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Minna was a fishery protection vessel belonging to the Board of Agricultcure and Fisheries for Scotland.
She was one of many small craft used by the Admiralty DDOD(I) for special operations in the western Mediterranean and named HMS Minna. She had fast twin diesel engines a motor boat and a berthon boat, and looked French.
An RN captain would fly out from London with sealed orders to give the captain a Commander RNR (in peacetime a master in the white star line).
Minna would leave Gibraltar under the pretext that it was going to do x patrol [anti submarine patrol of the straits) but instead would head full speed to the coast of southern France or north Africa under cover of darkness. There it would anchor some way off shore. It was painted Mountbatten pink which made it less easy to be seen from the shore.
The motor boat was then lowered and the First Lieutenant (a Lt in the RNR and master of Minna in peacetime) and a boat party who had been specially trained for the purpose headed for shore. Once near the shore they would use the berthon boat for the last part.
Some of the tasks on the south of France were to land and receive agents bring back escaped prisoners of war and shot down airmen.
On the north African coast they landed and received agents and delivered equipment to the Free French they also surveyed beaches and landing places in preparation for the invasion of north Africa.
I listened on the Asdic (Sonar) for the motor boats return. The anchor chain was then shortened in and as soon as the motor boat was alongside it was hoisted in then we weighed anchor and headed full speed for home.
I joined Minna at Gibraltar where the Asdic was fitted. At the time I was working with the Base A/S Staff and the Officer in charge told me to go along to the Shipping Store in the Dockyard and collect some 30 odd packing cases and take them along to Minna and see the equipment fiited When commissiong the equipment there were some problems The Asdic was for 110 vdc as standard but Minna was 220 vdc A rotary converter to change the voltage for the Asdic had been shipped out with the gear from the UK .Unfortunately it was only rated for the running load and not the starting load so when the Asdic was srarted up it tripped the main switchboard . By tweaking the system I managed to solve the problem,The Captain would not accept the Asdic unless I stayed with the ship .That is how I became involved in Secret Operations
Apart from the Coxwain and myself the seamen were all Hostilities Only (HO'S )
The engine room staff were all Merchant Navy and consisted off two Engineer Officers and 2 Greasers They had a special agreament with the Admiralty a T78 I believe . Besides the Captain and the First Lt ther was one other officer a Lt RNVR .
Just prior to the invasion of North Africa Minna attempted to land guns and ammunition somwhere between Algiers and Oran .They were to be used by Free French patriots and the Resistance to take over the Radio Stations and Shore Batteries so that the Allies would have an easy landiing .No contact was made at the rendevous but there was a lot of activity on the coast road .Vehicles with headlights were seen rushing along the road towards the rendevous so the mission was aborted
The Captain realising the importance of the mission decided to try again the next night but without success .On the way back to Gibraltar we met the Invasion Fleet because we were a day late returning and should not have been there .The Fleet had instructions to destroy anything they saw so that their position would not be given away.
Minna hoisted the Spanish flag and raced for Spanish Territorial waters buzzed by 2 torpedoe bombers from the fleet.After the Allies had got a foothold in North Africa Minnna returned and landed the gear at a Cafe cum
Guest house near the beach I as a Leadiing Seaman and some of the A.B 's were ordered ashore to guard the equipment .There were two or more British Army Oficers there and we all ate together at a big table in the cafe on food prepared by the Patron and his Wife.
While we were there agents would come for briefing and go away with some of the equipment .I particularly remember two Free French Officers leaving with wireless sets fitted into attache cases .I believe they were going to infliltrate behind enemy lines Some of the agents were the ones we should have met before the invasion.They told us that they saw Minna but that the Gestapo were on them so they had to make a hasty retreat .The headlights we saw were those of the Gestapo .
One of the agents a Scotsman told us that he had a Barbers Shop in Algiers and had lived there some 15 Years and at one time was jailed for Pro British Propaganda
Just before we left a captured Italian General arrived and I rowed him out to the ship in the dinghy.He was to be taken to Gibralter and flown to London
If I remember rightly the American Ambassador came along to see the Officers I think he had something to do with pre invasion activities.
One day 2 of the Army Officers commandered a car and went in search of an Army Fieid Post Office Iwent along with them to post the Ships mail .
There were British and American tanks there .The Btitish tanks had Amercan Markings {That was because it was thought that The French would be less likely to oppose an American landing)
I was invited to have breakfast at an American Field Kitchen and was given a platter There was everything there .I helped myself to a big english breakfast .A black American soldier was standing next to me and I could not help notice that he piled his plate up with eveything in particular bacon,eggs.kippers ,marmalade etc all mixed up together,
Minna then continued to work from North Africa based on Algiers and Bone ,There were lots of air raids and some ships in the ports were damaged.There was no air cover because the aircraft had been destroyed on the airfields.
One one operation Minna met up with a Feluca ( small fishing boat ) manned by special operation sailors They transfered people they had brought back from the south of france ,escaped POW's shot down air men and a woman agent I did not see much of them because they stayed in tho officers quarters I think it was the officers steward that told us that she did not trust us and slept with a pistol under her pillow .She said she had been pulled ou of France because a German Officer was paying too much attention to her .She did know if it was because he fancied her or because he suspected she was an agent .
Once we returned to Algiers at dusk .saw a vacant berth and tied up there. A short while later a tug approached with a Naval officer in the bows .He hailed us
"Ahoy there" we ignored him at first but then he shouted "Ahoy there I've come to tow you away you are sitting over an unexploded bomb " It turned out tha he was the bomb and mine disposal officer .
While there Minna was co -opted to join a Malta Convoy as rescue vessel .A Collier was sunk and we went to seach for survivors .We found several of the crew scattered around in their lifebelts.Some were living and some were dead . One of the dead looked very young and only a boy .He was the Marconi Wireless Operator
We picked them all up and continued the search The sea was dead calm almost like a sheet of glass and we were just about to give up the search when I noticed a small black speck through the binoculars I was using The Captain turned the ship towards and as we got nearer it looked like a handfull of cotton waste floating on the water as we got nearer still we saw that it was a man spread out over a painting stage .It was the Chief Engineer and he was alive .
On another we had to take some parachute containers to Bone .They should have been dropped by aircraft We started to take them on board at a jetty at a place called La Perouse but a storm blew up (I believe they are called "Mistralis") and we had to anchor off shore .Because of the topweIght we nearly foundered .To stop the anchor dragging it was neccessary to keep the engines running and steer in to the wind
When the storm abated we proceeded to Bone (near the Tunisian border ) with demolition explosives and equipment for the Army .While we were unloading a wave of German dive bombers from SIicily swooped down on the harbour Some off them bombed a tall Grain Silo near the entrance .It burst into flames where the bombs hit .One of them made for us and released its bombs .I saw them coming and thought this is it .An Army Colonel and myself lay down on the deck to take cover .Then there was a loud explosion and the ship seemed ro be lifted up out of yhe water. The stick of bombs had straddled the ship .Some fell in the water and exploded on the sea bottom Some went over the ship and hit a coal pound on the dockside . There was no air cover and the Bombers made frequent air attacks from Sicily.The town near the Docks was reduced to rubble .
While we were there we embarked a party of French Foreign Legionairs .They were to be landed futher up the coast on a special mission . The sea was quite rough and they were all seasick with the exception of their Officer a black Lieutenant .He chastised them with his baton and made them clean their machine guns and sharpen their knives on the ships grindstone His forehead was polished like a horse chesnut ,We nicknamed him " Cherry Blossom " One night we sneaked inshore and landed them on a jetty and left .As we left we heard machine gun fire
Eventually the Navy set up a Naval Base at Algiers called HMS Hannibal and the NAAFI took over a wharehouse.Whilst we were there a Fleet Seamanship Board was convened at Hannibal and I passed for Petty Officer.
We used to berth on the waterfront near Hannibal and the town Although we put rat guards on the mooring ropes the rats wouuld still get on board At night the engineers would shut down rhe generators for the night and that is when the rats would come aboard.We could hear them squeaking and scurrying around and smell their urine .The coxwain got some rat traps and set them every night one night he caught 13 .They were very big about 4 times lthe stze of those in the uk
A troopship came in to Algiers while we were there It was a White Star Liner .I believe it was the Strathaven ,It had come from Australia and had plenty of provisions on board .Our captain went alongside .our bridge came up to their Baggage Port so our captain scrammbled aboard to meet some of his old buddies and arranged a supply of frozen turkeys and other goodies.
There was a landing stage on the dockside and there was always a lot of activity on the docks .One day on my way to draw stores from the NAFFI wharehouse I noticed a party of Royal Marine Commandos in battledress with a Marine Officer .I recognised the Officer, as in In 1938 he was our PT Instructor at H M S St Vincent the boys training establishment .He was then a Kings Corporal and champion navy boxer
One our last missions was to escort a damaged submarine to Oran for repairs .The submarine stayed on the surface behind us .On the way to Oran we passed another port and were fired on from the direction of the shore so we hove to Eventually two Amercan Patrol Vessels came out to intercept us .their guns crews were closed up at action stations .One of the guns crew told us that they thought the submarine was chasing us .They said thy had just come out from Brooklyn Navy Yard (I think it was Brooklyn ) and asked where the Combat Zone was We said it was about 300 miles to the east.
In june/july 1943 Minna returned to the UK and docked at her home port of Granton near Leith on the Forth for a long refit I think she was built there Minna was not very seawothy and had
pig iron put in the bilges to compensate for the added top weight of the gun fitted to the forecastle and disguised as a winch

Footnote
In Jan 1959 a Fishery Protection Vessel similar to Minna but named Freya capsized in a gale off NE scotland

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