By May 1941, the Thistlegorm was in her home port of Glasgow being loaded with supplies essential for the British 8th Army and the relief of Tobruk. Though described on the manifest as "MT" (Motor Transport), this - probably deliberate, non-description hid a wide array of Land Mines, Shells, Ammunition, Weapons, Bedford Trucks, Armoured Cars, Bren-Carriers, BSA Motorcycles, Trailers, Vehicle spares, Aircraft and Aircraft parts, Radios, Rubber thigh-boots - and a great deal more besides. To save cargo space, the Motorcycles were placed onto the back of the Bedford trucks - three at a time before loading. Finally, being a commercial company, the Albyn Line were also taking the opportunity to deliver two sets of rolling stock to Egyptian Railways - each comprising an 0-6-0 Railway Engine, one Tender and one Water Carrier - all six items being carried as deck cargo.
Because of her classification as an "Armed Freighter" the Skipper - Captain William Ellis, had an additional team of nine Royal Navy personnel on board to man these guns. Thus it was that on 2nd June 1941 Captain Ellis ordered the mooring lines slipped before easing his ship out of Glasgow - a port that neither the ship nor nine of those on board would ever see again.
Sailing independently down the west coast of the British Mainland, the Thistlegorm made good time to her secret rendezvous off the south coast of England. Here she joined a large convoy and, being Armed, was assigned a prominent position - towards the leading edge, by the Convoy Commodore. With Axis Forces occupying almost all of the northern Mediterranean coastline - and Malta under constant siege, the safest route to Alexandria was via South Africa. This was a lengthy detour - although the journey was, nevertheless, uneventful. After refuelling in Capetown - where they were joined by the Light Cruiser HMS Carlisle - a Light Cruiser of 4,190 tons, the Convoy proceeded up the east coast of Africa before finally entering the Red Sea.
By the time they arrived at the entrance to the Gulf of Suez it was the third week in September and the Thistlegorm was immediately assigned to "Safe Anchorage F" to await further instructions. The Master let out the starboard anchor and some 250m of chain and allowed the gentle current to push the vessel back until he was satisfied that all was well. This was "good holding ground" and, at long last, the main engines were closed down. All they could do now was wait for clearance to proceed through the Suez Canal to Alexandria.
These were difficult times and getting through the Canal was dependent on several factors. Enemy activity over the Canal - especially air raids from German aircraft based in Crete, cargo priority and how long other vessels had been waiting, all had to be taken into consideration. At this time, however, two vessels had collided further up the Gulf of Suez and were virtually blocking the entire entrance to the Canal - an event that led to the "Thistlegorm" - with her much needed and valuable cargo, remaining at anchor for a full two weeks.
Up until now these "Safe Anchorages" - each with it's own letter of the alphabet, were regarded as exactly that, Safe! There were no enemy ships and enemy aircraft rarely ventured this far south. This was, however, all about to change when German Intelligence received information that a large troopship (possibly the Queen Mary) was due to travel through the Suez Canal with 1200 reinforcement British Troops destined for North Africa.
Having mastered the relatively new skill of night flying, Heinkel He 111's from II/Kg26 (No 2 Squadron 26th Kamp Geswader) based in Crete were alerted to the possible presence of such a large vessel. Their task was to seek and destroy. At 2250 hours on 5th October 1941 two twin-engine Heinkels crossed the north Egyptian coast heading southeast in search of this prize.
Aided by a clear moonlit night, they searched in vain for the big ship until fuel levels became critical. Then, just as they were on the point of returning home "empty handed," one of the pilots spotted a ship at anchor. Turning away in order to put his aircraft in the best possible position for an attack, the pilot turned again as he continued to lose altitude. He came in low over the sea and, as he approached the bows of the Thistlegorm, he released two bombs right above her.
Both bombs penetrated No 5 hold - aft of the bridge, detonating a great deal of ammunition and the resultant explosion sent the two locomotives spiralling into the air as the ship was ripped open like a huge tin can. Even to this day, the rear decks are peeled back towards the Bridge leaving many a Diver wondering what exactly he is looking at. Some contemporary accounts have even described this as "Armour Plating!"
The vessel began to sink and the crew quickly abandoned ship - with hardly any time to launch the lifeboats, most of them leapt straight into the sea. One injured man, however, was trapped on the blazing deck and desperately needed help. Crewman Angus McLeay wrapped some rags around his bare feet and ran across the hot steel plates and rescued him - an action for which the 30 year old McLeay from Stornoway was awarded the George Medal and Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea. Caught unawares, the Thistlegorm had been given no time to defend herself and badly damaged, she quickly sank - the event was timed at 0130 hrs 6th October 1941. Captain Ellis and the other survivors were rescued by HMS Carlisle and then taken to Port Tewfik where he reported that four members of his crew of 39 and five of the 9 Royal Navy ratings had all lost their lives. Such was the part played by Captain Ellis in the evacuation of his ship and the saving of so many lives, he was subsequently awarded the OBE - for "Services to the War Effort" by King George VI.
The spectacular loss of the Thistlegorm, however, had lit up the night sky - revealing more vessels at anchor to the retreating German aircraft. From that moment on, those hitherto "Safe" anchorages would never be quite as safe again.
Because of her classification as an "Armed Freighter" the Skipper - Captain William Ellis, had an additional team of nine Royal Navy personnel on board to man these guns. Thus it was that on 2nd June 1941 Captain Ellis ordered the mooring lines slipped before easing his ship out of Glasgow - a port that neither the ship nor nine of those on board would ever see again.
Sailing independently down the west coast of the British Mainland, the Thistlegorm made good time to her secret rendezvous off the south coast of England. Here she joined a large convoy and, being Armed, was assigned a prominent position - towards the leading edge, by the Convoy Commodore. With Axis Forces occupying almost all of the northern Mediterranean coastline - and Malta under constant siege, the safest route to Alexandria was via South Africa. This was a lengthy detour - although the journey was, nevertheless, uneventful. After refuelling in Capetown - where they were joined by the Light Cruiser HMS Carlisle - a Light Cruiser of 4,190 tons, the Convoy proceeded up the east coast of Africa before finally entering the Red Sea.
By the time they arrived at the entrance to the Gulf of Suez it was the third week in September and the Thistlegorm was immediately assigned to "Safe Anchorage F" to await further instructions. The Master let out the starboard anchor and some 250m of chain and allowed the gentle current to push the vessel back until he was satisfied that all was well. This was "good holding ground" and, at long last, the main engines were closed down. All they could do now was wait for clearance to proceed through the Suez Canal to Alexandria.
These were difficult times and getting through the Canal was dependent on several factors. Enemy activity over the Canal - especially air raids from German aircraft based in Crete, cargo priority and how long other vessels had been waiting, all had to be taken into consideration. At this time, however, two vessels had collided further up the Gulf of Suez and were virtually blocking the entire entrance to the Canal - an event that led to the "Thistlegorm" - with her much needed and valuable cargo, remaining at anchor for a full two weeks.
Up until now these "Safe Anchorages" - each with it's own letter of the alphabet, were regarded as exactly that, Safe! There were no enemy ships and enemy aircraft rarely ventured this far south. This was, however, all about to change when German Intelligence received information that a large troopship (possibly the Queen Mary) was due to travel through the Suez Canal with 1200 reinforcement British Troops destined for North Africa.
Having mastered the relatively new skill of night flying, Heinkel He 111's from II/Kg26 (No 2 Squadron 26th Kamp Geswader) based in Crete were alerted to the possible presence of such a large vessel. Their task was to seek and destroy. At 2250 hours on 5th October 1941 two twin-engine Heinkels crossed the north Egyptian coast heading southeast in search of this prize.
Aided by a clear moonlit night, they searched in vain for the big ship until fuel levels became critical. Then, just as they were on the point of returning home "empty handed," one of the pilots spotted a ship at anchor. Turning away in order to put his aircraft in the best possible position for an attack, the pilot turned again as he continued to lose altitude. He came in low over the sea and, as he approached the bows of the Thistlegorm, he released two bombs right above her.
Both bombs penetrated No 5 hold - aft of the bridge, detonating a great deal of ammunition and the resultant explosion sent the two locomotives spiralling into the air as the ship was ripped open like a huge tin can. Even to this day, the rear decks are peeled back towards the Bridge leaving many a Diver wondering what exactly he is looking at. Some contemporary accounts have even described this as "Armour Plating!"
The vessel began to sink and the crew quickly abandoned ship - with hardly any time to launch the lifeboats, most of them leapt straight into the sea. One injured man, however, was trapped on the blazing deck and desperately needed help. Crewman Angus McLeay wrapped some rags around his bare feet and ran across the hot steel plates and rescued him - an action for which the 30 year old McLeay from Stornoway was awarded the George Medal and Lloyd's War Medal for Bravery at Sea. Caught unawares, the Thistlegorm had been given no time to defend herself and badly damaged, she quickly sank - the event was timed at 0130 hrs 6th October 1941. Captain Ellis and the other survivors were rescued by HMS Carlisle and then taken to Port Tewfik where he reported that four members of his crew of 39 and five of the 9 Royal Navy ratings had all lost their lives. Such was the part played by Captain Ellis in the evacuation of his ship and the saving of so many lives, he was subsequently awarded the OBE - for "Services to the War Effort" by King George VI.
The spectacular loss of the Thistlegorm, however, had lit up the night sky - revealing more vessels at anchor to the retreating German aircraft. From that moment on, those hitherto "Safe" anchorages would never be quite as safe again.
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