The Iron Sea by Simon Read

Author:Simon Read [READ, SIMON]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hachette Books
Published: 2020-11-03T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 8

LETHAL PASSAGE

On MGB 314, Ryder watched Newman and his team disembark and vanish into the heat-scarred night. Anxious to ensure Campbeltown had successfully smashed through the lock gate, Ryder ordered the gunboat to the north side of the Old Entrance. Here it berthed and took on “some half of the Campbeltown’s ship’s company.”1 Some, too injured to stand, were carried on board. Ryder ordered ML 177 to pull alongside Campbeltown and rescue any survivors who might still be on the destroyer.2

With its deck now crowded with men, including Commander Stephen Beattie, the launch pulled away from Campbeltown. “We then set off for home,” recalled Sub-Lieutenant Frank Arkle. “Before departing, we fired our torpedoes at two of the ships that were anchored in the harbor. We then sped as fast as we could, which was a full 18 knots, down towards the open sea.”3

The batteries along both shores maintained a relentless fire, with each shot landing ever closer to the fleeing vessel. Sub-Lieutenant Mark Rodier coolly steered the launch through the eruptions of water and tried to avoid the searchlights.4

Arkle, at the stern of the ship, was attempting to activate the smoke screen when a shell punched through the launch’s side and into the engine room. It slammed into one engine and threw it on top of the other, destroying both. The launch coughed and sputtered to a stop. Rodier and Beattie left the bridge and joined Arkle near the funnel to assess the situation just as another round struck home. The shell penetrated the funnel and blew up inside it.5

“I can see to this day the funnel folding apart… and the shell bursting in the middle of it,” Arkle later wrote. “And to my benefit, poor old Mark was standing between me and the shell—and he took the brunt of the explosion.”6

Rodier’s body shielded Arkle from the worst of it. “I felt my right eye on my cheek,” Arkle recalled. “My right eye had been blown out of my head and was hanging down my cheek. I felt there was only one thing to do about this, so I plucked it out and threw it overboard.”7

Arkle, with metal in his left foot, limped below deck and found some bandaging to wrap around the bleeding cavity in his head. He returned topside to the heat and glow of flames consuming the boat amidships. He conferred with Beattie, who had escaped major injury. The two men agreed the only option was to abandon ship. “There were no more shells coming, mercifully,” Arkle said, “and everything that could float was being taken overboard.”8

Arkle grabbed a drawer from the wardroom and tossed it into the water. He leapt over with two other Commandos, who shared the unconventional float with him. “We tried to swim to the nearest shoreline,” Arkle said, “but I soon realized… it’s impossible to direct a floating drawer.”9

Surrendering to the futility of his situation, Arkle settled instead for a drink and tried to retrieve his pewter whiskey flask from his hip pocket.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.