C. S. Forester Movie
- Thread starter HopCar
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NorWyn
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Satire is a risky / difficult road...
menzies
Guru
AlaskaProf
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I just read it again: the story makes the point that the captain was a little long in the tooth. A member of the Class of 1921, he was a "passed-over" LCDR who was only saved by the rapid expansion of the fleet.
Wxx3
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Thanks Rgano for sharing your experience. While i too loved the book, (thanks Parks for starting this thread), I also found that one part of the captain doing everyting for 48+ hours a bit bizarre.
I had a friend who was a merchant marine officer on convoy ships in WWII. He had no love for the US Navy escort destroyers because they had orders to steam on after torpedo attaches to save the convoy. Leaving a disabled ship had to be done but the merchant marines did not like it. He claimed the British destroyers did not have the same orders to leave disabled ships.
I served aboard three WWII vintage destroyers which had a top speed of 31 to 35 knots, I never heard them referred to as greyhounds, mostly “ tin cans” or the more professional term expendable platforms.
I served aboard three WWII vintage destroyers which had a top speed of 31 to 35 knots, I never heard them referred to as greyhounds, mostly “ tin cans” or the more professional term expendable platforms.
rgano
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Most folks below the level of deck watch officers had little to no idea of the plans for convoy escort, and I am certain that escort groups varied wildly in their capabilities as the war progressed. In many cases, rescue trawlers were assigned to follow at the stern of the convoy to pick up survivors as directed by the escort commander if the trawler did not see the ship attacked. Sailors were in short supply, and none were considered expendable. In the initial stages of the war the US did not have the plethora of destroyer escorts and corvette style ships the British had and was forced to use few and valuable destroyers which were directed not to expose themselves to a follow-up U-Boat attack by stopping to rescue persons in the water. As it turned out destroyers were ill-suited to the North Atlantic convoy duty due to the way they rode in the rough seas. The smaller, slower, and higher endurance corvettes rode better and pulled the bulk of the escort duty throughout the war.
friz
Senior Member
I would guess a sub tender. My 2nd sea going command was the USS Sperry, AS-12. Of the 18 months on board, it never left the pier, the Sperry pier at Ballast Point, San Diego.
Wait a minute. The post previous to mine, #69 was posted 4 months ago! Did not notice the posting date when I responded. Apologize for the untimely response.
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