No Room for Mistakes by Geirr H. Haarr
Author:Geirr H. Haarr
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781591143987
Publisher: Naval Institute Press
Published: 2016-03-08T05:00:00+00:00
16
Out of the Fog
AT 17:30 ON 29 April, Lieutenant Francis Brooks took Unity to sea from Blyth for a patrol off Heligoland. Brooks was CO of L23 and hastily transferred to Unity when Brown had been taken ill that same morning. Thick fog was rolling in and visibility was down to less than 75 metres (250 feet) as Unity turned northwards, down the swept channel towards St Abb’s Head from where she would turn east further into the North Sea.
Brooks found the situation worrying and, in addition to the two lookouts and the officer of the watch, Navigation Officer Lieutenant James Trickey, he was on the bridge himself. Lieutenant George Hunt had just come onto the bridge to relieve Trickey, but had not yet done so. First Officer Lieutenant John Low was below in the control room. Unity had been given no escort and, without radar, the navigation depended entirely on eyesight and, in the dense fog, earshot.
Unknown to the submariners, a southbound convoy was also about to enter the swept channel off Blyth. They should have known, but the signal from C-in-C Rosyth with information about the presence of the convoy did not reach Brooks and his watch officers in time, apparently as it was for some reason not delivered to Brooks or any of his officers by the signalman. Neither had this information been given to Brooks during his last visit to the staff office before sailing. Hence, Brooks believed the channel was clear of traffic and Unity was doing 8 knots, as her sailing orders stated she was to proceed ‘with dispatch’. No fog-siren was sounded.1
The first indication of other ships in the channel was a foghorn being heard from ahead, shortly after 19:05, to which Lieutenant Trickey answered with a similar blast.2 Immediately, Lieutenant Brooks took command, gave instructions for the engines to be stopped and the watertight doors to be shut, after which he ordered starboard rudder to avoid whatever was coming towards them. Suddenly, a different siren was heard very close, fine on starboard bow. The wheel was put amidships and Brooks gave orders for ‘Full astern both’. Seconds later, the bow of a freighter loomed out of the murk – only 30–40 metres (100–130 feet) away and coming straight at them.
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