Arctic Star by Tom Palmer

Author:Tom Palmer
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781800900646
Publisher: Barrington Stoke Ltd

Back on deck three hours later, having seen Stephen head down below to the engine room, it was like sailing on a different sea. The fog had lifted. Without wind, there were no waves, no swell. And the temperature – even high above the North Cape of Norway – was mild to warm. The Gulf Stream again, Frank guessed.

They were still on alert. The lookouts had been reminded that it might look calm out there, but the calmer the conditions, the easier it was for the Germans to attack.

But it was not as likely as they headed south without tanks and aeroplanes. The wolfpacks – as the captain had hopefully suggested – were expected to save their battery power and weaponry for the northbound convoys loaded with military hardware. There was no call for Action Stations.

As a result, men were able to sleep in the four-hour breaks between their watches. In the galley the cooks were able to prepare meals, not just round after round of corned-beef sandwiches. You could take your time over a cup of kye. Enjoy it, even.

Frank imagined this was how it would feel to be on a cruise in peacetime. He remembered the great white ocean liners that used to sail from Plymouth before the war. To Australia. To America. People travelling across the world by sea. You could just look out at the ocean and search for whales and islands and other friendly ships. That must have been amazing. To be at sea on a pleasure cruise.

Frank snapped out of his pre-war fantasy when he saw it. Another white line. Unmistakable.

“Torpedo! Starboard bow, side-on,” Frank shouted to anyone who could hear him.

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