were more on watch than in the mess. The seamen who were the Quarter Masters and their mates, also had other trades. Mostly they were radar operators. Two were ASDIC operators, Anti Submarine Detector Operators. One was a torpedo {[LT} ]man, another was an AA (Anti Aircraft) gunner. There were some who did not have another trade, they were just seamen without trades.

When the ship was closed up for Action Stations the Coxswain took the wheel. He had been trained to throw the ship about to dodge bombs etc. He was a Chief Petty Officer. The Quarter Masters etc. stood to where their trades were, e.g. radar sets.

The other mess down in the lower forecastle mess space was where the balance of the watch keepers messed. They had about 15 in their mess also. So the two messes down in the 鈥済lory hole鈥� had about 30 persons, the communications ratings, the quarter masters and mates, captain鈥檚 boat crew, radar operators, ASDIC operators, electricians (torpedo men) and some AA gunners. The quarter masters were Able Seamen and their mates were Ordinary Seamen. The boat crew leader was a Leading Seaman.

Earlier in the year, in February 1944, The Relentless took part in Operation Canned, the object of which was to find and destroy an enemy supply vessel believed to be operating in the South Indian Ocean. The Relentless left Grand Port, Mauritius, on February 8th 1944 and proceeded to her search area. It had been arranged that land based aircraft, CATALINAS, would cooperate in the search and after contact had been made, search of the area commenced. On February 11th 1944 in the afternoon, Relentless received the aircraft鈥檚 first sighting report and altered course to intercept. Contact was made with the enemy vessel in the evening and was seen to be the tanker CHARLOTTE SCHLIEMANN which began drastic avoiding action. Relentless closed at speed of 30 knots to within 2000 yards on the port beam of the tanker and fired 8 torpedoes. Gun fire with main armament was then opened but ceased as three torpedoes hit, causing explosions in the tanker. Her back was seen to be broken and she sank in 10 minutes. 41 survivors out of a crew of 88 were picked up by the Relentless.

The Charlotte Schliemann had been to Tokyo and was on its way back to Germany. She had a 6鈥� gun and could have sunk the Relentless before the latter could have got within range. The Relentless closed at such high speed that she created such a bow wave that made her appear to be a cruiser. The Charlotte Schliemann turned tail and fled. The German had been sought by the Royal Navy for some time and several ships had had a go at her but missed her.

Relentless fired her 8 torpedoes in a fan shape, 3 of which struck home. The hull of the German popped up upside down and the Relentless thought it was a submarine. In the meantime scramble nets had been put over the side of Relentless for the 41 out of 88 German sailors to scramble up. Unfortunately one who gave the Nazi salute as he came over the side was kicked back into the sea and left to drown by a seaman from Liverpool who had had his wife and child killed in a bombing raid.

All those who were on watch at the time received some form of recognition. I think the Captain got the D.S.O., the Torpedo Officer similar, the Torpedo Petty Officer a medal and the torpedo man similar. The Radar Operator got a medal and the Petty Officer Telegraphist got mentioned in dispatches for reading the German鈥檚 distress message and sending it in, from which their code was broken.

The prisoners were housed in the watch keepers鈥� mess, the watch keepers moved out elsewhere. One seaman dropped his revolver down their hatchway when he was standing guard at the top of their gangway. They brought it back up to him handle first. The prisoners were handed over to the French in Madagascar where they were treated badly.

The Relentless took part in Operation Crimson. This was carried out on July 25th 1944 and it bombarded Sabang, the Japanese naval base in Northern Sumatra. The Relentless, with Commodore A. L. Poland flying his pendant, was part of a large force which took part. The Relentless was a unit of the anti-submarine screen to the battleships and took part in the bombardment of the coastal defences. It is interesting to note that this was the first time that the British Eastern Fleet, operating off the Burmese and Malayan Coasts as distinct from the Pacific Ocean, had turned to the offensive in the naval war against Japan.

The ships taking part were:

1 x Fleet Aircraft Carrier Illustrious Class
Victorious
23,000 tons; length 753鈥�; width 95鈥�; draught 24鈥�
110,000 horsepower; turbines; triple screw (propellers); 31 knots
Dual purpose guns 16 x 4.5鈥� (anti ship and anti aircraft)
54 aircraft

2 x Battleships Queen Elizabeth Class
Queen Elizabeth, Valiant
27,000 tons; length 645 戮鈥�; width 90 陆鈥�; draught 29 陆鈥�
75,000 horsepower; turbines; 24 knots
Main guns 8 x 15鈥�; dual purpose 20 x 4.5鈥� (twin mountings) (anti ship and anti aircraft)
Light AA guns (anti aircraft)
4 x 21鈥� torpedoes
Aircraft catapult

1 x Battle Cruiser
Renown
26,500 tons; length 794鈥�; width 90鈥�; draught 25 戮鈥�
112,000 horsepower; turbines; 31陆 knots
Forced draught 126,000 horsepower; 32陆 knots
Main guns 6 x 15鈥�; dual purpose 20 x 4.5鈥� (anti ship and anti aircraft)
Light AA guns (anti aircraft) 3 x 8 barrel 2 pounder pom poms
Aircraft catapult; 1 sea plane

1 x French Battleship
Richelieu
Laid down 22nd October 1935 at Brest Arsenal; launched 17th January 1939; completed 1941
35,000 tons; length 794鈥�; width 108 陆鈥�; draught 26鈥�10鈥�
150,000 horsepower; geared turbines
Designed speed 31陆 knots; full speed at deep draught 31 knots
Fuel capacity 6,200 tons
Main guns 8 x 15鈥� guns (quadruple turrets); 15 x 6鈥� HA/LA guns (High angle/Low angle)
AA guns (Anti aircraft) 12 x 3.9鈥� (twins); 12 x 1.46鈥�
4 aircraft; 2 catapults
Complement 60 officers, 1500 men

1 x 8鈥� Heavy Cruiser County Class
Cumberland
9850 tons; length 630鈥�; width 68 录鈥�; draught 16 录鈥�
80,000 horsepower; turbines; 31陆 knots
Main guns 8 x 8鈥�
AA guns (Anti aircraft) 8 x 4鈥�; 4 x 2 pounders (replaced?)
Torpedoes 8 x 21鈥�
Aircraft 4

4 x 6鈥� Belted (Belt Armour) Cruisers Colony Class
Gambia, Kenya, Nigeria
8000 tons; length 555 陆鈥�; width 62鈥�; draught 16 陆鈥�
72,500 horsepower; turbines; 33 knots
Main guns 12 x 6鈥�
AA guns (Anti aircraft) 8 x 4鈥�; various light AA guns
Torpedoes 6 x 21鈥�
Aircraft 3

Ceylon
8800 tons; length 555 陆鈥�; width 62鈥�; draught 16 陆鈥�
72,500 horsepower; turbines; 33 knots
Main guns 9 x 6鈥�
AA guns (Anti aircraft) 10 x 4鈥�; various light AA guns
Torpedoes 6 x 21鈥�
Aircraft none

1 x 5.25鈥� Belted (Belt Armour) Cruiser Dido Class
Phoebe
5450 tons; length 512鈥�; width 50 陆鈥�; draught 14鈥�
62,000 horsepower; turbines; 33 knots
Main guns 8 x 5.25鈥� dual purpose (anti ship and anti aircraft)
Secondary gun 1 x 4鈥�
AA guns (Anti aircraft) 8 x 2 pounders
Torpedoes 6 x 21鈥�

1 x Dutch Light Cruiser
Tromp - Flotilla Leader
Laid down 22nd January 1936 at Netherlands S.B.Co, Amsterdam;
launched 25th May 1937; completed August 1938
3350 tons; length 433鈥�1鈥�; width 40鈥�8鈥�; draught 17 戮鈥�
56,000 horsepower; turbines; 32陆 knots designed; 35 knots achieved Endurance at 35 knots, 1400 miles; at 12 knots, 6000 miles
Fuel capacity 880 tons
Main guns 6 x 5.9鈥�
Secondary guns 2 x 3鈥�
AA guns (Anti aircraft) 4 x 1.57鈥�; 4 x 0.46mm
Torpedoes 2 x 21鈥�
Aircraft 1 float plane
Complement 27 officers, 307 men

9 x Destroyers Q & R Class
Quality, Quickmatch, Racehorse, Raider, Rapid, Relentless, Rocket, Roebuck, Rotherham (Flotilla Leader)
Laid down 1940/1 at John Brown鈥檚 / Scott鈥檚 / Cammell Laird / Hawthorn Leslie鈥檚 and Swan Hunter鈥檚 yards
Launched 1941/2; completed 1942/3
1705 tons (Rotherham 1725 tons); length 358 录鈥�; width 35鈥�8鈥�; draught 20 陆鈥�
40,000 horsepower; geared turbines; 2 shafts
Speed designed 36戮 knots; full speed at deep draught 31陆 knots
Endurance at 15 knots, 5800 miles; at full speed, 1350 miles
Main and auxiliary fuel capacity 615 tons
Main guns 4 x 4.7鈥�
AA guns (Anti aircraft) 4 x 2 pounder pom poms in quadruple mountings; 6 x 20mm Oerlikon single mountings (Rocket and Roebuck 4 x 20mm Oerlikon twin power mountings)
Torpedoes 2 Q.R. 21鈥� tubes; 8 Mk IX torpedoes
Depth charges 1 rail; 4 throwers; 70 charges with T.S.D.S. (Rotherham 2 rails, 4 throwers, 70 charges)
Submarine detector C.S.A. A/S (A.S.D.I.C. (Ping Pong))

2 x Submarines T Class (Air Sea Rescue)
Tantalus, Templar
1090 tons surface/1575 tons submerged; length 275鈥�; width 26 陆鈥�
Surface - horsepower 2500; engine diesel; speed 15陆 knots
Submerged - horsepower 1450; engine electric; speed 9 knots
Guns 1 x 4鈥�
Torpedoes 10 x 21鈥� (8 bow, 2 stern)

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